Fall is such a beautiful time of year in our area. Trees glow bright yellow, orange, or red against the backdrop of native evergreen trees. But what about the work when all those leaves fall off the trees? Well, I’m here to remind you that you can leave the leaves, branches, and spent flower heads and your yard will thank you in the spring. For the gardeners who have devoted so much time throughout the year, doing less yard clean up now frees up some time to focus on other opportunities.
Here are a few reasons to leave your leaves.
- Many of you already know that fallen leaves break down over time and add nutrients to your soil. Leaf mulch is part of a tree’s natural cycle. According to a Penn State article, pound for pound, the leaves of many trees contain twice as many minerals as manure. Leaves contain many of the macronutrients and micronutrients that are necessary for a plant’s healthy growth. Of course, the amounts vary depending on the tree but overall leaves reduce the need for fertilizers, are a healthier option than chemical fertilizers, and are free.
- Leaf litter traps snow allowing additional moisture absorption, it reduces soil erosion, protects the roots during harsh winters, regulates soil temperature, buffers soil pH, and suppresses weeds.
- Importantly, fallen leaves provide places for insects like moths, butterflies, wasps, and ground beetles to overwinter and lay their eggs protecting them from the elements and predators. Beneficial microbes and hungry earthworms feed as they decompose the leaves. And what about those stems and flower heads that are dead? Leave them alone too. Many species will appreciate the seeds and berries left for food and insects like bees can use the hollow stems for overwintering and egg-laying.
- Plastic yard leaf bags can take many years to fully degrade depending on the type of plastic, thickness, and landfill conditions. And even then, the plastic breaks down into smaller pieces called microplastics which remain in the environment.
- Leaves decomposing in the anaerobic conditions of a plastic bag produce methane. Methane is the second most abundant anthropogenic greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide and more than 30 times as potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere. The good news is leaves left alone, used as mulch, or added to your compost only take a season to be beneficial to your garden and by not using the plastic bags each of us can reduce atmospheric warming. If you just can’t avoid using leaf bags, you can purchase paper or compostable bags at most hardware stores, Walmart, or visit bestproductsreviews.com and search for 10 best biodegradable leaf bags of 2025.
Here are a few ideas for using those leaves:
- Rake them into piles and place them under your trees or on top of the soil of your berries or garden at a depth of about 3-6 inches.
- Shredding them helps them break down faster, not blow away easily and drain better. You can mow them with the grass catcher on, which will shred them and then empty them on plants or trees for mulch.
- If leaves are on the lawn and less than 1 inch thick, mow without the grass catcher to break up the leaves, the small pieces will decompose but not suffocate the grass.
- You can also put them in your compost bin as part of your “Brown” materials using a ratio of about 2/3 “brown” materials to 1/3 “green” materials.
- On a more artistic note, you can use the colorful leaves for crafts with children, to make a wreath or garland, or to decorate your Thanksgiving table.
- If you have more leaves than you can use, consider donating them to a school garden, local community garden, or to Prescott farmers market program who is currently holding their annual leaf drive.
Final Thoughts – When visiting our outdoor spaces, it’s important to remember everything has its place in nature. What might look like messy leaves or a dead log to you is a cozy shelter to many organisms. Biologist Jane Marks at NAU in Flagstaff explains, dead leaves provide a primary food base for life all the way up the food chain in and around streams, from the fungi and bacteria that initially colonize the leaves, and the insects that chew them, down to the birds and fish that eat those insects, and so on. Enjoy the extra time you have as you learn to leave the leaves.