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Uses for leaf mulch


Tips On Using Leaf Litter For Mulch

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Mulch

By: Bonnie L. Grant, Certified Urban Agriculturist

Image by James Andrews

Many gardeners view the piles of dropped autumn leaves as a nuisance. Perhaps this is due to the labor involved in raking them up or it might be simple ennui as the season changes and cold weather makes its approach. Either way, dead leaves should actually be looked upon as a boon. Leaf litter mulch in gardens has numerous attributes and mulching with leaves is an inexpensive and renewable way to achieve garden gold. Read on for some interesting leaf mulch info to get you composting that spent foliage and cleaning up the yard.

What is Leaf Mulch?

Mulch is any material that is placed atop the soil to moderate its environment and enhance the landscape. There are many types of mulch, and leaf mulch is comprised of exactly what it sounds like, leaves. This organic mulch will decompose and needs to be replaced eventually but, in the meantime, it improves the soil’s fertility and its organic content. Mulching with leaves is a win/win in many situations where you want more rapid decomposition and is generally a free commodity to anyone that has deciduous trees.

The avid gardener spends quality time amending his or her soil and getting ready for the growing season. Some of us make our own compost, purchase manures or even buy soil additives. The cheaper solution, however, is to use what nature gives you for free. Using leaf litter for mulch enriches the soil and perpetuates the cycle of life by renewing plants.

So exactly how is leaf mulch good for plants? The benefits of leaf litter mulch are abundant:

Tips on Mulching with Leaves

The best way to use leaves is to shred them. You can do this in a number of ways but it is best to let them dry first. Once dry, use a lawn mower to chop them into little pieces. Dried leaves as mulch break down more quickly and shred easily. You can also use leaves after the season that have been moist and developed into leaf mold. These are partially decomposed and can be worked into the soil.

Using leaf litter for mulch is an easy way to recycle the debris in your yard. To use the dried leaves as mulch, spread them at a rate of 3 to 4 inches (7.5 to 10 cm.) around trees and shrubs and 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.5 cm.) over perennial beds. You can use them to insulate rose bushes in November; just pull them away before the bushes start spring growth.

Work leaf litter into vegetable beds to increase porosity and add valuable nutrients. The smaller the leaves are shredded, the quicker they will break down and the less likely they will mat and mold.

Composting with Leaves

Using leaf litter as mulch has many benefits, but you can also simply compost the dead foliage. You can use the three-bin system, a composter or simply a pile of leaves. Rake the leaves into a pile in an area that will get wet on occasion. Leave the pile alone for about 2 years and it will become rich, crumbly compost ready to amend your flower beds. As in mulching, it’s best to cut them up to fine pieces for quicker composting.

Keep the leaves moderately moist and turn the pile at least weekly. For a balanced compost, mix in some grass clippings to add nitrogen. The proper ratio of nitrogen to carbon is 25 to 30 carbon (leaves) to 1 part nitrogen (grass).

Keeping the pile warm, moist and aerated will guarantee juicy soil in the future and that the fine shreds will break down quickly for fast compost that will benefit the whole garden.

I can’t think of anything better than leaf mulch if you have trees on your property. Free exercise and free organic mulch to nourish your garden year round! So don’t rake and bag those fall leaves, turn them into leaf mulch instead. Now that you know how to use leaf mulch in gardens, you can take advantage of the fantastic “green” benefits mulching with leaves provides.

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How to Use Fall Leaves as Garden Mulch | Leaf Shredding

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The leaves on the left were just shredded. The leaves on the right are shredded leaves stored in a pile from last fall. They’re rich, earthy, full of earthworms, and soil-like.

One of Mother Nature’s very best gifts comes every fall, as leaves drop from trees. For the small price of collecting the leaves and depositing them in your garden beds as mulch, the returns are high.

 

 

Raking and blowing leaves is a dreaded task for many of us, but those leaves are the best amendment for gardens and landscape beds — and a fantastic addition to compost piles.  

Of the nutrients that trees take out of the soil through their roots, over half is stored in the leaves, which are also high in stored carbon, taken from the air. As the leaves decompose in your garden, the nutrients and organic matter will make soil more fertile and improve the soil structure for optimal drainage and more.

The trick to getting the most benefit from leaves the fastest is to shred whole leaves into smaller pieces.

Some simple tools you may already have can work well for this.

 

Shredding whole leaves into smaller pieces is the best way to get the most benefit either for use as mulch or for composting. There are a few different ways to quickly shred leaves.

 

You can mow over whole leaves when dry using a lawnmower with a bagging attachment.

Electric leaf blowers often have a reverse function that comes with the tube and bagging attachment which finely chops the leaves as they’re vacuumed up.

You can also use a standard string trimmer. While it does get the job done, it can be rather cumbersome to manipulate the trimmer head and definitely leads to arm fatigue if shredding more than just a few bags.

 

Leaves can be collected in a trash bin and shredded into small pieces with a weed eater before bagging or storing.

 

One product created specifically for chopping leaves that uses the string trimmer concept is called a leaf shredder. After hearing rave reviews from a close gardening friend, and reading the online reviews, I was curious enough to order one for myself and put it through the paces. 

