Leaves, persimmons, and traveling
Our 'natural gardening' motto is that you can never have too many leaves! (Thanks, Sheila, for the post inspiration.) In spite of having created nice woodland areas in our garden that are almost self-sufficient in their re-mulching capacity, additional leaves are always valuable for soil enrichment. In temperate areas, organic matter breaks down rapidly, so constant replenishment (following nature's lead) is important. It's vital in woodland, shrub, and perennial borders, but absolutely essential in heavily-worked vegetable garden beds, where additional inputs of compost and organic nutrients may be needed to add minerals lost in harvesting. I totally subscribe to the idea (as a plant ecologist and wildlife gardener) that mimicking nature, increasing biodiversity, and trying to create ecological balance in the garden is a good thing. Personally, I don't worry about diseases that 'might' be harbored by leaf mulch in shrub and woodland areas (let the fungi ...
