Here are seven ways to use fall leaves. Add the leaves that you rake from your yard to your compost pile. They will decompose faster if you shred them first, but that’s not required. If you have too many leaves to add to the compost pile all at once, save them in a dry trash can until spring when there will be more wet, green materials available. To make leaf mold, dampen your leaves and then store them in a wood or wire bin or a trash bag with some air holes. Periodically add more water to the leaves if they become dry. Decomposition takes about six to 12 months. To use leaf mold, simply dig it into your soil. When shredded, the leaves can insulate plant roots from cold weather without blocking water or air. However, shredded leaves can blow around on windy days. But if you hose them down when you first spread them, that should help to keep them in place. Moreover, if you have a root cellar or storage basement, you can use dry leaves to layer your vegetables in, rather than using sawdust or newspaper. This should allow them to be stored through the winter. Simply run a mulching mower over the leaves, so they’re chopped into tiny pieces and get pushed down into the soil. You don’t want to leave a thick layer of leaves on the lawn, as this can smother and kill the grass. But unless you have a lot of leaves, the mower should disperse the leaves enough that your grass will be able to breathe just fine. A quick and easy preservation method is simply ironing leaves between two sheets of wax paper. The wax paper will seal around the leaves to protect them. Then, you can cut out your leaves and use them for decorations. You can either dig leaves into the top few inches of soil. Or you can spread a layer of leaves on top of the soil and chop them a bit with a fork or spade. Just be sure they are making good contact with the soil. The leaves will begin to disintegrate and provide a wonderful habitat for earthworms and other beneficial organisms that reside in garden soil.
