Amending soil is one of the most important things you do as a food gardener. You’ve gone through months of growing things and have depleted lots of nutrients and minerals that next years plants will need.  Adding manures really isn’t the answer. Not just because it doesn’t add much nutrient value, but more so because of the weed seed it contains. Who wants to weed? Weeding is the biggest issue that pushes people away from having a garden. 

Easily done, quick, and free-why not  remove a few inches of your soil, add a layer of fall leaves, and then cover them back up? You can do one last water in if you’d like, but this time of year rain (or snow)  is usually plentiful. You’ll come out next spring and your leaves will be gone but your garden soil will have been freely amended with some of the best organic material available. Those earthworms have been eating good!

What do leaves bring to your garden soil? 

Nitrogen: leaf development and overall vigor

Potassium: water regulation, improves drought resistance

Phosphorus: root development and fruiting

Magnesium: chlorophyll and photosynthesis 

Calcium: supports root and leaf development

Iron: chlorophyll development and prevents yellowing

I’m probably missing some trace elements but those are the main characters. Do the easy work now while you’re still able to move soil around. Once the ground freezes, it’s a lot harder to do.