What’s the best way to use leaves in the garden?

Leaves are one of the main ingredients of the dark, rich humus that covers  the forest floor — nature’s compost. A gardener can replicate that humus by  mixing carbon-rich leaves with nitrogen-rich manure or grass clippings to make  compost.

Maintaining an active compost pile in winter can be a challenge, however. An  easier alternative is to use leaves in the garden in fall, says Abigail Maynard,  associate agricultural scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment  Station, who has studied the use of leaves as a garden soil amendment for more  than 10 years.

If possible, shred your leaves first with a chipper-shredder or mower; the  smaller pieces will break down faster. Spread the chopped leaf mulch over your  garden soil, then incorporate it with a tiller or spade. “By spring, almost all  of the chopped leaves will be completely decomposed,” Maynard says.

Maynard’s research has shown that amending soil with maple or oak leaves  alone probably won’t boost yields the way adding finished compost does, but she  says using leaves in the garden does add organic matter to the soil. Organic  matter improves soil structure, holds nutrients and moisture that are released  slowly to plants, and provides food for beneficial soil organisms.

Maynard suggests adding a nitrogen-rich fertilizer, such as aged manure, in  spring. (Nitrogen added in fall could leach away by spring.)

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