Great Ways to Repurpose Dead Leaves From Your Yard

Whenever autumn rolls in, one of the most common chores any homeowner will have to deal with is raking in dead leaves. And even if it isn’t autumn, plants regularly drop dead leaves on the ground and this can become an eyesore for you and your neighbors. Fortunately, you can actually make use of these leaves in more ways than one. Here are just some ways you can take advantage of dead leaves for your home.

HOW TO MAKE USE OF DEAD LEAVES

Turn them into compost

One very common method homeowners use to both get rid of dead leaves and make use of them is by turning them into compost. Essentially, compost is just a mush of decomposed organic matter. You can make compost out of many things, with dead leaves being a prime candidate for composting. Given enough time, the leaves will decompose into compost and that’s where things get interesting.

Compost is used as an alternative to fertilizers that you’d buy at a store. This is because compost is rich in nutrients such as nitrogen. You can add a bit of compost to the soil of growing plants and trees, and they’ll be happy to absorb the nutrients. While this may seem like a great way to make use of leaves, composting does take a bit of time. You’ll need to use methods to speed up the process, such as shredding the leaves to speed up decomposition.

Cover the soil to prevent weeds

Do you have a weed problem at home? Weeds can be very difficult to snuff out of a yard once they’ve started growing, and it can be even more difficult to prevent them from growing at all. There are certain chemicals and products that you can use to help minimize the growth and spread of weeds, but at the end of the day, that’s money out of your wallet. Fortunately, dead leaves can offer a solution.

You see, weeds need sunlight to germinate and grow. Without this, they’re basically stuck in the soil, unable to grow. With dead leaves, you can cover your yard in an even layer to block all sunlight from passing through. This method may not be as clean as using other methods of blocking sunlight, but it’s a simple enough solution and it’s free, too, as you’re not buying any product to get the job done. It’ll take a while, though, so don’t expect to have ready-to-use compost the following morning.

Leave it to the wildlife

Rather than gathering up the leaves with a garden debris bag, you can also just leave them alone. There are many plants and animals that make use of a leaf layer, and anything from birds to insects needs a sort of leaf layer at some point in their lives. So while it may not be the prettiest sight, at least you’ll be supporting your local wildlife by giving them a place to stay and thrive.

All in all, there are many ways to repurpose the dead leaves around your home. You can use them to help grow your plants, kill weeds and even support the local wildlife if that’s your thing. Remember, dead leaves are also critical to the ecosystem, and they’re a lot more beneficial to you than you may think.