Don’t Bag Those Leaves…
By Johnson County Master Gardeners Sharon Bates and Karen Walker, members of the Wildbunch Writers
I know almost everyone wants to have a nice manicured yard, but those leaves that are scooped up and thrown away each fall provide needed nutrients for the soil. They also make great mulch for your plants. They can be used in flower beds, vegetables gardens, and around your trees and shrubs. It also reduces the amount of leaves sent to our local landfills. It’s such a waste to give away a valuable resource that is basically free. How many times have you been to the local nursery to buy compost? Each fall I drive around and “rescue” as many bags of leaves that I can find.
Nature lets the leaves pile up on the forest floor and as they begin to decay the rotting leaves are being returned to the soil where the roots of the living plants reclaim the nutrients from the decomposed leaves. They contain up to 80% of the nutrients a plant receives from the soil and air during the season.
When adding leaves to your compost bin you need to mix in some nitrogen such as a nitrogen fertilizer or fresh green organic matter (fresh grass clipping, or kitchen fruit and vegetable waste). Leaves are high in carbon but low in nitrogen which aids in the decomposition process. You will also need to moisten the leaves as you pile them since water is essential for decomposition. Green matter generally has plenty of moisture. It we are ever lucky enough again to get too much rain you’ll need to cover the pile with a tarp to keep it from getting too soggy. If left to themselves a pile of leaves can take up to 2 to 3 years to decompose.
Check out the “Don’t Bag It – Leaf Management Plan” at the following web site:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/homelandscape/dontbag/dontbag.html
“Happy Gardening!”
