Plant your plants in the soil under this 'mulch' and keep the mulch away from the plant stems until the plants are established. Next year, repeat the process but don't disturb the previous layer of mulch, just layer it on top.

Soil naturally forms layers. The very top layer is where the action is at. The goal is to create the O1 and O2 horizons and they will feed the A horizon. If the soil is tilled, the process needs to be restarted with a O2 on top of an O1.

My new love is shredded leaves. :)

For some reason my yard collects metal wash tubs. Two here when I moved in and I snagged another one from the abandoned yard next door last fall, too late to bother planting it. So we filled it with leaves that were shredded and mixed with grass from the mower to decompose over winter. This spring I didn't need to add anything to it, just filled it with Coleus, Perilla, and Persian shield cuttings which are doing spectacularly.

Agreed with not tilling them. Mother nature puts leaves on top of the soil, not under the surface. Over time, the decomposed materials will be at the appropriate levels without any mechanical intervention on your part. Nobody tills the forest floor. I think you are past this point, marcantonio, but for whoever might read, tilling can be helpful the first time a new area is gardened, reclaimed from grass or weeds, that is hard to dig in. After that, not necessary if you are putting plenty of organic material on top at least yearly.

Someone told me that Avocado trees begin to decline if you clean up its leaves. It is recommended to leave the leaves where they fall.

Now where's my copy of "God, St. Francis and the Lawn"...

ST. FRANCIS: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers "weeds" and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.

GOD: Grass? But it's so boring. It's not colorful. It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees, only grubs and sod worms. It's temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?

ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.

GOD: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy.

ST. FRANCIS: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it-sometimes twice a week.

GOD: They cut it? Do they then bale it like hay?

ST. FRANCIS: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.

GOD: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

ST. FRANCIS: No Sir. Just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.

GOD: Now let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow. And when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?

ST. FRANCIS: Yes, Sir.

GOD: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work.

ST. FRANCIS: You aren't going to believe this Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

GOD: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to enhance the soil. It's a natural circle of life.

ST. FRANCIS: You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away.

GOD: No. What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter and to keep the soil moist and loose?

ST. FRANCIS: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.

GOD: And where do they get this mulch?

ST. FRANCIS: They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.

GOD: Enough. I don't want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have they scheduled for us tonight?"

ST. CATHERINE: "Dumb and Dumber", Lord. It's a really stupid movie about.....

GOD: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.

I would recommend adding leaves, untreated wood mulch, and also dairy manure (if available). The combination of these three will provide the balance of increasing porosity, carbon, and nutrients.

That St Francis and God thing was so on point. I agree with the reasoning wholeheartedly! I cannot believe how much I despise my HUGE front yard and the time and effort that goes into keeping it green and "square". I cannot understand the reasoning of man. Ticky Tacky

I only have a few deciduous trees (aspen) within my fenced house yard but every fall I rake the leaves off the 'lawn' onto the area under the trees. Strange, but by the next summer they are gone, and they didn't blow away.

While the nutrient level numbers may be interesting I think there is more to organic amendments than N/P/K as there are a lot of minerals in leaves and other organics which may have more value than we think. It's one of the reasons I like alfalfa pellets as an amendment. Alfalfa being a very deep rooted plant brings up minerals that other plants cannot access.