Leaves make the perfect mulch and are ideal for several reasons. There are many benefits to using leaves as mulch, as discussed below, with the only downside being that it can look untidy if the leaves are left in your garden beds as leaves. Using them as mulch, whether composted or not, also prevent huge amounts of green waste having to be transported elsewhere for processing, then again later if sold/freely supplied as compost etc. This is a particular bug bear of mine in my work-removing all this useable, free nutrition for plants never to be seen again just because it is untidy and there is a lack of will to compost on-site.

Firstly, leaves are as natural as you can get-trees drop leaves as and when they no longer need them, whether that’s in autumn for deciduous trees or as the leaves get old in evergreen trees. If you have trees in your garden, then you have a ready supply at your fingertips. They also prevent the soil from drying out too quickly. As they cover the soil, they prevent evaporation of water from the soil, while also keeping it cooler, especially in hot weather.

Leaves prevent soil erosion by rain (as the rain falls , it lands on the leaves which act as a sponge protective layer which allows rainwater to slowly filter through, rather than dropping straight onto soil and washing it away). They also prevent wind erosion (which can pick up soil particles and carry them elsewhere). As soil, especially the more fertile topsoil, is vital for good plant, this valuable resource needs to remain in place as much as possible (any mulch will aid in this endeavour). Plants that have a steady supply of their required nutrients grow stronger and are also able to resist pests and diseases better than those without access to those nutrients. if you are growing your own fruit and/or vegetables, you will get a larger, tastier and more nutritious crop if you have a healthy soil full of nutrients, which is aised by leaf mulch.

Nutrients that are found in leaves are broken down by soil organisms and then resupplied back to your plants. As plants rot down, with the aid of soil organisms like worms, along with fungi and bacteria, the nutrients found in leaves are turned into humus. Humus allows your plants ready access to the nutrients they require. This reduces the amount of synthetic fertilisers needed, saving you money and time. Along the same lines, they help to improve soil structure as they are broken down and provide a home for many garden insects and worms, etc. As these helpful critters are moving through the soil and eating, digesting and disposing of their waste products, they aerate the soil, allowing air and water to reach plant roots easily-aiding plant growth hugely.

As leaves can look untidy lying around in a garden bed, they can be raked up and composted at home with little trouble. You can easily use the dark, useless ugly corner of your garden if you have one for your composting station. To use as compost, collect your leaves and stack them into a wire cage (size and quantity, as two are better than one-one can be decomposing while the other is getting filled up), squashing them down as much as possible. The leaves can then be left alone to rot down, except water in dry weather to keep them moist. Once fully decomposed, the resultant material is ready to use in your garden.