If you have a yard, chances are good that you’ll have to deal with fallen leaves this fall. And love it or hate it, this means it’s time to rake. What do you do with all those leaves once you’ve raked them into piles, though? You can bag them up and put them on the curb, you can let your kids do cannonballs into the piles and start the whole process over again, or you can use them to start a mulch or compost pile for next year’s landscaping!
At Whispering Springs Nursery in Jasper, Georgia, we wanted to give you a few tips if you plan to do the latter. Composting your leaves is easy and can have huge advantages for your yard’s health for years to come.
Mulching Leaves – The easier of the two options, turning this year’s leaves into next year’s mulch only takes a few simple steps that just about anyone can do at home. All you need to do is add your leaves to a container with airflow and protection from rain. Let the leaves sit until spring, stir them up and add them to your flower beds and landscaping for a great weed suppressant.
Composting Leaves – Creating compost out of your leaves takes a little more effort than storing them for mulch, but it’s still pretty manageable and can do wonders for your garden, flowers or yard. Again, you’ll want to either buy or build a compost bin that allows for air to flow through but that also keeps rain out. The goal is to get your old leaves to decompose fully, allowing a nutrient-rich soil to form.
Add water and stir the pile, otherwise known as turning over your compost, every week or two until spring. By then, you should have a mature compost pile that is ready to feed some hungry plants around your yard!
For more information or to purchase composting or mulching bins, stop by Whispering Springs today to talk to one of our expert garden center team members!
