What to Do with Raked Leaves: Free Natural Fertilizer

A citizen-science project reveals the "unbe-leaf-able" soil benefits of composted leaves and twigs.

By Daniel Bowman
Updated on July 21, 2022
article image
by Adobe Stock/Victoria
Add composted leaf litter to your garden crops.

Wondering what to do with raked leaves? Turn it into composted leaf litter, or leaf matter, and read on to see how one small farm put this natural fertilizer for plants to the test. 

At Peach Ridge Farms in Grand Rapids, Michigan, we know, “If the soil ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!”

Since 2002, we have used tried-and-true methods of environmental stewardship. We use inexpensive and manageable practices, working with the soil to make it better each year. We’ve seen how the plants love it. This year, our kohlrabi was early and already the size of cabbages! We’ve also noticed how garlic grown with our secret ingredient is giant compared with the same garlic planted without it. It’s proof that soil management matters.

Our secret is adding leaf matter (defined here as chopped-up twigs and leaves), or “leaf litter,” in the fall. Some people wonder what to do with raked leaves in the fall. We let it set over winter, and then we till it into the soil in early spring as free natural fertilizer for plants. Shhh! Don’t tell anyone, OK? Last year, we added over 174,000 pounds. In many areas, it was 4 feet high! Needless to say, these leaves were not all from our backyard. The truck delivering these leaves was so weighed down that it got stuck coming into the wet field. We had to use a tractor and chain to get it free.

todd quick seated beside an older man, his father, beside a basket of greens.

What if the benefits of composted leaf matter were only speculation? Maybe we were trying to make the facts fit our assumption that we were onto something with our sustainability. After all, every aspect of farming is affected by a plethora of causes. We decided to put fertilizers to a scientific test.

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