Using leaf mulch

It always amazes us that some of our neighbors don't keep their leaves. 

My gardening companion and gardening assistant with leaf bounty

They're such a great source of organic matter, and usually nutrient-rich, too, it's like throwing away the bags of organic material available for purchase at big-box stores. 

We're not talking big bucks here, but dry leaves are a LOT easier to move around than bags of mushroom compost, pine bark nuggets, or hardwood mulch.

Putting leaves out

We've got a long back slope in the mountains that benefits from leaves, and we have plenty of space to put as many as we can collect. 

My gardening companion (aka my husband Tim) is restoring it as a hardwood forest, pulling up the English ivy, editing the box elders and wild cherries, removing the debris of some decades, and opening it up for a variety of suitable tree and shrub species, not to mention understory woodland plants.

For understory plants to thrive, though, we need more mulch to enrich the soil, creating the deeper layers that support them in natural conditions.  It'll be fun to start planting when the soil's ready.