Emily Baker
When I look at the changing leaves in the city’s Donner Park near my home, I remember the hazy air and the scent of smoldering leaves on a sunny fall day in my childhood. My two unmarried aunts who lived with my grandma up the road always had a fall mission to “clean up the woods” and that meant burning the leaves from the half-acre of trees around their home. No one does that anymore!
The soft yellows, gleaming oranges and flaming reds that usually brighten the park here in town and roadways of the county may not be so bright this year. The very dry fall and the warm sunshine we’ve had can delay and mute those well-loved fall colors. When the temperatures cool and fall rains begin, the leaves and their trees will part ways and fall – assigning us another bit of yard work. We no longer burn those leaves and raking them up to be hauled away continues to be the norm. But there are other, more beneficial methods for dealing with these faded beauties on your own lawn.
Consider first, the fallen leaves as a resource rather than refuse. Leaves retain 50-80% of the nutrients the tree has extracted from the soil and air. Reusing them benefits plantings and the animals that live in them. Think too, of the pollinators we work so hard to attract. We can continue to support them through the winter with stems and leaves providing shelter, places to lay eggs and food for their emerging young. Leaving a mound of leaves in an out-of-the-way corner is good for other wildlife too. Toads, box turtles, salamanders and others will use it for food and shelter and in turn, eat up some harmful insects in the garden in the spring. Butterflies and moths also over winter in them.
Mowing, mulching, composting and direct soil improvement are four ways to deal with leaves without hauling them away. Simply making a few passes over fallen leaves with the lawn mower and leaving them gives the lawn a fertilizer treatment, especially if one pound of nitrogen for each thousand square feet is added to facilitate nutrient release. As long as you can see green lawn through the leaves, the application is not too heavy. Shredding or “mowing” all leaves (especially oak and maple) when using for mulch prevents them clumping and packing down when wet. This makes them good mulch for around tree trunks and other plantings. After strawberries and asparagus patches freeze, leaves can be used as a protection against the plants heaving during the winter — just be sure to remove early in the spring. When potting up bulbs for forcing, the pots can be placed outdoors and buried in leaves for their chilling period.
Working leaves into garden soil increases the organic matter quickly and is a great addition for any soil type. The leaves lighten clay soil to improve tilth and drainage. In sandy soils, water and nutrient retention is improved by the addition of leaf litter. A sprinkle of nitrogen aids in quicker decomposition on both soils.
Your compost pile is a happy recipient of dead leaves as well. Whether your method is hot composting or cold, the leaves add nutrients and the dry leaves can be used to balance the green material in your pile. Whole leaves, of course, take longer to decompose but if you can wait, you’ll save a little labor on your fall garden chores.
Lastly, a couple of unexpected benefits from using leaves on your own plot come from reduced trips of city trucks. Your neighborhood could be a little quieter with less noise from the truck’s giant vacuum. Less exhaust from the trucks may leave a little more room for your nose to remember that smoky scent from my childhood.
Emily Baker is a Purdue Extension master gardener and has been gardening nearly 50 years. She is member and past president of South Central Indiana Master Gardener Association. More information about the association is available at scimga.org. Resources for this article include Rutgers University, Texas A&M University, The Xerces Society and Purdue University. Send comments to therepublic.com.
