My front yard fern colony doubled after I stopped raking the fallen leaves

So I used to be super anal about keeping my garden beds clean. Every fall I'd rake out all the dead leaves from under my ferns. Thought they looked messy. Then last spring a neighbor with a huge native garden told me I was basically starving my plants. Apparently those leaves break down and feed the ferns naturally. I left the leaves alone this winter and now I've got like 15 new baby ferns popping up where there were none before. Has anyone else seen a big change from just leaving organic matter alone?

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kaid5927d ago

Why not just let nature do its thing though... I've been leaving leaves under my shrubs for years now and the soil is way darker and richer than it used to be. All those little critters break it down and feed the roots without me lifting a finger. You gotta trust the process even if it looks a little messy at first. Those baby ferns are proof you're doing something right.