 

After hearing rave reviews about the Worx leaf mulcher from a gardening friend, I bought one to use at the GardenFarm™. It’s my new favorite method for shredding leaves to prepare them for garden mulch.

 

I’m happy to report this was money well spent. For a modest investment of about $150 and a few hundred bags of leaves to test with, this is my new favorite method for shredding them.  

The electric shredding unit is mounted above a sturdy stand. The leaves are safely fed from the top into the hopper, and the string trimmer chops them down and blows them into a collection bag. Overall, it’s the fastest, neatest, most consistent, and most enjoyable method I’ve tried. 

 

An electric leaf mulcher like this one has the shredding mounted above a stand. The leaves are fed into the mulcher from above and the finished product is collected in the bag below.

 

Shredded leaves are easy to work with when applying mulch to beds. And once shredded, leaves will decompose much faster into rich organic matter known as humus.

All you need is about a 2-inch layer of leaf mulch to suppress weeds, prevent compaction, retain water, and insulate soil from severe temperature changes. Spread by hand, or with a rake or blower.

 

A two-inch layer of leaf mulch around crops helps suppress weeds, prevents soil compaction, retains moisture in the soil, and insulates the soil from severe temperatures.

 

If you have an abundance of leaves, you can store them whole or shredded in a pile, bin or what I call a leaf corral and wet them. In time, funguses will break the leaves down into what is often referred to as leaf mold, which is simply semi-composted leaves. Leaf mold makes for a very effective organic mulch and highly beneficial soil amendment.

 

Leaves can be collected and stored in a pile, bin or corral. Over time, the leaves will break down into leaf mold, a beneficial organic mulch.

 

Links & Resources

Some product links in this guide are affiliate links. See full disclosure below.

Episode 26: Using Leaves as Mulch & Compost (and Why Leaves Change Color & Shed)

Episode 110: Why Mulch Matters in Every Garden: What You Need to Know

joegardener blog:  How to Use Fall Leaves in the Garden – and Why You Should

joegardenerTV YouTube: Why Leaves Change Color in Fall

joegardener Online Gardening Academy™: Three popular courses on gardening fundamentals; managing pests, diseases & weeds; and seed starting!

joegardener Online Gardening Academy Seed Temperature Chart

joegardener Online Gardening Academy Essential Gardening Fundamentals: The basics on healthy soil, planting, watering techniques, composting, raised bed and other gardening methods, fertilizer, the many benefits of mulch, and more.

joegardenerTV YouTube

joegardener Newsletter

joegardener Facebook

joegardener Facebook Group

joegardener Instagram

joegardener Pinterest

joegardener Twitter

Growing a Greener World® 

GGWTV YouTube

Leaf shredder 

Corona® Tools – Video sponsor and Brand Partner of joegardener.com

*Disclosure: Some product links in this guide are affiliate links, which means we would get a commission if you purchase. However, none of the prices of these resources have been increased to compensate us. None of the items included in this list have any bearing on any compensation being an influencing factor on their inclusion here. The selection of all items featured in this post and podcast were based solely on merit and in no way influenced by any affiliate or financial incentive, or contractual relationship. At the time of this writing, Joe Lamp’l has professional relationships with the following companies who may have products included in this post and podcast: Rain Bird, Corona Tools, Milorganite, Soil3, Park Seed, and Exmark. These companies are either Brand Partners of joegardener.com and/or advertise on our website. However, we receive no additional compensation from the sales or promotion of their product through this guide. The inclusion of any products mentioned within this post is entirely independent and exclusive of any relationship.

About Joe Lamp'l

Joe Lamp’l is the creator and “joe” behind joe gardener®. His lifetime passion and devotion to all things horticulture has led him to a long-time career as one of the country’s most recognized and trusted personalities in organic gardening and sustainability. That is most evident in his role as host and creator of Emmy Award-winning Growing a Greener World®, a national green-living lifestyle series on PBS currently broadcasting in its tenth season. When he’s not working in his large, raised bed vegetable garden, he’s likely planting or digging something up, or spending time with his family on their organic farm just north of Atlanta, GA.

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Fallen Leaves: Save and use.

3

As I already wrote, the leaves are a good insulator, so a layer of 5-7 cm in the trunk circle of a fruit tree will protect the soil from severe freezing. The larger the sheet, the looser the pillow will be. The smaller, the more likely that the leaves are compressed into a dense cake and this is not very good.

These points must be taken into account.

Loosening of leaf litter during sub-zero temperatures not only destroys a large number of wintering pests, larvae and pupae. Such loosening destroys packed foliage, giving air access to the root system, retaining the first snow, which also insulates the soil.

In the spring, I really want to remove such leaf mulch as soon as possible. First of all, because we are frightened by horror stories, that under it all sorts of pests are simply teeming, and spores of diseases are already starting to explode on the leaves. Moreover, the knowledge that under the foliage that has packed over the winter the earth freezes more slowly pushes us to urgent cleaning.

