How to use Autumn leaves to benefit your garden

 

Now's the time to give your garden a seasonal boost with autumn leaves—an excellent source of organic matter, carbon and other nutrients. Use them to enrich soil, provide organic mulch or add to your compost pile. 

Bagging leaves and throwing them in the trash creates a lot of unnecessary waste. These same autumn leaves could be used to make your crops grow better, by improving your soil. 

It’s important to remember that improving your garden soil is something that needs to happen on an ongoing basis. Continuous improvement is the way to ensure soil health, structure and fertility, all of which lead to improved crop yields. 

Good things happen when you add organic material to your vegetable garden on a regular basis. Clay soils become more workable, sandy soils retain water more effectively, earth worm populations go up, microbial activity increases, and the health and balance of your soil improves.

All this activity leads to bigger, healthier harvests and now is an excellent time to work on improving your vegetable garden. The soil is warm, it’s easy to add organic amendments, and this time of year we have the added benefit of an abundance of fall leaves. Fall leaves are packed with organic matter and nutrients and can be utilized as an amendment, a mulch, or in the compost pile.   

An easy way to put fall leaves to work is to rake them up and scatter them across the surface of your garden, then cover them with three to four inches of Earth Essentials Sheep, Peat and Compost.  Through the winter, the leaves will break down. Come spring, use your garden fork to work the resultant rich compost into your garden's soil.  

Another option would be to incorporate the leaf material into the garden now. Spread the leaves out over the garden bed, cover with three to four inches of Earth Essentials Sheep, Peat and Compost and dig the mixture in six to eight inches.  

To speed up the process, mow the lawn with the catcher in place or use your leaf blower with bag attachment to shred and catch the leaves, as opposed to raking. The resulting smaller pieces will break down faster in your garden or compost pile, plus shredding helps prevent the leaves from packing together into layers that water and air can’t penetrate. 

Once the ground is cold – usually around Thanksgiving, you can apply a layer of shredded leaves and compost around each perennial. Mulching will help retain moisture and protect plants from winter temperature fluctuations.  

 

Fall leaves are a great source of carbon when added to your compost pile. Leaves count as "browns" in making compost. A good ratio of browns and greens is about 4:1 brown (carbon) to greens (nitrogen). Adding leaves in thin (2" to 3") layers will help the compost pile stay warm and working during the winter. 

At the end of a beautiful autumn, it seems only fitting we put those fallen leaves to work in the garden. You'll have a healthier, more productive garden next season. 

How to Force Spring Flowering Bulbs

Forcing spring bulbs is a very rewarding winter gardening project. By mimicking the transition from winter to spring, you encourage bulbs to bloom indoors weeks or months before they would outdoors. 

Forcing encourages bulbs to bloom indoors earlier than they naturally would. The process is simple and works for nearly all spring-flowering bulbs, including tulips, hyacinths, and daffodils.

First, choose a container to grow your bulbs in. Bulbs will do equally well in clay, ceramic, or plastic pots, as long as the pot has drainage.

Next, choose your bulbs. Tulips, hyacinths, and daffodils respond well to forcing.  Note: amaryllis and paperwhites are popular holiday bulbs that do not need a chilling-off period to bloom.

Fill the container about 3/4s full of quality potting soil, then add some Dutch Bulb Food to your potting mix. Bulbs that are forced can be planted outside after blooming, and the fertilizer will give them an extra boost.

Place the bulbs close together but make sure they're not touching each other. Tulip bulbs should be positioned with the flat side of the bulb toward the edge of the container. This will allow the first leaves to form a nice border around the edge of the pot.

 

Fill in enough soil so just the tips are showing. Water the soil. Place the pot in a cool (35°-45°), dark spot such as a spare refrigerator, unheated garage or basement. Spring flowering bulbs require 12 to 15 weeks of cold storage to bloom.

While the bulbs are chilling, they will form roots, so it’s important to water regularly. Once the tips of the bulbs are about 2” high, remove from cold storage and place in a warm room, with bright, indirect sunlight.

Treat your bulb garden like your other houseplants: water regularly and remove faded flowers after blooming. Forcing bulbs brings a touch of spring color indoors while winter lingers outside.