Leaf mold is the most fantastic stuff, or so I am told. It breaks down into some wonder material with hugely beneficial bacteria and such.
See how technical I am?
I grind up my garden detritus in the fall mixed with small wood chips and strew it around the garden simply to add it back to the earth rather than having it hauled off in bags. Seems like the right thing to do. I don't mulch individual plants in particular. Never have. I am a zone 4ish. This does not necessarily equate to a zone 4 down south though. I have finally figured out that zones relate to high and low temps, not necessarily to duration. Although our weather has warmed over the last 20-25 years though. I guess this warm cycle will see me 'shuffle out of this mortal coil' before it turns back to cold. (guess you can tell where I stand on global warming
)
The bike path I walk on is through the woods and in fall there are leaves galore. A couple of times I have taken garbage bags and raked it up. Once I just dumped it on the garden. Not so hot. So next we ground the leaves up and it worked much better Didn't form such a heavy icy mat on top.
While our fences and posts heave, and the asphalt heaves and cracks, I have never had a plant heave. Weird.