I'll start with the fact that pests and diseases can be reckoned with without removing the foliage. To do this, it is enough to pour the leaves with a solution of urea (300 g per 10 liters of warm water). But it is not worth rushing to remove the leaves precisely because they do not allow the soil to thaw quickly, which means that the tree will wake up more slowly and bloom a little later than unmulched relatives. And in conditions of the threat of return frosts, this is very good. Let me take last spring as an example. In my garden, a plum and two cherry plums were well mulched before winter and kept under the foliage until the soil in the garden completely thawed, and the same two plums in the area in front of the house turned out to be “bare”. As a result, the "street" ones bloomed 5 days earlier and fell under frost - there were 0 fruits. On the garden ones, the flowering was only partially affected by frosts and there were quite enough fruits to eat for pleasure.

And so.

Leaves as mulch

Leaves of trees and shrubs decompose for quite a long time and become complete food for plants only after they are processed by worms.

Only leaves with no signs of diseases or pests are suitable for mulching, so in the garden I prefer to use decorative or forest leaves with large leaf blades as mulch. Oak and chestnut leaves serve longer as mulch. They actively suppress the germination of seeds, therefore they are suitable only for large perennials and in the near-trunk circles of trees and shrubs.

In central Russia, oaks often suffer from powdery mildew, but this is not an obstacle to the use of their foliage, because the race of these pathogens is not dangerous for other plants.

For mulching large perennials and shrubs, it is better to take dry leaves, mostly large ones. They do not cake, protect the soil from hypothermia, and in summer from overheating, preserve the structure and moisture of the soil, and prevent the growth of weeds. The optimal layer of mulch is 5-10 cm. Mulching with leaves is especially important for perennials suffering from bulging roots, as well as crops in which the root system is superficial.

Part of the foliage is used for mulching between the rows of strawberries, after the foliage gets wet in the rain, I sprinkle it with a little ash and a small layer of garden soil.

Remember that the mulch should not fit snugly against the root collar, otherwise, under adverse conditions, this most vulnerable spot in the plant may become soaked and rotted. Do not mulch small herbaceous perennials with foliage.

The ideal leaf mulch is shredded.

Lawn owners carefully scrape fallen leaves from the grass in autumn. They are partly right - leaf litter can cause the grass cover to rot. I do otherwise. In fact, I mulch the lawn with leaf litter. But ... I do it competently. As soon as a lot of leaves appear on the lawn (say, they hide the grass by 50%), in dry weather, take the lawn mower out. I remove the grass catcher from it, adjust it to the highest cut and start mowing. The crushed foliage lays down on the lawn in a thin, even layer, and after rain settles to the roots, where over time it turns into an excellent organic fertilizer. In fact, I remove the leaves from the lawn only at the very end of autumn. When it is simply impossible to injure grass that has grown by 8 cm with a lawn mower.

Many have noticed that I often write: to collect leaves in bags. Yes, for me this is the most convenient way to further use the fallen leaves. In dry weather, the collected leaves in bags lie until the moment when they need to be used. For example, fall asleep perennials cut and prepared for winter as mulch, insulate near-stem circles of shrubs or a garden bed prepared for spring. Yes, and it is more convenient to pour the leaves from the bags into the compost heap in layers. Here you certainly won’t forget to sprinkle them with garden soil: poured out of the bag, leveled it over the entire surface of the compost bin, sprinkled it with earth, took up the second bag. Most often I use large plastic black garbage bags. I carry the filled ones closer to the places of future use of foliage, I definitely cover it so that water does not get inside.

And one more thing. I often read the recommendation to use leaf litter to mulch garden paths. The idea is essentially good, but dangerous. The fact is that the paths in the spring because of the foliage become very slippery.

Leaves of which plants to use as mulch. Leaves from trees as fertilizer for the garden

In autumn, the time of leaf fall comes and, in this regard, every autumn, dear gardeners, we are tormented by the same question: how better use fallen leaves ?

Collect it or not? Take it out of the site or store it in a compost heap, plant it in beds, bury it away from the garden or burn it?

Fall leaf collection takes not only a lot of energy from summer residents, but also time. Among us there are many supporters of both leaf harvesting and its opponents.

Fall leaf harvesters they say that it is an excellent place for wintering pathogens of many plant diseases, as well as insect pests. In a compost heap, leaf litter cakes and rots very slowly and it will take several years to wait for the “death” of possible pests.

Opponents of harvesting very convincingly prove that the leaves cover the roots of trees from frost and, when decomposed, improve the composition of the soil and its structure, and also that fallen leaves are not only an excellent fertilizer, but also food for earthworms, which also in the course of their life activity improve the structure of the soil.

Although, by and large, the question of what to do with the fallen leaves in your own garden is up to everyone to decide, but I would like to offer you several options for a fairly rational use of the collected leaves.

Leaf rot

Fallen leaves can be used to prepare leaf humus, which will serve as an effective tool that can improve the structure of the soil on the site.

There is almost as much nitrogen and phosphorus in leaf humus as in cow dung. In addition, such a tool is an excellent mulch, as well as an ideal acidifier, which is so necessary for acidophilic plants.

For its preparation, it is best to take the litter of deciduous trees available on your site. You can, of course, use conifers, but in this case the process of decay of waste will be slowed down.

Good leaf humus can be obtained in a fairly short time. To do this, in the fall, collect the fallen leaves, tamp them well into tight bags, then fill the contents with plenty of water and tie the bags, piercing them in several places for better ventilation.

Leaf humus harvested in autumn can be used already next spring when planting fruits and vegetables, and it can also be added to compost.

