Incoming! Expect an avalanche of leaves

Fallen leaves make great mulch or compost, so put them to work in the garden.

(Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Change of weather prompts trees to drop foliage

Feel the chill? So do trees.

According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento will see a 20-degree drop in high temperatures from the balmy 80s we felt earlier in the week.

Expected to last several days, this string of 60-degree days will shake trees and other deciduous plants out of their Indian summer lull. Instead of holding onto their foliage, trees will start losing leaves en masse.

What does that mean to gardeners? Expect to see massive leaf drop in the next two weeks.

That can be its own challenge: What do you do with all those leaves?

Do what nature does: Turn those fallen leaves into mulch.

Instead of mounding them under their mother tree, use them to mulch other garden beds. Spread them over vegetable beds or under shrubs.

Larger leaves can be chopped up with a lawn mower. Spread them out over the lawn, then run the mower over the leaves a couple of times.

Dried leaves also make excellent compost. Add them to your compost pile and let them break down into garden gold.

-- Debbie Arrington