Garden -- dead leaves

I'll bet you're wondering why I told you to shred leaves.
I mean, why do all that work instead of just raking them over the beds?
Well, one thing that happens around here in November is,
Mother Nature lays down a lot of water for next year's water table.
Mike McGrath will tell you that the whole leaves shed that water.
That's one way trees prevent competition.
Other plants don't have the deep roots trees should have.
So they can't get to the water the trees can get to.
By dropping whole leaves, trees block water from the surface,
so those competitor plants can't thrive.
But the shredded leaves let some water through into the water table.
Which is what you need for your shrubs and perennials.
So shred the leaves before you use them for mulch.

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