A walk across a forest floor carpeted with leaves in a variety of stages of decomposition gives a visual illustration of how character uses leaves to gain. In case you have trees in your house or have access to a supply of leaves in autumn you can replicate transfer and the woodland activity that benefit to your garden. In their natural environment, leaves can take one year or more time to decompose, but you can speed the process by shredding them adding them directly to the soil of a garden.
Nutritional Benefits
Leaves are storehouses for most of the nutrients that plants will need to survive. As they break down, the nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and trace nutrients they contain are discharged into the soil from the action of germs and fungi that have the leaf tissues and residue their rich waste. Decomposers, such as earthworms and insects, are drawn to the nutrient-rich soil produced that aerate the soil and contribute their own waste and by the rotting leaves.
Structural Benefits
Shredded leaves improve the structure of garden soil by taking up space between particles that are dense, such as those located in heavy clay soil. These small openings allow water, air and nutrients in, turning unworkable soil into a rich moderate that is fluffy. In loose sandy soils with poor water retention capabilities, the decomposed leaf mold functions as a binder that partly seals off the openings between the particles, slowing the rapid movement of water and making it more accessible to plant roots. Working shredded leaves into rich soil on a regular basis can help to keep the soil rich, making sure the fertility of that the soil through growing seasons.
Leaf Processing
In comparison to entire leaves, shredded leaves incorporate with soil more easily, simply by mowing them as they gather on the yard and it’s possible to shred leaves. A lawn mower bagging attachment makes fast work of collecting the shredded leaves because you can easily deposit them anywhere you like without having to rake them . Then ditch if the mower doesn’t shred all the leaves its bag collects and spread out the leaves, and mow them again. Short of working with a collection bag in your lawn mower, consider coordinating the mower’s release chute so that mower-shredded leaves accumulate in a relatively compact area as you mow, then mow them a second time to break up staying entire leaves before raking up the shredded leaves and transferring them into the garden.
Decomposition Considerations
Working leaves right into garden soil offers advantages, but adding leaves that are shredded may a produce nitrogen depletion from the soil as they decompose. The only way to know for sure whether or not your backyard soil lacks nitrogen is to perform a soil test using a kit or by sending a soil sample into a county Cooperative Extension Service or a soil testing lab. Otherwise nitrogen into the garden soil at a rate of 1 1/8 pounds for each 500 square feet of garden space can counteract any possible imbalance if you added the ground and plenty of leaves.