One of the easiest mulches that you can obtain for, and from, your own garden is leaf mulch. If your garden is host to one or more species of trees, whether they are deciduous or not, they will still shed an ample amount of leaves that can be readily turned into mulch for your garden beds.

The key to using this wonderfully free resource is shredding them before application. Running over a pile of them with a lawn mower or passing them through a chipper shredder helps to aid the decomposition process so that your leaf mulch will feed your beds at the same time they provide protection to your plants and soil.

One of the common misconceptions with leaf mulch is that any leaves will work. While this is almost true there are definitely leaves that should not be included, and for very good reasons. Here are some of them;

• Leaves heavy in oil - leaves that have high levels of oil in them such as Agonis flexuosa (Peppermint Tree), Corymbia citriodora (Lemon-Scented Gum) and Camphor laurel will be detrimental to your garden. The oils will excrete over time and integrate with your soil producing a water-resistant shield. Your soil will then be in danger of becoming hydrophobic and your plants will suffer, if not die.
• Diseased leaves - leaves that have become host to fungal diseases such as sooty mould or leaf spot can spread even after they are removed from the plant. If your trees are affected with a leaf fungal disease then you are best to incinerate them to remove the threat of spread throughout your garden.
• Leaves with parasites - if your trees have been infested with parasitical insects such as lacewing, scale and leaf-miners then they are likely to still contain larvae that will spread once they hatch. These infested leaves should be incinerated just like diseased leaves.

Leaf mulch has an enormous amount of benefits for your garden beds but gardeners should be wary of what leaves they're using. While ignoring the problematic leaves listed above will not change the mulching effects they will create other problems in the future.