Autumn leaves are a gold mine for the gardener. They decompose into a rich black end product called leaf mold. You can rake them into windrows and let them decompose naturally or bag and store them for browns in your compost pile.

You can also chop them up with a lawn mower or leaf blower and use them for mulch.

In my case, an allergy to leaf fungus stopped me using a leaf blower. In fact, even raking leaves up is a problem for me.

My plan was to let them lay where they fall, but that left me with enormous drifts piled up against buildings and in sheltered corners around my property. What to do?

The first time I heard about windrows was on a garden podcast. The windrows I heard described are rows made of piled-up leaves, though it could be grass or a combination of compostable materials.

I decided to see if this would work for me. At least I could get help moving the leaves out of the places I didn’t want them and still use them for something.

Since I compost my kitchen scraps in my worm bin, I wasn’t really looking for a compost pile.

I really just wanted to get rid of the leaves without having to burn them or dump them. Just for good measure, I throw coffee grounds into the windrow for a little added nitrogen.

The end product is a black crumbly substance called leaf mold. Leaf mold differs from compost in that it is low in nitrogen and is more of a soil conditioner than a nutrient source.

It improves the texture of the soil and helps the soil hold onto moisture. It can be mixed with my worm compost to move it up the nutrition index, but I actually fork it straight onto my ornamental beds in the spring.

Once the windrows get wet, the leaves don’t blow around. My windrow doesn’t actually get hot enough to compost. However, it does attract earthworms up into the row and decomposition occurs at a sedate but steady pace.

If you want more information, visit the University of Wisconsin extension’s article called “Leaf Mold Compost” at https://pepin.extension.wisc.edu/files/2017/08/170801-Leaf-Mold.pdf.