I’m always amazed by the colorful spectacle of foliage as autumn sets in. And what fun it is to play in those that have to the ground, both for the little ones and for those who’ve kept their childlike hearts!
But my fascination quickly turns to desolation when I observe hundreds of bags of leaves piling up along the streets to be managed by our municipalities. A pity, because it’s much more ecological to recycle them at home. That way, we avoid the negative effects of transporting leaves and even the energy expended to manage them in large volumes in some way.

In short, when it comes to ecological practices, the shortest cycle is always preferable. Whenever possible, organic matter produced on our land should stay on our land.
So why give your leaves to your municipality when it’s relatively easy to recycle them at home?
Making the Most of Leaves at Home
“Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed.” This quote from Antoine Lavoisier reminds us that not everything we drop on the curb magically disappears.
When our residual materials are not properly managed, they can harm the environment. Fortunately, it’s possible to transform what we consider “waste” into a resource by, for example, recycling leaves in a variety of ways at home.
And the good news is that the leaves you keep are worth their weight in gold, because you can save money on mulch, compost and fertilizer.
In short, recycling leaves at home is an “eco-friendly” practice, just the way I like it.
To Pick Up Leaves or Not?
In a natural woodland, leaves are not collected, nor are trees fertilized. When leaves fall at the base of trees, they are added to herbaceous plants, dead insects and animals, and their excrement. All this organic matter is gradually transformed into humus by the action of soil micro-organisms. And this humus (which is comparable to compost) combines with the mineral part of the soil to serve as a larder for the trees. And the cycle continues.

So why this habit of raking all the leaves off our lawns? The answer has a lot to do with the fact that many of our lawns are covered with grass, and that it would be unwise to keep a thick layer of leaves on a lawn all winter long, as this could lead to lawn mortality.
Here are two solutions for managing leaves on grass:
- Practice leafcycling as soon as the leaves begin to fall.
- Collect leaves on the lawn for distribution elsewhere (flowerbeds, vegetable garden) or to stockpile for next year, for use as mulch or in compost.
Finally, to avoid accidents, it’s best to pick up leaves littering surfaces covered with inert materials (parking lots, pathways, patios).
The lawn area on my property is minimal. So I sometimes steal my neighbors’ bags of leaves. Fortunately, I’ve never had any complaints!
Practice Leafcycling on the Lawn
Even if you’re not familiar with the term, you may have been “grasscycling ” your lawn all summer long! This is the method of leaving grass clippings in place when mowing.

