Stunning autumn landscapes are just the start—check out clever Ways to Use Fallen Leaves in September in your garden!
As fall rolls in, your garden may begin shimmering with bronze and red autumn leaves—a sight to behold! Instead of raking them away, why not put these fallen leaves to good use in September? Let’s explore.
Ways to Use Fallen Leaves in September
1. Autumn Leaves for Compost
Dried and fresh leaves possess nutrients like carbon that plants recycle and use to grow and respire. So, make a compost mixture of fallen leaves and biodegradable kitchen waste and add it to your potting mix or directly to the ground for more fertile mediums.
While leaves are an excellent carbon source for compost, balance it out with nitrogen-rich materials like green grass clippings or kitchen scraps so that it decomposes properly.
2. Fallen Leaves for Mulching Garden Beds
Sometimes, the ground needs a cozy blanket as well! Use fallen leaves during autumn, roughly the end of September or October onwards, to create mulch that will help maintain soil temperature, retain moisture, and be a richer medium for the vegetation you wish to grow.
In colder climates, a layer of leaf mulch can help protect tender plants from frost damage during winter.
3. Prepare Leaf Mold
The leaves that fall during autumn are a free and abundant source to create leaf mold, a natural fertilizer that is great for the soil. Let leaves sit and decompose over time. Then, they turn into a dark brown to black crumbly powder, like compost, with an earthy fragrance.
It is just leaf compost and is perfect for amending and conditioning soil, improving its structure, moisture retention, and air circulation, and providing a warm habitat for earthworms and other beneficial creatures.
4. Leaf Mounds for Erosion Control
September is a great month to rake up mounds of leaves in your backyard. It’s loads of fun, and leaf mounds help reduce soil erosion by acting as an obstacle for free-running water. They also help aerate the soil, promoting better water drainage and root growth.
5. Create a Fallen Leaf Pathway
Leaves can be used to create edges for pathways. Instead of clearing them up repeatedly, just collect them along the path to make it look like a scene out of a happy dream. Pretty, right?
Tip: You can dig a shallow trench to prevent the leaves from being blown away.
6. Home for Animal Friends
Certain animals need insulation in the chilly months of winter. So, piling up leaves allows them to create seasonal homes or resting areas. This will increase the biodiversity of your backyard.
However, ensure that piles aren’t right next to crucial vegetation. Animals like hedgehogs and chipmunks can wreak havoc, so let them enjoy leafy warmth a little away from your core garden.
7. Bye Bye Mosquitoes
Burning dried leaves in moderate amounts helps deter mosquitoes and other itchy bugs. In fact, studies reveal that volatile extracts from the smoke of dried leaves are more potent in repelling mosquitoes than fresh leaves. If you have access to Neem tree leaves, it’s the best mosquito repellent.
8. Craft Natural Decor Pieces
Pressed leaves can be used in many ways and will work as far as your creativity goes. So, if you find a pretty fallen leaf in September, don’t forget to grab it and turn it into a pretty trinket with this DIY.
9. DIY Leaf Candle Holder
The best way to turn those fallen leaves in September into a masterpiece that will capture everyone’s attention is by making a candle holder. All you need is a mason jar, a few fallen leaves, and a Mod Podge or similar adhesive. Oh, and this DIY to help you with the steps.
10. Leaf Print Ornaments with Clay
You don’t need to keep the fallen leaves of September around; you can turn them into a decor piece or an ornament with a bit of clay and some elbow grease. Just mold their pretty shapes and intricate vein prints onto clay to turn it into a trinket. These would look amazing on a sunny window pane.
11. Make Pressed Leaf Art
Autumn leaves are famously bright, like orange or red. You can use these to your advantage and create stunning art for the walls of your home for seasonal decor.
It’s pretty easy to do and is called pressed leaf art. You can use them in different crafts or even preserve them forever. This DIY will help you get started.
