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I was thinking since I'm from the northeast of America and we have such a heavy amount of leaf fall do farmers use leaves for fertilizer instead of manure?

I was thinking since I'm from the northeast of America and we have such a heavy amount of leaf fall do farmers use leaves for fertilizer instead of manure?
[–] • 2 pts

Compost them first.

[–] • 0 pt

So just spreading them out doesn't really work?

[–] • 1 pt

No, they become a mat that nothing grows through. You could run them through a shredder, that might help.

[–] • 1 pt

They break down faster if mixed with soil and manure and kept moist, turned over every so often. You end up with a nutrient rich humus that helps to build up soils.

[–] • 1 pt

Ahh that's the rich coffee looking soil. On my father's property I'll find all the soil we need for plantings over by a intermittent stream he has. That soil is so rich. It's filled with tons of leaf fall and dead plant matter. I'd imagine some bugs as well.

[–] • 2 pts

I do. I shred them first to speed decomposition in my composting bin. Mix with soil and manure, wet it down and keep covered so it stays moist, turn it over a few times over the course of a few months and it turns into rich humus.

[–] • 1 pt

Leaf litter is an excellent source of organic matter to amend and build up soil. The problem with it is it tends to acidify the soil too. Composting them before use helps, but if you use them heavily for several years you should check your soil pH and add pelletized limestone if the pH drops much below 6.5.

[–] • 0 pt

So it's good for acid loving plants, that's good to know. I've got a couple of acid lovers that I like to plant this year.