Green Gardening: Turn fallen leaves into garden gold

By ANN LOVEJOY SPECIAL TO THE P-I Right now millions of pounds of natural compost are going to waste. In yards and gardens across the country, fallen leaves are treated like trash. The wise gardener gathers up this free treasure and uses it to improve soil quality and plant health. Small dried leaves like birch, alder and willow can be raked straight over beds and borders, both in ornamental and edible gardens. Larger leaves should be shredded or run over with the lawn mower to start the composting process. Sheet mulching with dried leaves is a slow-composting method that creates garden gold right where you want it. While large amounts of immature compost can smother or burn plants, the slow decay of moderate amounts of rotting leaves is beautifully beneficial. Just be sure that plant crowns are not covered, and always shred... [read full story]