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What to do with fall leaves
Twelve percent of landfill in the U.S. is from leaves. The very worst thing you can do is put them in a plastic bag to get buried in landfill. That’s because they won't get any oxygen, so will break down really slowly and give off methane in the process. The very best thing to do with your leaves is to compost them or use them as mulch on your plants.
To cut to the chase, here’s some things you can do with dropped leaves:
use as a mulch
make leaf litter
add to compost
What is leaf mulch?
It's simply a layer of leaves on top of the soil. Mulch in general is a layer of organic matter on top of the soil around your plants.
Just spread a 2” layer on your plants and leave it till the spring, at which point most of the matter will have broken down. At this point you can either add wood chip mulch for the summer (on top of the leaves if you don't like the look of dead leaves), or just leave them to do their thing. It takes about a year for shredded leaves to break down and 2-3 years for whole leaves.
Leaf mulch will add goodness to your soil, suppress weeds, prevent compaction, retain water, and insulate soil from severe temperature changes. Plus, it’s free. If there are any plants you are worried about cold-wise, you can add a thick layer of leaves (about 8”) to act as a barrier, and protect the roots. Even though shredding the leaves will make them break down more easily (with a lawnmower for instance) I have always skipped this step.
What is leaf litter?
Leaf litter goes by many names: including litter fall, soil litter, tree litter or duff. It's basically decomposed fallen leaves and it will add nutrients to your soil (in the form of organic matter), and help break up heavy soil (I have clay). You can put your fallen leaves in a big pile and leave it to break down, which will takes a year or more depending on the type of leaves, whether you shred them or whether you turn the pile (to add oxygen). Although leaf litter will contain nutrients, it won’t contain as many as compost.
What is compost?
Compost is like garden gold. It’s really rich in nutrients and if you make it yourself from garden and kitchen scraps, it’s free (who doesn’t love free). Compost is made up of carbon (dead leaves, twigs, wood) and nitrogen (grass clippings, green garden waste and fruit and veg scraps). Use a ratio of roughly one part green waste to three or four of brown.
Dried leaves are rich in carbon and can be added to your compost pile. Either just add the leaves and mix it with the nitrogen stuff and leave it to decompose, or keep turning it, which will add oxygen and make the process quicker.
Whatever you decide to do with all those dead leaves, if you use them in your garden, your plants and the environment will thank you.
