QuickTake:
Keep leaves from your yard, or ask your neighbors for theirs. Also, you can get leaves from the city of Eugene. They work as mulch to keep leaves down, and then decompose into soil themselves.
One of the best things you can do for your garden is add organic matter to the soil. And some of the best organic matter available literally grows on trees — and falls to the ground during autumn.
A layer of leaves on your garden will reduce rain compaction, winter weed growth, and make some worms very happy.
And as local cities pick up leaves, you have the option to beat them to it, or — in Eugene — get a load of leaves delivered for free. Go to the Eugene Leaf Request Form.
They will bring you a dump truck full of leaves when they are collecting in your neighborhood.
You can, of course, just save your own leaves in a pile. If space is tight in your yard, make a circle about 4 feet high, and 4 feet in diameter with wire fencing. Put the leaves in the corral and they won’t take up so much space, or blow around in winter winds.
Because I have a large garden, I pick up leaves my neighbors have put on the street before the city picks them up. The local leaves are usually cleaner, with less of the trash that city delivered leaves can have in them.
Finally, the city has leaf stockpiles that you can access later in the year.
I mentioned covering your garden beds with leaves in the winter, but they are good for so much more. Using leaves as a mulch in your summer garden slows down weeds (nothing stops them altogether), preserves moisture during the long dry season, and keeps soil temperatures more even.
Anything you don’t use as mulch or cover this year can be left in a pile for an extra year to turn into leaf mold. Leaf mold is almost dirt, and really helps with moisture retention and easy dig-ability (is that word?) in your garden.
You don’t need to work the leaves into the soil. And you don’t need to chop them up with a mower or grinder. The leaves will decompose naturally over time, and become part of the soil over time. Trying to rush the worms that will do much of the work is like trying to herd cats.
To recap: Keep your leaves, and get your neighbors’ leaves if you need more. Your garden will thank you.
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