Falling in Love with Leaves: Autumn in the Ecological Garden

For decades, the typical approach to fall leaf management has been off-site removal. Homeowners and municipalities have invested heavily in equipment to remove leaves, and entire communities organize themselves around scheduled pickup dates in the fall.

But with more and more research pointing to the value leaves add to landscapes, it appears there may be an easier way to keep our yards and gardens clean in the fall.

Below, we’ll explain our ecological approach to leaf management – both what we do and why we do it.

Photo credit: Erik Drost

Brown Gold: The Benefits of Fall Leaves

Although people typically view autumn leaves as an annoyance (all that raking!), leaves actually contain nearly 20 different nutrients essential to healthy soil, including carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. In fact, compost, for which many homeowners will pay nearly $100 per yard, is comprised mainly of decomposed leaves.

As more and more gardeners learn about the soil-building value of leaves, the landscaping industry has begun to reconsider its approach to leaf management. Instead of viewing them as a problem to solve, we at Our Land Organics treat leaves as the asset they truly are.

In unmanaged woodland settings, leaves make their way to the forest floor, where they provide food and shelter for a rich array of microorganisms. The key to healthy soil is a diverse community of microorganisms – tiny unseen bacteria, microbes, and insects that process organic matter and help build fertile topsoil.

Many homeowners, however, would object to the idea of having their landscape resemble a forest floor. So, the question becomes, how can we make the most of what leaves have to offer without sacrificing beauty and aesthetics?

Photo Credit: Heath Cajandig

A Balanced Approach to Leaf Management

In order to reap all the value leaves offer, we strive to keep autumn leaves on site as much as possible in the yards of those clients who use our land care services.

This approach requires some strategy, because some leaves (such as oaks and beeches) can take nearly three years to fully decompose.

Luckily, there are a number of innovative ways to expedite the process of decomposition, so we can reap the benefits of leaf litter without having to stare at leaf piles for years.

Below are our 3 favorite ways of managing leaves for our clients:

Integration into lawn areas

For clients with a good amount of lawn space, we love mulching leaves with a mower and dispersing the shredded leaf material into lawns. A layer of leaf litter no thicker than 0.5’’ will work itself into the soil during fall and spring rains. It then acts as a spectacular organic fertilizer for next season’s growth.

Winter mulch

For clients who do not have much lawn space, we shred leaves with our mower and spread the shredded leaf litter into garden beds. Usually, by the time fall rolls around, there are a number of thin spots in the spring mulch, and this leaf litter provides excellent coverage to regulate soil temperature and minimize weed pressure through the winter months. Also, with the leaves finely shredded, they are almost entirely disintegrated by the time we return for our Spring Cleanups.

Pile on site

For clients who have more leaves than can be reasonably integrated into lawn and garden areas, we try to find an on-site location to place excess leaves.

Whether it’s a compost pile or a hidden corner of the property, a pile of leaves can be an oasis for beneficial insects, soil microbes, and other soil building friends. Because soil microbes are so tiny, even a relatively small leaf pile can become home to hundreds of thousands of soil-building critters. Creating that microscopic community is much more beneficial than hauling leaves away to a municipal dump.

More and more gardeners are studying the importance of leaves in ecological landscapes, and people are finding new ways to make the most of this valuable resource. At Our Land Organics, we seek out informed strategies to provide the most for our clients. With everything we do, a deep respect for ecological systems guides our work.

If you’d like support managing your landscape this fall, learn more about our organic land care services or contact us.