It may be a bit late for planting outside now in many areas of the U.S., but there are still some things you can do right now in your garden to prepare your soil for spring planting, so you can get a head start on next year’s garden!

This short video shows 5 easy tips for using the natural insulating and nutritious material that’s probably all over your lawn right now, waiting to be raked. 🙂 What’s more sustainable than using the free resources you have on hand, like leaves from your trees?

With just a few simple steps, you can use these leaves to provide protection and nutrients to your soil over the winter. For even faster composting action, try adding some blood meal or finished compost to your bags of leaves. But if you want to keep it simple, this method works just as it is.

Remember that the longer you let them sit, the more decomposed they will become, but they will also decompose on your garden as well.