Bagging fallen leaves in autumn and throwing them in the trash creates a lot of unnecessary waste, but it also channels energy away from your garden that could be used to make your plants grow better. Packed with carbon and other nutrients, chopped fall leaves make a valuable mulch and compost ingredient, but they can be used in other ways too.
Add to compost - The fastest way to get rid of lots of autumn leaves is to throw them in your compost pile. Leaves serve as a carbon source in composting, so they’ll need to be blended with plenty of green or nitrogen-rich materials, like grass clippings or kitchen scraps, to ensure they break down fast. Mulching or chopping leaves before composting speeds up the composting process too.
Make mulch - Why buy bagged mulch when you can make your own eco-friendly mulch with autumn leaves? Leaf mulch can be applied to vegetable gardens or ornamental beds and its dark, earthy color blends right into landscapes and looks appealing in container gardens as well. To avoid pooling water, always chop leaves with a mulcher or the mulching attachment on your lawnmower before applying them to your garden.
Leave them for pollinators - Many pollinators spend the winter hibernating in old plant material and fallen leaves. But if all those leaves are raked away, it can remove natural sheltering spots and leave pollinators exposed to winter’s chill. If you want to make your garden more wildlife-friendly, wait until spring to clean the leaves out of your flower beds.
Craft a bug snug - To make your garden even more appealing to bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, use autumn leaves and fallen sticks to craft your very own bug snug. These simple shelters provide winter habitat for hibernating insects and they can be easily made with old garden debris and a bit of twine. You can even craft bug snugs into fun shapes to add a bit of whimsy to your garden.
Insulate plants - Some plants, like hydrangeas that bloom on old wood, may need to be wrapped with burlap to protect their tender buds from winter damage. But if you want to give these plants even more insulation, you can pack dry autumn leaves in between tender shrubs and their burlap wrapping. Install this leaf insulation after the ground freezes and remove it when temperatures warm in spring to ensure your plants leaf out well.
Fill in raised beds - Buying soil can get pricey fast, especially if you need to fill up a raised garden bed. But you can save a lot of money by using yard waste, like fall leaves, to fill in the base of raised bed frames and reduce the amount of soil you’ll need to purchase. As the leaves break down, they’ll act as a slow-release fertilizer and help your new garden grow even better.
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