When autumn arrives, it’s time for “leafcycling”, an even lesser-known neologism. It’s a good way of returning to the soil some of the nutrients the trees have drawn from it.
Here’s how it works:
- Start mowing as soon as the leaves begin to fall on the lawn.
- Ideally, use a mulching mower. Otherwise, go over the same spot twice. Once in one direction and once in the other.
- Mow regularly to prevent large accumulations of leaves on the lawn.
This is a kind of surface composting, as the mixture of grasses and leaves is transformed into compost by earthworms and soil micro-organisms.
Leaving Leaves at the Base of Trees and Shrubs
If the base of your trees and shrubs is covered with mulch (a practice you should adopt if you haven’t already done so), you don’t need to do anything, as the leaves will be added to the existing mulch.
Leaving Leaves on Flower Beds
Leaves that fall naturally onto flowerbeds can be left in place most of the time. However, care must be taken not to smother plants with large quantities of very large leaves, such as Norway maple leaves. In this case, a good practice is to shred them, as I’ll explain later. In spring, you’ll have the choice of leaving the leaves where they are, or packing them into the back of the bed. In both cases, they will gradually decompose.
Leave the Leaves on the Garden and Even Add Some
Soil should never be left bare for long periods, as this can cause it to lose its vitality by leaching out mineral elements. That’s why it’s a good idea to cover the soil with leaves once the harvest is over. Leaves also protect the soil’s microfauna.
If you usually plant hard-stemmed garlic cloves in autumn, it’s a good idea to protect them from winter frosts. After planting, cover the ground with a thick layer of autumn leaves (20-30 cm, 8-12 inches). If the area is exposed to the wind, cover the leaves with geotextile or floating fabric to prevent them blowing away.
Stock Up on Leaves
In autumn, it’s time to stock up on leaves for use as mulch or in compost the following season. In fact, if you’ve delayed leafcycling and your lawn is covered with a thick layer of leaves, it’s best to collect them before the first snowfall.
Store autumn leaves in paper or plastic bags, or in a special enclosure. Keep the equivalent of three or four bags to start with. Depending on your experience and needs as mulch or compost, you may want to keep more in the future.
Whether or Not to Shred Leaves
Whether for mulching or composting, it’s a good idea to shred very large leaves. You can do this in a variety of ways.
The mulching mower is the ideal tool for shredding leaves. In exceptional cases, the mower bag can be used to collect the shredded leaves. Alternatively, remove the bag and direct the mower’s output directly into the flower or vegetable bed.
The vacuum shredder can also be handy for shredding autumn leaves. While this device is effective for shredding leaves, its main disadvantage is the shrill sound it makes… so I don’t encourage my neighbors to use this device.
In both cases, if you need a lawn mower or leaf blower, opt for electric models.
Finally, it’s also possible to make a homemade shredder using a large plastic garbage can and an electric nylon string trimmer. This is a practice popularized by our very own Larry Hodgson.
Fill the garbage can with dry leaves up to a third full, then switch on the trimmer and move it up and down as if you were using a stick blender to make soup in the kitchen.
Turning Leaves Into Mulch
Organic mulches offer many advantages, such as limiting weed invasion, conserving soil water and nourishing the soil. Among the various organic mulches I suggest throughout the garden, shredded leaves remain an interesting choice because they are a “local” and free mulch. I like to use it at the base of various vegetable plants such as tomatoes.
Feeding Compost With Leaves
Home composting is also a very environmentally friendly way of recovering organic matter at home. To make compost, the ideal is to mix green (or nitrogen-rich) matter, such as kitchen scraps and green yard waste, with brown (or carbon-rich) matter, such as autumn leaves. The problem is that brown matter is scarcer in summer. Hence the importance of storing leaves in the autumn for use the following year. Oak leaves should be avoided wherever possible, as they decompose much more slowly.
Dans mon prochain article, je vous présenterai les avantages et les notions de base du compostage domestique.
Handicraft With Leaves
Finding the most beautiful autumn leaves is a simple activity to do with children. With colors ranging from light yellow to orange to reddish-brown, there’s no shortage of choice. To store them properly, simply slip them between the pages of a large book for a few weeks to dry properly. That way, you can use them all year round to make pretty crafts.
No Leaves at All
What? You don’t have autumn leaves on your property! It’s high time to think about planting trees for all the benefits they bring.
Too Many Leaves to Manage
If you find it too demanding to manage the autumn leaves that cover your lawn, it may be time to replace them with more useful crops such as trees, shrubs, perennials, fruits, vegetables and herbs.
In the short term, if you really can’t manage all the leaves on your property, don’t throw them in the garbage. Instead, take part in your municipality’s compost collection program, using the appropriate bags (paper bags, for example).
And don’t be surprised if your bags disappear before they’re picked up by your municipality… maybe it’s because I’ve been in your neck of the woods to stock up.
Your blog never disappoints. Always informative and well-written.
I appreciate how important leaves are within an ecosystem. But there are a lot of soil borne disease associated with dead leaves. Collecting bags from curbs is how I think I infected my garden with black spot. Beware!
This article has a lot of good advice, but Please don’t tell people to chop leaves! They are vital winter habitat for millions of insects. Ideally, they should remain where they fall. See the Xerces Society article on Leaving the Leaves.
Heidi Dollard
Massachusetts Pollinator Network
100 bags retrieved here for thirty years