If you have a forest nearby, then you can successfully use the fallen leaves of such trees as: alder, birch, maple.

Alder litter is considered the most valuable. Birch and maple have slightly fewer nutrients.

But fallen aspen leaves (despite the fact that they contain a lot of nutrients) decompose very badly, as they lie rather tightly and stick together. They often have to be loosened and, moreover, additionally sprinkled with lime or chalk, due to their acidic reaction.

Oak litter is also very dense and hard, containing a lot of tannins, which do not allow it to rot quickly and well.

Therefore, aspen and oak litter is best used in small quantities and only mixed with foliage of other tree species.

Mulching

Fallen leaves can be used as a natural mulch.

To do this, in the autumn you just need to spread the wet leaves over the empty areas of the soil, and with the advent of spring, either rake them, or simply dig them along with the soil.

In this case, leaf litter will protect the soil from weathering, leaching of useful substances from it, and also suppress the growth of weeds.

We warm perennials

Dry fallen leaves will serve as a good warming and heat-insulating material with which you can cover hydrangeas, chrysanthemums, roses and other heat-loving shrubs for the winter.

We attract hedgehogs

With the help of fallen leaves, you can attract hedgehogs to your plot, which are happy to eat pest larvae.

To do this, just leave the leaves along the fences and around the trees located in remote areas of your garden, so that these animals would like to settle in them.

Add to compost

Shredded fallen leaves can be added to the compost heap, especially if you fill it with a lot of green waste and plant residues in the fall.

In this case, they will play the role of coarse "brown" material and balance the share of the latter.

For high beds

If you have high beds, containers or boxes for growing vegetables and berries in your garden, then fallen leaves can be used as bulk material, which can improve the quality and structure of the soil.

For this purpose, immediately after emptying the beds, either simply fill the boxes with some pre-shredded leaf litter, or mix the collected litter with green residues, compost and other materials used to fill high beds.

Fill them with chopped fallen leaves.

Making decorative compositions

Agree, fallen leaves look great against the background of dirt paths.

Therefore, if you have a desire to make your garden beautiful and unpretentious, just do not remove the litter.

Well, if you are also a creative person, then you can make an excellent decorative composition from the collected leaves.

In general, dear gardeners, when deciding what to do with fallen leaves, I advise you to proceed from considerations of your own convenience.


See you soon, dear friends!

The soil around the plants should be mulched not only in spring and summer, but also in autumn, so that the crops can safely overwinter.

Mulch laid in autumn rots by spring and contributes to better warming of the soil, as well as rapid germination of crops.

But this is only one of the benefits of autumn mulching. What else is mulch good for?

  1. The covering material retains moisture well, so plants planted in autumn do not need to be watered.
  2. When rotting, the mulch forms an additional layer of humus that nourishes the plants.
  3. Mulched soil is less affected by frost in winter and overheating in spring.
  4. Covered ground does not crust over after watering or rain.
  5. Mulch protects plants from extreme temperature changes.
  6. In the spring, less weeds grow on mulched soil.

Plant beds and tree trunks should be covered with mulch in late autumn, when the topsoil has already begun to freeze. This is necessary so that rodents do not settle in the mulch, looking for a warm place for wintering.

It is important to understand that the desired effect of mulch can only be achieved if the covering material is not spared. The thickness of the mulch layer should reach 5-10 cm, otherwise the mulching procedure is in vain.

1. Mulching with bark of coniferous trees

Benefits

This is one of the most durable mulching materials available. Mulch from the bark of coniferous trees is good for its decorative effect, as well as the ability to stimulate plant growth. Tree bark protects the earth from sudden changes in temperature. In addition, the soil after irrigation does not cake, and an earthen crust does not form on it.

Disadvantages

Perhaps the main disadvantage in using this mulching material is the laboriousness of its preparation. It is recommended to compost the bark of coniferous trees before use during the year. Also, this material is not recommended for mulching tomatoes.

What can be mulched with bark:

2. Compost mulching

Benefits

Compost is one of the best materials for soil mulching. It is completely safe for plants, reduces the likelihood of infection with diseases, and is also an excellent fertilizer.

Disadvantages

As with the bark of coniferous trees, the compost must be prepared in advance. Also, a bed of compost can grow more weeds than soil covered with other mulching material.

What can be mulched compost :

What is the difference between compost and manure? Compost is an organic mass obtained as a result of the decomposition of plant residues, and humus is rotted (or rather, rotted) manure.

3. Peat mulching

Benefits

Peat is most often used as mulch in autumn. Peat mulching before winter is especially indicated on heavy soil prone to crusting. In the spring, this covering material contributes to the early heating of the soil, retains moisture and improves the structure of the soil.

Disadvantages

It is not recommended to mulch the soil with fresh peat, as it contains a high concentration of toxic substances that adversely affect plants. Only certain types of peat can be used for mulching: transitional and lowland.

What can be mulched with peat :

4. Mulching with humus

Benefits

Mulching the soil with humus is one of the most effective ways to increase its fertility. This mulch is rich in useful substances necessary for good plant growth. In particular, humus saturates the soil with nitrogen, which is very necessary for garden and garden crops in spring.

Disadvantages

Mulch mulch can encourage weed growth.

