Leaves - A Gardener's Best Friend

For many generations, leaves have been one of the most abundant organic resources available to gardeners.

Leaves are 100% organic matter with excellent moisture holding capacity. Using this, they equalize the soil temperature. They also provide excellent nutrient holding capacity, nitrogen fixing bacteria and mycorrhyzal fungi. Leaves provide a wide range of natural 'fertilizers' as they continue to decay into the existing soil.

By gathering the leaves in the Fall and bringing them to your garden, you will increase the fertility, biodiversity and structure of your soil.

Can one overdo it? Hardly. However, your plant material uses up much of this organic matter as nutrients for their own growth, so we need to replenish it regularly. Fortunately, and as Mother Nature would have it, there is a rich abundance of leaves every fall and, best of all, they are free for the taking.

So bring them home, spread them over your garden beds as mulch, or cover empty beds, and let them decay into your soil. In the spring, you can add compost right over top or you can add the leaves to the compost pile.

You may also notice that certain leaves will not decay as rapidly as others. Those will be the thicker waxy leaves. We have found it best to not use those leaves for mulch as a result. Examples of slow decaying leaves are those from Holly plants, Rhododendrons, Viburnum trees, etc.

There may come a day when urban gardeners can eliminate the expense of having the city collect and dispose of the leaves, and we will all reap the rewards of using the richness of leaves as nature intended.

My Living Canvas: We are providing sustainable human powered gardening practices, keeping you and your neighbors at peace naturally. My Living Canvas believes in feeding the soil rather than feeding the plant. Every year before new growth erupts from the ground we add compost to flower beds and lawns. This process provides all the nutrition plants require for a healthy growing season. When breaking down, all the organic matter continues to nourish the soil as well as retain moisture in the ground.

Roberto Gaudet
My Living Canvas Organic Gardening
mylivingcanvas.com