To Leave Or Not To Leave the Leaves. That is the Question.
Posted by: Editor Post date: December 10th, 2010
During the first week of December in many parts of the country two events take place that always require you to make decisions.
The first decision is fairly simple. You are asked to turn your clocks back one hour from Daylight Savings to standard time. You don’t have to do this but you will probably miss some appointments if you do not. Most folks classify this one as simple and merely a distraction.
The second event is going to require more effort to make the decision and also choosing the method used to solve the problem. This decision has to do with all those leaves that have begun accumulating on your lawn. Admit it. Every year you stare out the window and wonder aloud if it is really necessary to remove all those leaves.
After all nobody cleans the leaves in the forest and everything there seems to thrive. True enough. The leaves decompose and eventually nourish the soil which in turn helps the trees to stay healthy.
However there are a couple of things to consider.
First the forest is not covered with expensive grass that is constantly nurtured with costly fertilizer, lawn maintenance, water and all kinds of gentle loving care. Your lawn will not thrive under a blanket of leaves.
In addition those leaves will mostly receive some late fall rain and then be subjected to a little Indian summer sunshine which will cause them to rot and become moldy. The odor from this unpleasant mess will not be appreciated by most folks. After a winter covered with snow those once beautiful leaves will be a sight no homeowner will apreciate. Might even be more of a mess to clean up in the spring then they would have been in the fall.
These troublesome leaves can be easily turned into very nourishing mulch however if your lawnmower is equipped to mulch them. Recent studies have shown positive effects when leaves are mulched into the soil. If your leave accumulation is not too great this could be a relatively labor free solution.
One sure method is to do what has been done for ages. Rake and bag them and put them at the curb for the city administrators to deal with. Don’t even think about burning them. If you do you will soon receive a visit from the local police or fire department in many communities.
If your plot of land is large enough you might consider making a compost pile. This produces valuable material which will come in hany during lawn and gardening times and you will find peace knowing that you are saving the city taxpayers a little and also contributing to the ever popular green movement.
Hey you might even receive a commendation or something to help ease the back pain.
Whatever decision you make do not wait too long. the weather is not going to get better and even though some of those leaves might blow onto your neighbors lawn there will still be plenty to deal with. Perhaps Santa could bring you a lawn vacuum for next years batch.
