As
the sun rises later each morning and sets earlier each evening, the
nights creep closer to freezing and the day doesn't warm until late
afternoon, it's time to start preparing your yard for the coming
winter. Depending on the size and complexity of your yard, and your
individual interest, preparing for winter can be a half day's project
or a month's worth of Saturdays.
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Multiple
options are available that make use of your leftover leaves, and
almost all of these options are far simpler than you might think. The
nice part is that you start with the same basic prep for all options
and then you get to decide what you want to do with them. Use all of
them in one or split it between all your options.
The
first step is to shred the leaves. There are two basic options for
shredding. The first option is to simply mow over the leaves on your
grass. If you have a mower and bag this is a really simply way to
shred. Simply mow into the bag and then empty the bag where you want
it. If your mower doesn't have a bag you can still mow the leaves,
but you're going to have to rake them up afterward. The other option
is to gather the leaves up and run them through a chipper/shredder.
This option may seem unnecessary if you own a mower, but a mower
isn't usable in all areas of a yard. Of course, the leaves could be
moved onto your lawn and then mowed. But if you have access to a
chipper/shredder it may be simpler to pile, shred, and use without
moving the leaves too far.
After
the leaves are shredded you have to decide what you want to do with
them. The simplest option is probably mulching and from there you can
go through more and more complex forms of composting. If you want to
use them for mulching they're ready to go. Simply take the shredded
leaves and place them where you want, around plants or across entire
flower beds. Mulching serves a couple purposes. The first is it helps
keep the soil moist by blocking the soil from direct sun exposure.
The second is that it helps provide a barrier against weed growth.
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By
themselves leaves don't make the most ideal compost. Leaves are heavy
in carbon, but low in almost all other nutrients. It's best to add
other green plant matter and food scraps from the house into the
compost to build up other nutrient levels. Doing this will help
create compost with a wide range of available nutrients, perfect for
adding to gardens and flowerbeds the following spring and summer.
Another
variant on compost is making leaf mold. The difference between leaf
mold and regular compost is the composition of the starting
ingredients. Leaf mold is entirely made of decomposed leaves. Simply
take the shredded leaves, place them together, and keep moist. You
can use compost bins, plastic bags, or just make piles on the ground.
Every few weeks simply turn and mix the leaves like you would with a
regular compost pile. Wait several months and then it's ready to use.
Leaf mold is less a fertilizing compost and more a conditioner for
the soil. It helps fluff up the soil while at the same time
increasing the water holding abilities of the soil.
If
you want to create new garden beds for the following spring the
leaves will be a great asset. Start by spreading several sheets of
newspaper over the ground you want to use. This will help keep
underlying vegetation from growing through. From there spread
alternating layers of shredded leaves and green plant matter
(basically anything except leaves), aiming for about twice as much
leaf matter as green matter. Layer until it reaches a foot or two in
depth and then let it sit. By springtime the matter should have
decomposed enough to leave a rich soil, perfect for spring planting.
Fall is ideal for this because the new garden has the rest of fall,
all winter, and early spring to decompose. The higher amounts of
rainfall and the winter snows also benefit by keeping it moist. By
spring the two feet you started with will have shrunk down, but the
soil should be very good for planting.
Whichever
of these options sounds the best is completely up to your tastes and
needs. Just use at least one of them. The amount of time it takes to
rake, gather, and bag all the leaves just to throw them away is
probably on par with at least a couple of these options. So take the
time to help yourself and make good use of all your available
resources, even if those resources are dead leaves.
Tune in next week for another interesting article.
Josh
Tune in next week for another interesting article.
Josh
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