Jewell ....
It only took one wind storm which put all of the leaves I had carefully put down in the beds to blow them onto my back patio to convince me it was worth the extra effort to shred them so that they stay put.
I can have as many leaves as I am willing to haul home, but hauling does get old. Last year, during the third year of our drought, it was a waste of leaves to use them as mulch because the high temps of summer just fried them almost as soon as I put them down. I had very little worm activity last summer. In order to retain moisture in the soil, I went to the utility company's chipping pile and used wood chips for mulch. The heavier material did make a difference in holding moisture.
I talked with a geologist friend last summer about the worms and he told me that no matter what I used for mulch during a severe drought there would be less worm activity. I thought that was kind of interesting.
We got sufficient rain this season to get the soil deep down moist again and I have lots and lots of worms.
Smiles,
Lyn
