Fall is good for so many things! Cooler temperatures, bonfires, smores, warm blankets, fuzzy socks, apple cider, and, especially, leaves!
The leaves change color and turn incredible shades of orange, red, yellow and brown. Then they float down to the ground and land all over your yard. This can be an eyesore for some and you may be tempted to turn on your mower and mulch up the leaves. However, I would encourage you to instead rake up the leaves and use them as wonderful compost material!
In my house, we compost as much as we can, which means we typically end up with a lot of green in our compost which can put things out of balance. I do all I can to find some brown material to add. Then fall comes and Earth provides me with an abundance of brown leaves to add to my compost! Leaves are full of nutrients, which will feed my garden come spring and summer.
When I rake, I dont worry too much about getting all the leaves for two reasons:
- I would need soooo many bins to accommodate all the leaves.
- Leaves are also wonderful sources of food for bugs during the winter months.
I have a huge yard, so there are LOTS of leaves. I rake them into piles and then sweep the piles into my compost bins. My husband then mixes everything up in the bin.
I am never able to get through the whole yard because the bins fill up so quickly. That isn’t a bad thing, because I will use the remaining leaves as garden mulch for the winter. The leaves will break down over the winter and become bonus compost for my garden in the spring!
Leaves are so useful! They are an all natural compost and mulch material that you just cannot pass up! Before throwing them away, burning them, or mowing over them, think about using recycling them into compost or natural mulch!
My Urban Homestead by Sarah 