These simple tips of how to use decomposing leaves in organic gardening are just what your soil needs to create nutrients.
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The end of summer and the beginning of autumn, it comes as no surprise to see your backyard or garden covered with a blanket of leaves. Instead of filling your garbage bags with leaves, why don’t you do something productive with them? One interesting use you can put your fallen leaves to is to create leaf molds.
The use of Leaf Mold in your garden is an excellent way of increasing the quality of your garden soil. When tree shrubs and leaves are allowed to decompose slowly, the result is a brownish-black substance called Leaf Mold.
Leaf Mold is an excellent alternative to organic matter. Why not add leaves to your soil instead of using organic compost matter? It is easy to make, with materials that are around you, and requires little effort.
You may be wondering: why should I have to bother with leaf molds when compost matter has been serving me so well? The simple answer is that, although compost is great for improving your soil fertility and texture, leaf mold is still better as a soil amendment.
While it doesn’t add much regarding nutrition ( don’t get rid of your compost matter completely just yet), it does increase soil water retention by almost 50% according to some studies.
Creating leaf mold is a simple process. It is, unfortunately, not a short one. It can take between 6-12 months for your leaves to decompose completely. The good thing is that it is 6-12 months of little work on your part. You can create leaf molds using any of these two methods; the wire bin method, and the garbage bag method.
Both methods are the same. The only thing different is the holding method. After 6 – 12 months, your leaf mold should be ready to use. Simply dig it into your soil or us it as mulch. It is simple and effective and most of all free to use.
Decayed leaves create leaf mulch. Fresh leaves are abundant in Nitrogen but as they dry out their Carbon increases which are beneficial to your garden.
How to make leaves decompose faster:
Rake the leaves into rows on the lawn and run them over with a lawn mower repeatedly. The smaller the individual leaf pieces are, the faster they will break down.
Click here to read about how to use decomposing leaves in organic gardening:
https://www.thespruce.com/making-and-using-leaf-mold-2539475
