4season, are you overwintering the leeks and carrots in the ground?
I was reading about your climate the other day, it sounds like a great place to garden.
We just had two nasty days with a couple of cm of snow on the ground, but expecting rain and 13 C tomorrow... and our leaves haven't fallen either.
They are late this year and even clung on in all the wild wind the past two days. I had this silly idea that the birches at the end of my garden wiould conveniently drop their leaves onto my garlic beds.
But luckily I got some grass clippings for that. Kelp is my favourite mulch, but as you said about the leaves, there's never enough for its many uses.