What can mulch with humus :

5. Sawdust mulching

Benefits

Sawdust is an excellent fertilizer for any type of soil (especially in combination with compost). They protect the ground from freezing and can enrich even the poorest soil with nutrients.

Disadvantages

Decaying sawdust can "pull" nitrogen out of the soil and reduce its fertility. Since the sawdust tightly covers the ground from the sun's rays, in the spring all kinds of bacteria begin to develop in the upper soil layer.

What can mulch with sawdust :

Use only fresh sawdust whenever possible. Those that have been stored for a long time, dumped in a heap, can stick together. Dry them thoroughly before use.

6. Mulching with wood shavings

Benefits

Shavings can be used where the soil is rarely tilled. Wood shavings keep well if kept in a dry place. Like sawdust, shavings repel slugs.

Disadvantages

Unlike sawdust, shavings rot much longer (about 1 year), so they are more often used to cover soil that is hardly dug up (for example, on paths).

What can mulch with shavings :

7. Straw mulching

Benefits

Straw enriches the soil with nutrients and increases its fertility. And because this mulching material decomposes slowly, it provides mulched crops with long-term protection and keeps the soil warm.

Disadvantages

Straw mulch can contain weed seeds and is also a favorite winter shelter for rodents.

What can mulch with straw :

8. Needle mulching

Benefits

Needle is an available material that can be collected in the forest. Over time, mixing with the soil, such a mulch will make it looser and more permeable. For mulching plantings on the site, it is best to use pine or spruce litter - they will help prevent the occurrence of gray rot in plants. A dense layer of spruce needles reliably protects the soil from freezing and drying out.

Disadvantages

Fallen needles emit volatile substances that can adversely affect horticultural crops. Also, needles increase the acidity of the soil, which is very harmful for many plants.

What can mulch with needles :

9. Mulching with dry fallen leaves

Benefits

Dry leaf mulch is a natural covering inspired by nature itself. The leaves quickly decompose and enrich the soil with nutrients. As a result, crops planted in autumn start growing faster in spring.

Disadvantages

Do not mulch vegetables with leaf litter. In a mild and damp winter, the foliage may begin to rot, which will provoke the reproduction of fungi in the soil.

What can mulch with dead leaves :

10. Pine nut shell mulching

Benefits

Pine nut shell mulch is not only natural, but also very durable. It perfectly retains moisture in the soil, protects plantings from weeds and looks quite decorative. In addition, a good shell layer stimulates the formation of beneficial microflora in the soil. In winter, the pine nut shell prevents the soil from freezing. In addition, such mulching material is an excellent antiseptic.

Disadvantages

High price. To mulch even a small area of ​​soil, you will have to spend a lot of money. Also, nutshells can attract rodents, which can significantly damage plants in the ground.

What can mulch with pine nut shells :

As you can see, there are quite a lot of mulch options, so every gardener and gardener will be able to mulch plantings before a harsh winter. You just need to choose the type of mulch that suits you best.

Soil mulching: mulching materials

One of the most useful agricultural techniques used by gardeners in different climatic zones is mulching. This procedure is a cover of the soil surface with organic or artificial material, while the ridges are covered completely or only in the aisles.
Man learned mulching from nature itself. In meadows, in forests under trees and shrubs, the soil is never bare - a layer of dry grass, fallen leaves and needles protects the earth from drying out and protects plants from cold weather and pests.
Under a layer of mulch, the soil retains its structure, soil crust does not form. In addition, the mulch protects the soil around the plant from being washed away by water during irrigation, retains moisture, and does not allow weeds to develop.

By mulching the beds, you can significantly reduce the amount of watering and virtually eliminate loosening.
How to mulch the soil on your site? What mulching materials to use? There are plenty of options, as usual.

Mulching with inorganic covering materials

Roofing felt, roofing material, lutrasil, black and colored film are widely used for soil mulching in suburban areas.
They are spread on the beds, cutting holes into which the plants are then planted. It is better to make holes slotted (cutting the film along or across), and not round or square. So the soil will be better protected from moisture evaporation, and rainwater will penetrate well into the soil.
Mulch squash and cucumber beds with black plastic sheeting to control weeds and reduce watering frequency. On strawberry beds mulched with a film, the berries will always remain clean.
Tomatoes grow best in red film mulch, while cabbage prefers white film. A transparent film for mulching is not suitable, it does not prevent the growth of weed plants, but, on the contrary, causes their rapid growth.
Film used as mulch must meet the following requirements:
do not transmit light;
be thin and elastic, close to the soil surface;
be strong so that weeds cannot break through it.
Film mulch increases the ground temperature by 1.5-2°C, which is very important in the unstable climate of the middle zone with short summers; on the other hand, the film reduces the evaporation of moisture, thereby lowering the temperature on the soil surface on hot days. That is, the film saves planting from cold, and from heat, and from drought.
Light-tight black film mulching is widely used for chemical-free weed control. Under the black film, perennial hard-to-remove rhizomatous weeds die off - wheatgrass, sow thistle, loach.
Under the black film mulch, no soil crust forms, which does not allow oxygen to reach the seedlings in the right amount, and as a result, they suffocate, and gardeners receive rare unfriendly seedlings. Film mulching prevents soil compaction by precipitation. Even after 5 years of growing strawberries under a film, the earth will remain loose.
In addition, film mulch helps to increase soil fertility: due to the decomposition of weeds, nitrogen accumulates in the upper layer of the earth, soil microorganisms reliably protected by film cover become more active, begin to feed intensively, and the humus content in the soil increases.
Film-mulched soil retains heat better in winter, film-covered beds do not freeze as much as open ones. This advantage of film mulch is especially important when growing dwarf apple trees, whose frost resistance is not as great as that of ordinary ones, and strawberries, whose roots are at a shallow depth.
Mulching films suppress the development of strawberry gray rot, and also help to reduce the number of nematodes.
However, film mulch has a significant disadvantage - it, unlike organic, does not decompose, does not nourish the soil. For this reason, many gardeners prefer to first mulch the beds with humus, and then lay the film, non-woven fabric, etc.

