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Fallen leaves can be a serious issue. Especially if you don’t know how to deal with them. Hopefully, you find this guide before your yard drowns in leaves as it will help you prepare in advance. Use our best tips to get rid of leaves effectively and get the most out of them afterward!

Shred (Mulch) The Leaves

If processing the fallen leaves sounds like the best option for you, prepare your leaf shredder to make some high-quality mulch! But are your $100-$200 worth an option to shred leaves into smaller pieces? The answer is yes, regardless of the use case. First, you can mulch leaves to reduce the space they take. It can simplify disposal a lot. Second, you can use the mulch around the garden to:

• suppress weed growth in the plant beds;
• prevent plants from frosting in winter;
• improve soil drainage for plants that require well-drained soil;
• improve soil nutrient capacity;
• make the garden bed look more visually appealing in places where lawn cannot be grown.

Compost or Make Leaf Mold

Alternatively, you can use leaf mulch as a brown material for your compost pile or make leaf mold. The first option requires mixing the mulch with other compost materials in the right proportions. It’s a good way to process any organic litter and reuse it for good. Fallen leaves include the important nitrogen component that balances nitrogen levels in the compost.

If your compost pile is full, you can store the leaves in garden composters and take out the brown matter when needed. The second option requires you to rake the leaves into one huge pile. Keep the leaves moist, and you will receive a valuable soil conditioner in 1-3 years. You can later add it to the tired garden or potting soil to supply it with more calcium and magnesium.

Vacuum Them Up

If raking the leaves and mulching them afterward isn’t the best option for you, you can benefit from using a vacuum leaf shredder. These tools let you simply vacuum the leaves from the entire yard and mulch them right away. Once the container gets full, you can easily relocate the leaves into the trash bags for disposal or anywhere else for processing.

Mow the Leaves into Lawn

This may sound crazy, but you can actually mulch the leaves with the mulching lawnmower and leave them right on the lawn as a fertilizer. Set the blades 3” high and mow once a week until the leaves stop falling. Evenly spread mulch will fertilize the soil and add up the strength to your lawn. However, you should avoid thick layers of leaves as they may block oxygen and destroy entire patches of the lawn. Use rakes to spread the mulch more evenly if needed.

Use Leaves to Store Root Vegetables

Root vegetables, such as kale, carrots, and kale can be stored between the layers of fresh, crisp leaves. Blow or rake some leaves into a bag, relocate them to a cool humid spot and put all your carrots, beet, and any other root veggies to keep them fresh for months. You can sprinkle the layers of leaves with some water to make the environment more humid if it’s too dry.

Use Leaves as Insulation

Unmulched fallen leaves can be used as winter insulation for trees and shrubs. You have to circle plants with wire fencing and fill the space inside with leaves. They will keep the temperature higher up until spring. When the warmer days come, simply remove the fences and relocate the leaves to the compost bin.

The Most Underrated Crops

Congratulations! Your gardening skills are now much more advanced. You can give a second life to the fallen leaves in your yard and save up on fertilizers and disposal. The power of the fallen leaves is underrated, but it is all under your control now!

Gardening is a rewarding pastime that requires a lot of hard work. It takes months of tender loving care for your fruits and vegetables to ripen. Finding that your plants have been eaten or damaged by wildlife after so much time is a truly disheartening experience. Try implementing the following tips to stop animals from raiding your garden.

Cover Your Plants

Covering your plants with row covers or netting will help prevent flies and wildlife from getting inside. They will also continue to let the sunshine in. You can purchase these in hardware stores or online. Ultrafine mesh covers are great for keeping rodents out.

For bonus protection, consider building a raised garden bed. The higher it is off the ground, the better. Skunks will have a hard time climbing into the bed, and you can stop rodents from digging underneath by lining them with mesh. You can also install hinged covers that you can open and close when gardening. Raised beds are great for city gardening and extend the length of the growing season by keeping the soil warm.

Build a Fence

Like raised beds, you can help keep animals out of the garden by surrounding your plants with a fence. A soft, mesh fence is difficult for skunks and raccoons to climb and can be set up temporarily. If rabbits, deer, or marmots are giving you trouble, you can alternatively set up an electric fence. You can find electric wires that emit just enough voltage to scare away wildlife in most hardware stores. These can also be set up temporarily.

Get Rid of Other Food Sources

Skunks, rats, raccoons, and other animals are drawn to yards where they can find food. Get rid of the bird feeder and store your seeds and gardening materials in a shed. Make your garbage cans and recycling bins inaccessible, as well. Use lidded receptacles and store them in the garage or shed until collection day. You should also clean them out with vinegar every few weeks to make them unappealing to wildlife. Always clean up after a meal outside, and don’t leave any pet food out.

Use Apple Cider Vinegar and Spices

Pests dislike the smell of apple cider vinegar because it is similar to predator urine. It is also effective at repelling ants because it covers up their scent trails. Soak some rags in apple cider vinegar and place them in sandwich bags, then poke holes in the bags and place them around the garden. Next, try mixing one part apple cider vinegar with one part water and spraying the sides of the garden to keep bugs out. You can also spray your plants directly by diluting the vinegar further. This works best when the weather is warm, sunny, and dry.

Mice and rats especially dislike cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes. Sprinkle some of these spices in the garden to ward them off. You can also make a hot pepper spray by mixing one tablespoon of hot sauce with a gallon of water and a drop of dish soap. Spray the mixture around the edges of the garden.

Set Up Motion-activated Deterrents

There are all kinds of electronic deterrents out there. Some flashlights make high-pitched sounds or spray water when an animal comes near. Try installing one or two motion-activated repellents in the garden to encourage the animals to leave. These can be purchased from hardware stores, home supply stores, or online retailers.

Hire a Wildlife Remover or Pest Control Professional

If there is an animal living on your property and you want it removed, call a professional for help. They have the tools and know-how to remove them safely. Attempting to remove an animal yourself could result in injury and risks separating a mother from her young. And you definitely don’t want to get sprayed by a skunk!

If you have been dealing with rats, the problem won’t go away without professional intervention. Rats are common in city gardens and spread from one area to the next. Call The Exterminators in Peterborough or near you. A technician can set up bait stations for you and service them regularly to keep the rodent population under control. This won’t harm your garden or the other species in the neighborhood.

Conclusion

Growing produce without attracting wildlife is a bit tricky, but it can be managed with a combination of the tricks above. Remember to restrict the animals’ access to food – keep as much as you can out of reach. If it’s too much, call a professional for help. They can get rid of pests and help keep them out by excluding the garden for you.