Gardener shares genius fall hack to keep weeds away: 'It's free'

A gardener on Reddit shared a very simple but incredibly effective way to suppress weeds with absolutely zero expense and little effort.

The scoop

The picture, posted to r/gardening, shows fallen leaves placed on garden beds and poses the question: "Anyone else use leaflitter as a mulch? It improves soil quality and blocks weeds. And it's free." 

The layer of mulch atop the soil helps suppress weeds by preventing the germination of weed seeds. The leaves can be shredded with a lawnmower or simply gathered and arrayed on the garden beds. Organic materials like leaves, grass clippings, or wood chips are ideal because they decompose quickly and boost the health of the soil. Rubber mulch and landscape fabric should be avoided.

How it's helping

Aside from free weed suppression and aiding the quality of the soil, using leaves has other key environmental benefits. Of all the common gardening tools, gas-powered leaf blowers have one of the worst pollution footprints of all. According to a 2023 report, using a leaf blower for an hour is akin to driving over 1,100 miles. 

Moreover, the noise levels can reach up to 100 decibels, which is both hazardous to hearing and a nuisance for the neighborhood. They're such a bother that multiple towns are imposing restrictions and outright bans on their use. 

Mulching with organic materials like leaves reduces the need for chemical fertilizers and pest control, saves time, effort, and money in the long run. 

What everyone's saying

The responses to that opening question were mostly supportive of the premise. 

"Yup, I collect it from the front driveway, and I'm storing it in bags at the moment to break down a bit … It's especially free for me as the trees are in the local church yard, they just blow into everyone's drives," said one reply.

A professional gardener weighed in to confirm how well it works. "We urge everyone to have mulch their leaf debris in their beds," they said, noting that most clients were amenable to the suggestion.

"I've actually gotten more brown matter and wood than I can handle so I built another bed or two for more plants," another poster responded. 

What's the hardest thing about taking care of your yard? Mowing the lawn 🏡 Controlling weeds 🌿 Keeping pests at bay 🐿️ I don't have a yard 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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