Using organic mulch

No matter how many advantages film and other synthetic materials have, modern gardeners prefer mulch made from natural materials.
The cover of organic matter in the beds not only prevents the growth of weeds, protects the soil from overheating and freezing and retains moisture in the ground, as the mulch decomposes, a fertile layer is created in the ground that nourishes soil microorganisms and plants.
To get the most out of mulching with natural materials, you need to know when and what kind of mulch to use.

Mulching with fresh cut grass

Grass is rich in nitrogen and other useful substances necessary for the full development of plants.

As mulch, you can use grass residues after mowing the lawn, weeded and slightly dried weeds, torn off stepchildren of tomatoes. By the way, tomato leaf mulch is ideal for cabbage beds, it repels cabbage whites.
Don't rush to use freshly cut grass as mulch, let it dry out in the sun for a day or two. Raw grass will rot too quickly.
In the northern regions, grass mulch is applied when the soil has already warmed up enough, and the plants have sprouted and grown stronger. In the southern regions, grass mulching is best done even before planting, then it can enrich the soil with nutrients.

Mulching soil with compost

Compost is an almost ideal, versatile material for mulching. It is suitable for all vegetable crops and is completely safe. Compost mulch reduces the likelihood of plant disease and provides excellent nutrition.
So do not take out organic garbage, kitchen waste, weeds, leaves, etc., put it all in the compost heap along with sawdust, wood shavings and paper. Within a year, you will have excellent organic material for mulching your garden.

Straw mulching

Straw is ideal for mulching mail under nightshade tomatoes and potatoes.

It acts as a barrier between tomato fruit and pathogens in the soil, protecting plants from early rot, anthracnose and leaf spot. And on potato beds mulched with straw, the main pest of potatoes, the Colorado potato beetle, is much less frequently observed.
In addition, straw mulch is good for crops such as basil, garlic, strawberries and blackberries.

Mulching with newsprint

Black and white and colored newspapers (shredded or whole) can safely cover beds - newsprint makes an excellent mulch and a good weed control agent.

Lay four layers of newspapers on the bed to be mulched and sprinkle hay, grass, straw or earth on top.
Many summer residents are afraid to use newspapers because of the printing ink that gets into the soil with them, however, according to American scientists, not a single chemical substance from modern newspaper ink poses a threat to the garden or vegetable garden.

Mulch made from kraft wrapping paper and cardboard proved to be equally effective in controlling weeds. These materials can also replace film mulch when the soil needs to be warmed up. If a few days before planting seedlings in the ground, close the bed with kraft paper, the soil in it warms up by 3 ° C.
Paper mulching is especially effective in planting raspberries and legumes - it helps to increase their yield.

Fall leaf mulching

Fallen leaves are the ideal mulch for cabbage and bean beds. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants can also be mulched with leaf litter, but only after the soil has warmed up well.
Leaf mulch is very good in flower beds, it protects flowers from freezing and also prevents bulbous plants from germinating during early spring thaws.

Bark mulching

Bark is one of the most durable mulching materials.

It repels water, so it takes a long time to rot. Most often, such a long-term mulch is used around fruit trees and shrubs.
The bark of coniferous trees should not be used for mulching tomatoes - the volatile substances released by it can harm the bushes.
On the other hand, bark mulch has proven itself in berry fields and flower beds. Due to its durability, it is often used as a decorative material in landscape design.

Mulching with sawdust or wood chips

Sawdust or sawdust is best used where the soil is rarely tilled and hardly dug up (furrows, paths in the garden), because the chips take more than a year to completely rot.
Sawdust can be used to cover the ground in raspberries, or before winter, sprinkle them on beds with winter crops (for example, garlic and tulips).
Never use packed sawdust as mulching material. If the sawdust lay piled up in a heap for a long time, most likely oxygen stopped flowing into the deep layer, and they “soured”. Such sawdust must first be scattered in a thin layer and dried.

Needle mulching

Needle has proven itself as a mulch for eggplant and strawberries.

Many gardeners do not use pine needles because the needles seem to acidify the soil.
However, experience shows that the pH of the soil, covered two years in a row with a 7 cm layer of conifer needles, remains at the same level as before mulching.
In addition to the materials listed above, humus, reeds, peat chips, peat, cake of sunflower or pumpkin seeds can serve as mulch. Often, a combined mulch of two or three materials is used, for example, cake with freshly cut grass or cardboard with straw. A mulch made from sawdust mixed with fresh grass gives an excellent result.
How and when to mulch, read the following article "Country Tips".
We wish you success and great harvests!

