Three Things To Do With Fall Leaves

Posted on: 19 October 2017

Fall is here, and you may have more leaves than you have ideas of things to do with them. Thankfully leaves are versatile. You can make crafts with them or use them to make your garden well-nourished next year.

Make Fall Crafts

If you frequently pick up the prettiest fall leaves but have no idea what to do with them-look no further! Fall crafts are a perfect way to use up some of your leaves. Many of these projects are child-friendly and add a little bit of fall flair to any home:

  • Make Coasters – Pick up tiles at your local hardware store. Place your favorite fall leaves on the tile and then Modge Podge them in place.
  • Build a Scarecrow – Fill old clothes with your leaves and stuff a pillowcase to be the scarecrow's head. Your scarecrow can be positioned on a chair or tied to a post to stand up.
  • Make a Wreath- Use a glue gun to attach fall leaves to a wreath form. You can add acorns, dried flowers, and ribbon for accents.

Not only do these crafts make perfect gifts for your friends and family, they are inexpensive and easy to do.

Use Them As Mulch

If you've already gotten your crafting fix, it can be hard to know what to do with a lot of leftover leaves. One of the easiest ways to use all of those excess leaves is to use them as mulch. They can form a frost barrier around the roots of your plants.

Before you place the leaves around your plants you should shred them first for good air flow. If you don't have a leaf shredder, you can pass over your leaf pile a couple times with your lawnmower. After you shred them, place them around the plants in your garden. Be sure to water the leaves after you place them. This will keep your leaves from blowing away and help them settle.

Use Them As Compost

Some leaves, such as walnut leaves, make for poor mulch. Walnut leaves inhibit plant growth and should always be composed before being added to a garden. Even if your leaves aren't walnut leaves, they will make an excellent compost.

Fall leaves are the perfect carbon ingredient for your compost pile. The high amount of carbon in the leaves helps to balance nitrogen-rich cuttings in the compost pile. Shredding them before adding them to the compost pile will increase their surface area and allow them to break down faster.

If you have no need for your leaves, don't worry, many cities have leaf disposal sites. You can have yours picked up in brown leaf bags, or you may be able to schedule a drop-off. Contact a company like Outstanding Landscaping for more information and assistance.  

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