How to Compost Leaves & Create Leaf Mulch Easily

November 5th, 2008 | posted by helen

Green Tips

It's that time of year again, when large brown paper bags sit overflowing with leaves at the curb, waiting to be picked up by the truck.

But did you know that leaves can also make excellent compost that can have many benefits for your garden? And that there are easier ways of cleaning up leaves rather than raking and bagging?

Why Compost Leaves?

One of the most effective and environmentally friendly ways of cleaning up fallen leaves is through composting. Not only does composting clean up the leaves without having to truck it away, but you also get valuable compost for free for your garden. In fact, adding compost to your garden can:

Enhance the growth of your garden
Add natural antibiotics that help control disease and keep plants healthy
Keep moisture in the soil to help reduce watering

Remember that for most municipalities in the GTA, yard waste can not be placed in your Green Bin. Yard waste that does go to the curb is not accepted in plastic bags in the GTA - it must be placed in brown paper kraft bags. This is because the kraft bags can be composted along with the leaves they hold.

The City of Toronto has some tips on how to use composted and mulched leaves, including tips on which kinds of leaves are beneficial, and which are not so good for your garden - find out here.

Quick Tip: Did you know that if yard waste is found in the garbage sent to Michigan, the entire load of garbage can be rejected at a significant cost to tax payers? Source: York Region

Making Leaf Mulch

Do you really hate raking up all those leaves every year? Why not make leaf mulch instead? As avid gardeners know, leaf mulch can be a very useful addition to your gardening toolbox.

Here are a few benefits of creating leaf mulch:

Save Your time: no raking and bagging is required
Leaf mulch can help prevent frost from damaging your garden
Adding mulch to your garden can help choke weeds and reduce the amount of time you need to spend weeding
Mulch can help your garden retain nutrients and grow

How to Mulch & Compost Leaves this Fall

The following video explains an easy way that you can create leaf mulch & compost for your garden:

More Information in Your Region

If you don't have a copy of your yard waste pick-up schedule handy, you can find out when your yard waste pick-up dates are in your region. Most municipalities recommend composting leaves or creating leaf mulch before setting waste out at the curb.