As I already wrote, the leaves are a good insulator, so a layer of 5-7 cm in the near-stem circle of a fruit tree will protect the soil from severe freezing. The larger the sheet, the looser the pillow will be. The smaller, the more likely that the leaves are compressed into a dense cake and this is not very good.

These points must be taken into account. And loosening the leaf canopy at the onset of sub-zero temperatures not only destroys a large number of pests, larvae and pupae that hibernate in the heat. Such loosening destroys packed foliage, giving air access to the root system, retaining the first snow, which also insulates the soil.

In the spring, I really want to remove such leaf mulch as soon as possible. First of all, because we are frightened by horror stories, that under it all sorts of pests are simply teeming, and spores of diseases are already starting to explode on the leaves. Moreover, the knowledge that under the foliage that has packed over the winter the earth freezes more slowly pushes us to urgent cleaning.

I'll start with the fact that pests and diseases can be reckoned with without removing the foliage. To do this, it is enough to pour the leaves with a solution of urea (300 g per 10 liters of warm water). But it is not worth rushing to remove the leaves precisely because they do not allow the soil to thaw quickly, which means that the tree will wake up more slowly and bloom a little later than unmulched relatives. And in conditions of the threat of return frosts, this is very good. Let me take last spring as an example. In my garden, a plum and two cherry plums were well mulched before winter and kept under the foliage until the soil in the garden completely thawed, and the same two plums in the area in front of the house turned out to be “bare”. As a result, the "street" ones bloomed 5 days earlier and fell under frost - there were 0 fruits. On the garden ones, flowering was only partially affected by frosts and there were enough fruits to eat for pleasure.

And so.

Leaves as mulch

Leaves of trees and shrubs decompose for quite a long time and become complete food for plants only after they are processed by worms.

Only leaves with no signs of diseases or pests are suitable for mulching, so in the garden I prefer to use decorative or forest leaves with large leaf blades as mulch. Oak and chestnut leaves serve longer as mulch. They actively suppress the germination of seeds, therefore they are suitable only for large perennials and in the near-trunk circles of trees and shrubs.

In central Russia, oaks often suffer from powdery mildew, but this is not an obstacle to the use of their foliage, because the race of these pathogens is not dangerous for other plants.

For mulching large perennials and shrubs, it is better to take dry leaves, mostly large ones. They do not cake, protect the soil from hypothermia, and in summer from overheating, preserve the structure and moisture of the soil, and prevent the growth of weeds. The optimal layer of mulch is 5-10 cm. Mulching with leaves is especially important for perennials suffering from bulging roots, as well as crops in which the root system is superficial.

Part of the foliage is used for mulching between the rows of strawberries, after the foliage gets wet in the rain, I sprinkle it with a little ash and a small layer of garden soil.

Remember that the mulch should not fit snugly against the root collar, otherwise, under adverse conditions, this most vulnerable spot in the plant may become soaked and rotted. Do not mulch small herbaceous perennials with foliage.

The ideal leaf mulch is shredded.

Lawn owners carefully scrape fallen leaves from the grass in autumn. They are partly right - leaf litter can cause the grass cover to rot. I do otherwise. In fact - I mulch the lawn with leaf litter. But ... I do it competently. As soon as a lot of leaves appear on the lawn (say, they hide the grass by 50%), in dry weather, take the lawn mower out. I remove the grass catcher from it, adjust it to the highest cut and start mowing. The crushed foliage lays down on the lawn in a thin, even layer, and after rain settles to the roots, where over time it turns into an excellent organic fertilizer. In fact, I remove the leaves from the lawn only at the very end of autumn. When it is simply impossible to injure grass that has grown by 8 cm with a lawn mower.

Many have noticed that I often write: to collect leaves in bags. Yes, for me this is the most convenient way to further use the fallen leaves. In dry weather, the collected leaves in bags lie until the moment when they need to be used. For example, fall asleep perennials cut and prepared for winter as mulch, insulate near-stem circles of shrubs or a garden bed prepared for spring. Yes, and it is more convenient to pour the leaves from the bags into the compost heap in layers. Here you certainly won’t forget to sprinkle them with garden soil: poured out of the bag, leveled it over the entire surface of the compost bin, sprinkled it with earth, took up the second bag. Most often I use large plastic black garbage bags. I carry the filled ones closer to the places of future use of foliage, I definitely cover it so that water does not get inside.

To be continued…

Among the abundance of modern fertilizers, gardeners prefer the unchanging classics - natural organics, the positive effect of which has been tested by more than one generation of predecessors. Fallen leaves occupies a special place among such dressings. This natural organic matter does not require capital investments, and in terms of impact it is equal to bird droppings and mullein.

Leaves as fertilizer

Fallen leaves are rightfully considered a storehouse of fiber and a free source of a fairly rare trace element - silicon.

Decaying, deciduous raw materials turn into the most valuable organic fertilizer, for which gardeners appreciate it. Earthworms are also very fond of settling in decaying foliage. Gardeners use fallen leaves specifically for breeding worms and other useful living creatures on their plots.

