Instant Mulch!

Every fall, our wonderful next door neighbor

shares her bounty of bagged leaves with us.

We also have many trees on our property,

so there is no shortage of leaves to be found.

In December, Big K found this leaf shredder on a local marketplace.

We used it to corral all of the leaf coverage on our lawn,

but this week, I decided to create a great mulch/compost blanket for the veggie beds.

It shreds the leaves wonderfully,

so that there is no concern about smothering.

It will be a yearly ritual that I look forward to completing.

(You can also use a mower to shred leaves,

running it over them a few times.)

Leaf mulch is beneficial to plants for a number of reasons.

First, it acts as an insulator, keeping the soil warmer in winter

and cooler in summer.  This gives crops better stability in growing,

as the soil temperature is more or less constant.

Another reason leaf mulch works so well is that it acts as a weed barrier.

With the soil fully covered, the weeds don't stand a chance.

If you think about a forest floor, it is always covered 

and the plants therein thrive.

It's natural for Mother Nature to be covered up.

Leaf mulch also adds nutrients to the soil as it breaks down

and helps retain moisture, so less watering is needed.

Just look how tucked in these onions look

with all of that leaf mulch snuggling up to them.

Whenever we run our irrigation, or are blessed with a good soaking,

the moisture can be enjoyed by the plants' roots for a good, long time.

There were a few bags with pine needles mixed in with the leaves.
Not to worry, they were the perfect candidate for our blueberry bushes,
which need acidic soil in which to grow.
Last year I added pine straw around our three bushes,
but this year, I think this will do just fine.

It's a beautiful thing when Mother Nature provides the garden
with just what it needs.
Grateful for our slice o' heaven.