Expert: James L. Crowder - 11/1/2009

Question
Hello Mr. Crowder,

Very soon, thanks to Mother Nature and my leaf shredder, I will have a large amount of chopped up leaves at my disposal. I'd love to find a good use for them and have a garden about 13 feet square, plus I compost in a big drum as much as possible.

My question - what can I do with all these shredded leaves? I'd love to simply till them up in the garden soil, but I understand this would affect the PH balance. Ideally the soil would receive their nutrients without adversely affecting the PH. Is there something I should add to the soil in addition to the leaves?

Any insight you'd be willing to provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Dan


Answer
Hi Dan, Use them in the garden.  There may be some slight change in pH, but you should be monitoring you pH and adjusting it anyway.  Leaves and compost are great additions to any soil, but there is not a lot of food value left in leaves.  It's mostly texture, which separates your soil, makes better root development and even more important, it helps your microbial activity which in turn helps your fertilizer work better.  You'll still want to fertilize, but the leaves will significantly improve the health and vigor of your plants.  Jim