LEAVE YOUR LEAVES- Essential Superfood For Your Garden

As winter begins to close in on us, the beautiful colors of the fall begin to fade and the leaves start dropping to the ground covering our yards and side walks. At first we savor these fall sights and feelings. Of course the kids love it, with the biggest of leaf piles to play in. But, then what do we do with all those leaves? Most of us rake them up and stuff em' in big plastic garbage bags and kick them to the curb. However, your leaves can have amazing purposes and nutritional benefits for your next years garden.

Leaves are a vital part in having proper and successful composting at your home. Typically called "brown" material, leaves help add carbon to your compost, helping balance nitrogen and the decomposition of your food scraps. Turning your waste into beautiful dark and rich soil instead of sending it off to rot in landfills.

As well, leaves are great to use as mulch and can be added directly to any of your garden beds, should you already have some. If you don't already have beds going, just add your leaves to an area in your yard you might like to use in the future. Naturally, they are full of trace minerals which aren't just good of our bodies, but they help the natural cycle of tree and plant growth as well. Trace minerals help draw up beneficial organisms and microbes such as earth worms from deep within the soil. Helping to add extra nutrients to your garden soil. They also help soften packed or heavy soils and allow clay based soils to retain water more. Definitely a game changer for those who have been fighting with these issues in the past. Lastly, when you spread them evenly among your garden beds, they can make your dead beds look more attractive and clean.

Trying to grow through the winter? Applying a 4-6 inch thick layer of leaves helps in protecting certain plants from the winter cold. You can also cover your winter veggies such as kale, chard, leeks and beets and should be able to harvest them all winter long. (Depending where you live)

Now that your all excited to put your leaf piles to work, there's just one task you want to do before you get started. It is extremely important to shred your leaves into smaller pieces. You can do this either by using a leaf shredder, wood chipper, or simply use your lawn mower and run over your small piles a few times. Breaking them down into smaller bits helps microbes have more area to cover and work. Also allowing more air filtration, keeping moisture down that can cause clumping or packing of your mulch.