Excerpts from a post by Brooke Franklin, NRCS in Conservation Oct 17, 2022   

Happy November LEAF Members, Friends and Neighbors,

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Winter is almost here and your deciduous trees are or will be dropping their leaves. One of the best ways to help reduce climate change and benefit your garden at this time of the year is to leave the leaves!

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Leaf mulch is a simple regenerative practice you can use to create a healthy garden. Leaves create a natural mulch that helps to suppress weeds while fertilizing the soil as it breaks down. Mulching protects the soil surface and helps stop erosion from rainfall. Mulch also helps to moderate temperature extremes by keeping roots warmer during the winter and cooler in the summer, plus it helps to keep moisture in the ground. All of which is helpful in our coastal climates of USDA Hardiness Zones of 10a and 9b and Sunset Zones of 15 and 17.

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You can mulch leaves where they fall from the trees, scatter them around fruit trees, heavily trafficked areas, compacted soil, shaded areas where vegetation doesn’t grow and wherever there is bare soil. Leaves can also be mixed in your compost bin with green leaves considered as greens (nitrogen) and brown leaves as browns (carbon) or you can make a huge pile, be a kid again and jump in.