Nice post. I actually have this same question. Going to sit back and see what people say. I actually keep all of my leaves and try to crush up and put in my raised beds over the winter.
HurryRunOops
Yah, its one of those big company things. Leaves are perfectly fine in beds and bugs, like ladybugs and fireflies actually need them to lay their eggs.
Iongdog
Now you’re thinking like a permaculturalist
antisocialoctopus
Nothing wrong with it. If you don’t shred it, those bigger leaves will be pretty slow to break down but they also form a good weed barrier as they form a dense mat of material.
I’ve been blowing leaves and mulching them over buying mulch for decades
phoenixtaloh
Leaf mulch is excellent, hands down. We bought a leaf mulcher for when we rake our leaves in the fall. We mulch it up, bag it up, and save it over winter. Then in the spring we put a layer of it in the flower beds, then cover it with a thin layer of mulch to keep it from blowing around.
We saw a SIGNIFICANT improvement in the soil quality in just one year and did not have to use nearly as much mulch. Seriously recommend it. Do it. You won’t wanna go back.
If you simply just wanna leave the leaves in there without raking, I suppose you can do that too as long as you don’t have any thick leaves to worry about (like oak leaves). Thick leaves take longer to break down and can smother plants unless you mulch them first.
Psych_nature_dude
Hell no, leaves are the absolute best thing to ever happen to plants and soil. People that remove them all are fucking insane
OneGayPigeon
Not at all. It can damage turf lawns a bit (or quite a bit, depending on conditions and leaf type), but lawn care products+obsession are a racket for the most part. Can’t sell rakes and yard waste bags and leaf blowers and fertilizer if you don’t convince people they need to remove free organic matter from their yards.
It’s the landscape equivalent of people spending thousands on makeup and skincare because cosmetics companies have pushed a culture to make people terrified of their own natural face being perceived.
Tropicalfisher
Can blow away
YippieYiYi
I always take the bags of leaves my neighbors put on the curb and mulch all my garden beds. Saves me a lot of money and I like the natural look of it. Unfortunately, after the hurricanes, not many big trees left and some of the other neighbors caught on and get them before I can.
FionaTheFierce
I have a lot of tree cover and at those point (spring) i am removing some of the leaves that have piled up very deep in places, just because the existing plants can’t get through 10” deep leaves. I am across from a greenway and leaves blow into my yard, driveway, garage in the fall and pile up pretty deep. But this year I have left 80% of what landed in the beds.
Present_Arrival
Ground up leafs (weed eater and a 50 gallon barrel) are some of the best mulch I’ve ever used.
ReinaShae
I always cover my gardens with cardboard boxes and leaf mulch in winter
hppy11
In simple terms: yes, without human intervention the soil is rich and healthy.
When we remove the leaves, to have a “clean” green lawn, we deprive the soil to absorb all the nutrients.
My yard used to be compacted, clay, acidic soil.
My only intervention is that I mow my leaves (instead of leaving them whole) in autumn.
The grass, well anything is just much more healthy, the roots are lest compacted and they absorb/ have more nutrients.
The greatest example is the rich soil in a forest
SubstantialString866
Leaf mulch is great. Just when the leaves are on the lawn, and there’s too dense a layer, the leaves kill the grass. But if using as a mulch in the bed, it’s fantastic. I mix the leaves into the soil with some manure and arborist chips and put wood mulch on top to keep the leaves from blowing away. After one or two seasons, the soil is always teaming with life. A handful has countless invertebrates of all kinds.
Plantherbs
I grind some of mine up with a string trimmer in the compost pile.
only_civ
Like 90% of your existing soil is just decomposed leaves.
It’s great for mulch, it’s great for a carbon source in compost.
People spend so much effort getting rid of all the leaves, and then dumping a bunch of fertilizer and shit on their lawn. If you just manage the leaves, it’s all you need. Leaves + grass clippings = compost.
Apprehensive-Fig3223
It’s fine, just can look like nothing was done, as if you leafed it alone…
nnikbunt
My thoughts are heavier mulch is better at keeping down the unwanted.
FayeViolets
Leave it whole wherever you go with it. Theres an ecosystem in there we really, really need.
