When the brilliant foliage of fall leaves have fallen at your feet, it’s a great time to use them to add organic matter or humus to your planting beds, vegetable gardens and lawn.

There are a number of ways this can be done. Using a lawn mower or other means of shredding the leaves will hasten decomposition.

If you have a mulching mower, run over the leaves several times. This will chop them finely and they can be left on the lawn to decompose.

By spring, you’ll find it difficult to see any evidence that they were there. This will add organic matter and return vital nutrients back to the lawn.

Alternatively, shredded leaves can be raked up and composted over the winter. In spring, the resulting compost can be added to planting beds or vegetable gardens. Finished compost can also be screened and added to potting soil for potted plants.

If you are starting a new garden or planting bed, fall is a great time to get the soil tilled and add lots of organic matter. This will loosen the soil and add nutrients.

Till the area that you are going to use for the new garden. Dump a thick layer of leaves or other organic material, such as animal bedding mixed with manure, straw or peat moss, onto the surface and till them into the soil.

During the fall and winter, beneficial bacteria, fungi and soil-dwelling insects will feed on the organic material and turn it into rich humus.

If you have planting beds in place, you can still work organic material into the soil between smaller plants being careful to avoid digging up the roots.

An older garden can be rejuvenated by adding lots of organic material in the fall. It will then be ready for spring planting. You’ll be amazed in spring at the loose, crumbly soil you will have.

Cleaning up the vegetable garden in fall is important. Remove dead plants that can harbor harmful insects to get a clean start next season. Many insects will overwinter in garden debris.

By removing this debris, you are removing their winter homes. Garden refuse can be composted. Chopping it up as finely as possible will hasten the composting process and you will have organic materials to add to your garden in spring.

Diseased plants should not be composted. They should be thrown out or burned.

Planting a winter cover crop will hold soil in place and prevent erosion. Some winter cover crops like legumes will actually add nitrogen to the soil. Nodules on the roots of legumes hold nitrogen.

When these are tilled into the soil and left to decompose, you add a good amount of plant-available nitrogen back into the soil.

The other good winter cover crops are rye and wheat. Wheat should be planted by mid- to late September to get well-established before frost. Rye can be sown until mid-October.

In spring, till the cover crops into the soil. This is known as a green manure. It adds a tremendous amount of organic matter to the soil.

As the crop decomposes in the soil, it will release nutrients back into the soil to feed future crops.

You should wait six weeks from the time that the cover crop is tilled under until you plant the future crop.

“Growing Green” is contributed by Lehigh County Extension Office Staff and Master Gardeners. Information: Lehigh County Extension Office, 610-391-9840; Northampton County Extension Office, 610-746-1970.