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 Use your mower to recycle leaves right where they
fall. As you mow the grass, you’ll shred the leaves into smaller
pieces. If they are the size of a quarter or smaller, your lawn will
be fine. As these leaf pieces decompose, they add organic matter and
nutrients to the soil.
Another option is to attach a bagger to shred and collect the leaves
with every pass of the mower. Only use grass clippings collected
from lawns that have not been treated with a weed killer this fall.
Or burn a few extra calories and rake the leaves into a pile. Shred
with a leaf shredder or mower and spread them over the soil surface
around perennials. Leaf mulch helps insulate plant roots, conserve
moisture, suppress weeds and improve the soil as it breaks down.
Bag shredded leaves you want to save for next season. Tuck them out
of sight for winter under trees or around the foundation of your
house for added insulation.
Dig extra shredded leaves into vacant annual flower and vegetable
gardens or incorporate them into the soil as you prepare new
planting beds. They will break down over winter, improving the
drainage in heavy clay soils and the water-holding ability in
fast-draining soils.
Create compost with shredded leaves and other landscape trimmings.
Do not use meat, bones or dairy that can attract rodents. Avoid
diseased, insect-infested trimmings and weeds that can survive in
compost piles that don’t produce enough heat to kill these unwanted
pests.
Start with a compost pile that’s at least three feet high and wide
for efficient decomposition. Place a mixture of shredded fall
leaves, grass clippings free of herbicides, vegetable scraps and
other landscape trimmings in an 8- to 10-inch layer. Cover with
compost and sprinkle with a low nitrogen, slow release fertilizer.
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Repeat the layers until the pile is the desired
height. Then moisten until it’s the consistency of a damp sponge.
Turn the pile occasionally, moving the material in the center to the
outer edge and the less decomposed trimmings to the hotter center.
It’s a great workout and speeds decomposition. Or pile the materials
in a heap and let nature do the work; it just takes longer.
Oak and large maple leaves both make great mulches
and additions to the compost pile but are slow to break down. Shred
them with your mower or leaf shredder first for better results.
Avoid black walnut leaves that contain juglone, a compound which is
toxic to many plants. Once the leaves are fully decomposed the
compost is safe to use.
As you begin putting fall leaves to work in your landscape, you’ll
start considering them a gift versus a curse from nature especially
as you see the results of your efforts – a more beautiful landscape.
Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including
Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses How to Grow
Anything DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden
Moment TV and radio segments. Myers’ website,
www.MelindaMyers. com,
features gardening videos, podcasts, audio tips and monthly
gardening checklists.
[Photo credit: Melinda Myers, LLC ]
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