Most of our trees have now shed their leaves, although there are still a few left on the big oak, and it is time to decide what to do with them all.
The first thing NOT to do, is burn them. These fallen leaves are free, and full of organic matter which can and should be used in the garden. If they are left where they fall, in our case on the lawn, within a week the grass underneath will start to die from lack of light. Now this may or may not be a good thing. For me, the leaves that fall under the tree, I leave, as I do not mind the grass dying under the tree (it is very hard to mow under when the branches are full and heavy and hanging to the ground). On top of that, I know the leaves will breakdown and soak into the soil, that will feed the oak, which again I am very happy about, as I love that tree. Trees drop their leaves where they do for a reason!
For leaves that fall away from the tree, there is plenty of work for them to do
- In general terms, dead foliage from broad leaved trees like the oak are not really suitable to dig directly into the garden, they take too long to break down and can rob the soil of nitrogen. So, for these laves it is best to leave them on the surface where there are more bacteria and micro-organism that can go to work on them
- Rake them up and spread them thickly around the fruit trees or shrubs to give them all good protection and slow release food. Sprinkle a few handfuls of blood and bone or animal manure over the leaves to help accelerate the breakdown
- This works well also around newly planted ornamentals and fruit trees.
- Use them as a mulch, putting layers directly on weeds to suppress them.
- Build a leaf mould cage – get some wire or plastic mesh and wrap it around to form a very large tube. Out of the way somewhere, stand that upright, one open side of the tube on the ground, the other to the sky. This is the cage. Then fill with leaves (and blood and bone) and let that decompose for use after a year or 2.
- I also lay the leaves blanket like over the ready to use compost, to help keep that from drying out and to stop anything growing up in it.
So don’t look around in despair at all the leaves all around everywhere, they have been sent to you from high above to help with keeping the garden and soil healthy and productive.
Enjoy!
Peter