By Wayne McLaurin
University of
Georgia

I had built four raised beds, and several years ago, with more
fall leaves than I could use in the compost pile, I decided to
just fill in between the beds with fall leaves.

I picked the leaves up with the lawnmower and ground them up
well. The shredded leaves were kept damp and walked on as I
worked in the beds.

Two weeks ago my wife and I decided to put in a new shrub border
and do away with the raised beds. And when I started smoothing
down the beds, I realized I had about a foot of what my father
called “leaf mold.”

It wasn’t compost but just rotted-down leaves. It was
part “dirt”
and part broken leaves. It had a loose overall texture and a
deep, earthy smell.

What a find!

Now, how best to use it, I wondered. It was not sufficiently
decomposed to be incorporated in the soil. Its best use, I
decided, was as mulch around the new plantings.

I put about 6 inches around each shrub, spreading the remainder
between the plants. With irrigation in place, I could be sure
the
shrubs’ roots would stay cooler, more evenly moist and freer of
weeds.

Here was a gardening resource I hadn’t even planned, a treasure
was just waiting for me.

Reluctant composter?

If you’re a reluctant composter who is less than enthusiastic
about turning piles, this “passive” composting may just be your
management style.

All you have to do is pile the leaves on the ground in a corner
of your yard, adding just a little water occasionally. You don’t
have to turn the leaves, take their temperature or concern
yourself about a proper mixture of browns and greens.

All you have to do is just wait. Through the months, those
leaves
will turn themselves into a backyard gold mine. And what’s time
to Mother Nature?