Thank you Bower
I like it too.
I've been looking (Glancing) at the chart above as well. Without getting up at 3am to check soil temperatures - I've noticed our soil temperatures being 58F early in the morning, and 72F near the end of day. That is around 3-4 weeks earlier than usual here. I've spent the last few days finishing up projects like our raised beds and over the past week since February 28th, I've planted out 76 tomato plants into the garden.
Healthwise, I have pushed myself beyond limits trying to get things done weeks before they would normally need to be finished.
Lisa, I want to be able to answer your questions better, but to answer them honestly as I see them is the best I can do.
I went to college majoring in computer science, so whatever I would write about using dried leaves would just be from my experience and not be accredited.
In my personal experience dried leaves need to be mulched or crumbled up - the smaller the better. You can mow them with a mulching mower or even crush them up with your hands. I have done both in the past two days. Turning those leaves under into the soil helps build a more naturally amended soil. Unmulched whole leaves seem take years to decompose. Maybe it is the air needed isn't as available?
As far as using 10-10-10, I use it sparingly. A balanced fertilizer sounds good to me. But I have read friends posts here saying that fertilizer is bad also.
The thing is that every one of our gardens are different. In my gardens, I'm not so sure about adding fertilizers, but it's on my gardening list to buy - but there's a good chance I won't buy it.
Lisa, I wish I could have answered better.