Leaf Mulches Are Always Best


My Developing Woodland, December 23 2019
Palm Warbler

My developing backyard woodland is mulched with the leaves that I've collected from other landscapes. I do not get enough leaves yet to supply the needs I have. Someday I will , but for now I rely on the leaves cast away by others who don't realize what they are doing.... Leaves are the best mulch in this setting.
Over the past couple of weeks, I've had the company of this tiny palm warbler. It could be that it will prove to be a resident, but I suspect it is a winter migrant that will move north once spring arrives. As I work in my landscape and in my hobby nursery, this warbler keeps me company. I guess it doesn't realize that it should fear humans. A week ago, it landed on the head of my next door neighbor......
As I work with my new companion nearby, I am struck once again by the power of leaf mulches to provide valuable habitat for wildlife. It works the leaf litter, grabbing tiny insects too small for me to see. I know it is successful, however, as I watch it feed. It is unmistakable that it is successful in finding food.
Leaf litter is not the same as other mulches - especially those made out of woody byproducts like pine bark and cypress. Woody mulches do not break down in the same way that leafy mulches do. There are few invertebrates sustained in woody mulches. The opposite is true for leaves. In my former landscape where the "woods" was more mature. my leafy understory was a focal point for migrating thrushes, ovenbirds and other ground-feeding birds. They were not in the lawns of the wood-mulched landscape areas of my neighbors. Someday, my developing woodland with its leafy ground cover will feed more than this friendly palm warbler.
Leaf mulches do more than "mulch."  They enrich the soil in the same way that they do in a real woodland. Decay is a necessary part of life. Mulches need to decay. They are not window dressings to improve aesthetics and they should never be considered solely important in reducing weeds. That is an extremely short-sighted vision. The decay of my leaves feeds a vast assortment of invertebrates, fungi, and soil bacteria that are critical to the health of my soil. While some view soil fungi, bacteria, and nematodes as harmful, the vast majority are critical for healthy soil. My plants need these organisms to grow properly. Their is a pyramid of life supported by decay. It is accomplished only with leaf mulch.


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