Leaf-based humus is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus. According to the quantitative composition of these macroelements, it is equivalent to cow dung. In addition, leaf humus remarkably mulches the soil, and is also a natural acidifier - an indispensable component of the normal growth and development of acidophilic plants.

If there are a lot of trees on the site, then leaf litter can be successfully used to feed horticultural crops. So, alder is considered the most valuable in terms of the content of nutrients, birch and maple are slightly inferior to it.

Can it be used?

Feeding based on fallen leaves contains not only the main macronutrients (nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus), but also essential micronutrients: iron and magnesium, silicon, calcium and sulfur.

All these components are extremely important not only for horticultural crops, but also for the soil. Leaf litter perfectly loosens the soil, improves air and water permeability. In addition, earthworms like to huddle in it - useful and hardworking inhabitants of household plots.

Positive properties:

Negative properties:

How to prepare fertilizer?

There are many ways to prepare high-quality organic matter from fallen leaves, but most often gardeners make humus, compost, mulch and ashes from it.

Humus

To prepare high-quality leaf humus, raw materials are collected, put into a container (you can use an old barrel) and tamped. You don't need to close it. In the absence of a suitable container, the foliage is folded into thick bags, not forgetting to make small holes in several places. Garden stores sell special bags for creating humus. Containers (or bags) with foliage are placed in the most humid corner of the site. The humus will be ready for use in about a year or two. After 2-3 years, it will turn into real humus.

Compost

Its manufacture involves following certain rules. It is worth considering the rate of decay of foliage of different types of trees. For example, oak leaves decompose more slowly than birch and linden leaves.

To speed up the overdrying of the foliage, it should be regularly mixed, increasing the access of air. Or prepare a nitrogen-containing solution for irrigation, accelerating the decay process.

If the leaves were not removed during the winter, this is done in the spring. Organic garbage should not be burned or thrown away. It is sent to the compost heap. This raw material will decompose faster, since it has already been under the snow and mixed in the ground. In addition, microorganisms have already settled there, accelerating overheating.

Compost is prepared in a heap or pit. After its complete overheating, the most valuable organic fertilizer is applied under berries, flowers, fruit trees.

Ash

If there is any doubt about the quality of the raw material, it is wiser to dry it and burn it. Fire will destroy all diseases, as well as pests at various stages of development. When the leaves burn, hydrocarbon, oxygen and nitrogen evaporate, leaving: 25% calcium, 15% potassium, 4% phosphorus, a small amount of magnesium and iron, zinc and sulfur, manganese and boron, copper and strontium.

Significant calcium content turns ash into the most valuable deoxidizer, which is necessary for many horticultural and horticultural crops. Potassium in the ash is in a form that is easy for plants to assimilate. This mineral fertilizer is applied before digging the garden (up to 300 g per sq. M.), And also poured into the holes during planting and when forming compost heaps.

Mulch

Fallen leaves are also used as natural mulch. To do this, in the autumn, the wet biomaterial is laid out on the ground. It prevents the growth of weeds, protects the soil from freezing, weathering, evaporation of nutrients.

In addition, mulch blocks the sun's rays. This is especially true for aluminas, which are subject to inevitable crusting. In the spring, the foliage is raked and placed in a compost heap or buried in the ground when digging.

For the first few years, mulched beds will need a nitrogen fertilizer. Perfect for manure or slurry. But it is better to refuse to apply mineral fertilizers, since they will have a detrimental effect on the activity of earthworms.

Note. With the advent of natural humus, there is no need for any other fertilizers.

Fallen leaves serve as a high-quality insulation that will help roses, hydrangeas, chrysanthemums, and other berry plants to successfully overwinter. In the mulch, useful microorganisms, earthworms, which improve the structure of the soil, accelerate the process of decomposition of organic matter, winter well.

Large chestnut or maple leaves are best suited for winter shelter. Smaller biomaterial is strongly caking and blocks the access of oxygen, which is undesirable for plants.

Foliage features

Walnut leaves are considered the most useful. It is added to compost or simply burned. Walnut ash not only feeds garden crops, but also fights the increased acidity of the soil.

Birch leaves, due to their small size, overripe very quickly. Based on them, it is possible to obtain fast and high-quality organic matter. But oak trees need at least a year to decompose.

It is noted that oak litter is famous for its high content of acids and tannins, the excess of which can harm garden crops. Due to this specific composition, oak foliage overheats for a long time.

Aspen leaves after decomposition restore the nitrogen content in the soil. In addition, the soil is enriched with magnesium, calcium and potassium. However, they also overheat for a very long time and tend to stick together, blocking the access of oxygen.

Oak and aspen leaves are added in small quantities to the general compost. Some gardeners give them a separate place for a long overheating.

Alder leaves are considered to be the most valuable in terms of nutrients, slightly inferior to maple and birch leaves.

Coniferous needles are aged for at least 3 years. However, such organic matter is indispensable for planting acidophilic crops - connoisseurs of acidic soil. Among them are rhododendrons, camellias, hydrangeas, azaleas, representatives of the heather family.

When using litter, the following is taken into account: oak, chestnut and birch leaves alkalize the soil, while aspen and linden, on the contrary, acidify.

Conclusion

Fallen leaves are an excellent fertilizer for garden crops.

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