WontonSuwoop
I have an uneven area in the side of my house with roots running from a nearby pine tree. Can i use mulched leaves to eventually level this area? I have 4 oaks on my property so i have an abundance of fallen leaves multiple times a year.
20 Comments
Nice post. I actually have this same question. Going to sit back and see what people say. I actually keep all of my leaves and try to crush up and put in my raised beds over the winter.
Yah, its one of those big company things. Leaves are perfectly fine in beds and bugs, like ladybugs and fireflies actually need them to lay their eggs.
Now you’re thinking like a permaculturalist
Nothing wrong with it. If you don’t shred it, those bigger leaves will be pretty slow to break down but they also form a good weed barrier as they form a dense mat of material.
I’ve been blowing leaves and mulching them over buying mulch for decades
Leaf mulch is excellent, hands down. We bought a leaf mulcher for when we rake our leaves in the fall. We mulch it up, bag it up, and save it over winter. Then in the spring we put a layer of it in the flower beds, then cover it with a thin layer of mulch to keep it from blowing around.
We saw a SIGNIFICANT improvement in the soil quality in just one year and did not have to use nearly as much mulch. Seriously recommend it. Do it. You won’t wanna go back.
If you simply just wanna leave the leaves in there without raking, I suppose you can do that too as long as you don’t have any thick leaves to worry about (like oak leaves). Thick leaves take longer to break down and can smother plants unless you mulch them first.
Hell no, leaves are the absolute best thing to ever happen to plants and soil. People that remove them all are fucking insane
Not at all. It can damage turf lawns a bit (or quite a bit, depending on conditions and leaf type), but lawn care products+obsession are a racket for the most part. Can’t sell rakes and yard waste bags and leaf blowers and fertilizer if you don’t convince people they need to remove free organic matter from their yards.
It’s the landscape equivalent of people spending thousands on makeup and skincare because cosmetics companies have pushed a culture to make people terrified of their own natural face being perceived.
Can blow away
I always take the bags of leaves my neighbors put on the curb and mulch all my garden beds. Saves me a lot of money and I like the natural look of it. Unfortunately, after the hurricanes, not many big trees left and some of the other neighbors caught on and get them before I can.
I have a lot of tree cover and at those point (spring) i am removing some of the leaves that have piled up very deep in places, just because the existing plants can’t get through 10” deep leaves. I am across from a greenway and leaves blow into my yard, driveway, garage in the fall and pile up pretty deep. But this year I have left 80% of what landed in the beds.
Ground up leafs (weed eater and a 50 gallon barrel) are some of the best mulch I’ve ever used.
I always cover my gardens with cardboard boxes and leaf mulch in winter
In simple terms: yes, without human intervention the soil is rich and healthy.
When we remove the leaves, to have a “clean” green lawn, we deprive the soil to absorb all the nutrients.
My yard used to be compacted, clay, acidic soil.
My only intervention is that I mow my leaves (instead of leaving them whole) in autumn.
The grass, well anything is just much more healthy, the roots are lest compacted and they absorb/ have more nutrients.
The greatest example is the rich soil in a forest
Leaf mulch is great. Just when the leaves are on the lawn, and there’s too dense a layer, the leaves kill the grass. But if using as a mulch in the bed, it’s fantastic. I mix the leaves into the soil with some manure and arborist chips and put wood mulch on top to keep the leaves from blowing away. After one or two seasons, the soil is always teaming with life. A handful has countless invertebrates of all kinds.
I grind some of mine up with a string trimmer in the compost pile.
Like 90% of your existing soil is just decomposed leaves.
It’s great for mulch, it’s great for a carbon source in compost.
People spend so much effort getting rid of all the leaves, and then dumping a bunch of fertilizer and shit on their lawn. If you just manage the leaves, it’s all you need. Leaves + grass clippings = compost.
It’s fine, just can look like nothing was done, as if you leafed it alone…
My thoughts are heavier mulch is better at keeping down the unwanted.
Leave it whole wherever you go with it. Theres an ecosystem in there we really, really need.
I have an uneven area in the side of my house with roots running from a nearby pine tree. Can i use mulched leaves to eventually level this area? I have 4 oaks on my property so i have an abundance of fallen leaves multiple times a year.