It’s officially fall—which means the leaves are starting to change color. And yes, we still have a good few weeks to enjoy that gorgeous fall foliage before the leaves start to fall, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start planning what to do with those leaves.
Many homeowners simply rake the leaves, put them in bags and throw those bags away, destined to rot in a landfill. However, throwing away your fall leaves is essentially throwing away a free gardening tool. Not only that, but doing so is also pretty environmentally-unfriendly.
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To learn more about what we should do with fall leaves, we consulted with two expert gardeners: Amanda Webb, Head Gardener at Windy Hill Farm and Preserve in Tennessee, and Angie Kristoff, founder of the blog Angie’s Recipe Garden and a Denver-based home gardener.
Below, the two gardening pros discuss the issues with bagging autumn leaves and share seven brilliant ways to use these leaves throughout the year.
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The Problem With Bagging Fall Leaves, According to Gardeners
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“The biggest problem with bagging leaves is that we’re treating something valuable like trash,” Webb explains.
“Leaves are full of nutrients and organic matter that belong back in the soil, making them a free source of mulch and compost,” she says. “Unless they’re covering your lawn so heavily that they’ll smother the grass, there’s usually a better use for them right where they fall.”
Kristoff agrees, explaining that “the issue with bagging leaves is complex.”
“For starters, bagging leaves takes up space in the landfills. Leaves are organic, and there are many uses in and around the garden versus sending them to the landfill,” she explains. According to the MIT Climate Portal, if you care about protecting the environment, a landfill is actually the worst place to throw organic waste. In a landfill, organic matter like leaves won’t be able to naturally decompose, and it will instead produce methane, one of the worst climate-heating gases.
Plus, “leaves create homes for many beneficial insects and create a natural fertilizer as they break down,” meaning it can be worthwhile to leave some of them be on your lawn, according to Kristoff.
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7 Things to Do With Your Fall Leaves Instead of Throwing Them Away, According to Gardeners
Here are Kristoff and Webb’s suggestions for using your fall leaves.
1. Shred the leaves and use them
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“One of the easiest things homeowners can do is simply move leaves into their garden beds and around trees and shrubs,” says Webb. “I especially like to chop them up first with a mower or leaf shredder, because smaller pieces break down faster and are less likely to form a thick, wet mat. They help hold moisture in the soil and gradually add organic matter as they decompose.”
Similarly, in the winter, Kristoff recommends that people “shred the leaves and use them in the garden, or use a lawn mower to mow the leaves and allow them to sit over winter in the grass.”
As she explains, shredding the leaves before scattering them over the grass “ensures the leaves break down. Leaves that are not shredded tend to create mats and likely will not break down enough before the next season. Using the lawnmower also means the grass can still get sunlight, which reduces the risk of the grass dying under a mat of leaves.”
2. Use whole leaves as filler
Shredding or chopping leaves can be time consuming and it’s not for everyone—but fortunately, there are alternatives.
“If you don’t have access to a leaf mulcher, an alternative option is using the whole leaves in the garden,” especially in raised garden beds and potted plants, says Kristoff.
“In the past I have placed 4-6 inches of leaves on top of my garden soil and covered in burlap bags to keep them in place over winter,” she explains. “When it came time to plant, I cut a hole in the bag where I wanted to plant, moved the leaves and staked down the edges to keep the leaves out while the seed sprouted. After the seed sprouted, I moved the leaves back as mulch. That season I had fewer weeds and cooler soil.”
In these spots, you can use the whole leaves as a base layer, which “means using less soil, having a lighter pot and you still get the benefits of the nutrients as the leaves break down.”
Additionally, Kristoff sometimes uses whole leaves when she’s “transplanting into the garden as well, just a handful of leaves in the hole and then the plant on top.”
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3. Add leaves to your compost pile
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“Leaves are one of the best materials you can add to a compost pile because they provide the carbon-rich material that balances out things like kitchen scraps and fresh grass clippings,” says Webb.
“If you have a lot of leaves, don’t be afraid to save a pile of them and add them to your compost throughout the year,” she adds. “Over time, they’ll break down into rich compost that can go right back into your vegetable and flower gardens.”
4. Use leaves as insulation
Kristoff says you can use leaves to help insulate perennial plants during the cold winter months.
“Leaves are a great insulator when paired with a rose collar or a burlap sack to keep the leaves in place,” she says. “Then in the spring, the leaves can be dug into the first few inches of soil in the garden bed. This method allows the leaves to break down a little over winter and then continue to nourish your soil during the garden season.”
Webb agrees, noting that fallen leaves can make a great “natural winter mulch.” She advises putting “a loose layer around perennial plants, bulbs, shrubs and even certain vegetable crops,” as this “can help insulate the soil and protect roots from repeated freezing and thawing.”
She adds: “I prefer keeping the leaves loose rather than packing them tightly against plant crowns or stems, especially around plants that are susceptible to rot. By spring, much of that material will have started breaking down and can be incorporated into the soil or simply left in place.”
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5. Mow the leaves into your lawn
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“If you have a lawn, you don’t necessarily have to rake every leaf off of it,” says Webb. “Running the mower over the leaves and leaving the small pieces in place allows them to break down and return nutrients and organic matter to the soil.”
That said, you’ll want to make sure to do this very thoroughly. “The important part is making sure the leaves are chopped finely enough that they don’t sit on top of the grass in a thick layer,” she explains.
6. Make a leaf mold tower
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A leaf mold tower is essentially a pile of leaves in an enclosure. Over time, the leaves will naturally decompose into a leaf-based mold. This mold is rich in valuable nutrients that you can then use in your gardening, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
“This option works best with shredded leaves, but whole leaves can be used and will take longer to decompose,” says Kristoff. “Leaf mold towers are pretty hands-off once the leaves are in the tower.”
Here’s how to create your own leaf mold tower, per Kristoff: “Add leaves in layers, soaking as you add the leaves. If you live in a drier climate, you will need to water the tower every few weeks to ensure the decomposition continues. Leaves can be used at any stage, but it is best after a year or more, and the leaves have fully decomposed.”
Kristoff says this her “favorite method because it gets the leaves out of my way, and I can decide what I want to do with them later after they have already started breaking down.”
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7. Give the leaves away
“If you don’t have a use for the leaves, post them on local groups for free pickup,” Kristoff suggests. Personally, I love giving away things like this on my local Buy Nothing Facebook group.
“One year I picked up 30+ bags of leaves from people for the community garden,” she says. “Finding a local community garden and asking them if they’d like the leaves is also a great idea. The bonus for the garden was that we not only had leaves to use in our plots, but we also got to save the bags and use them during cleanup days. Giving the leaves away is a very low-effort way to keep the leaves out of the landfill.”
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Sources:
- Amanda Webb is the Head Gardener at Windy Hill Farm and Preserve.
- Angie Kristoff is the founder of the blog Angie’s Recipe Garden.
- Organic Waste. MIT Climate Portal
- Create a leaf-mould cage. Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
