Use Your Leaves as Mulch

Communicating with Nature

September 2026

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it,
and if I were a bird
I would fly about the earth
seeking the successive autumns.”
GEORGE ELIOT

 

Rather than buy and haul costly and weighty mulch that can attract termites, use your raked leaves as mulch. As I wrote in my blog post, Keeping Nature Wildly Beautiful, this adds a balance of nutrients and allows the beneficial insects who live in fallen leaves to thrive.

When necessary, aerate compacted soil to restore its natural drainage and vitality. Be sure to use an aerator with hollow tines. Solid tines can further compact your soil. In richly alive organic soil, aeration or oxygenation naturally sustains itself.

Autumn is also a good time to over-seed your entire lawn or just areas that are weedy and bare. Buy safely organic uncoated seeds suited to your soil, climate and land use. Be sure to select seed varieties native to your area.

Enjoy the tranquility of wildly beautiful organic parks in your own yard and community!  -AGGIE PERILLI