This is always a sad time of year. After leafing out and shining in the summer sun and waving in the wind they all eventually turn brilliant fall colors and fall to the ground. Fall leaf drop is here!
For a light covering of leaves in your lawn, they can be mowed. Mow leaves when they are dry, so they don’t clump together and make it more difficult. When mowing leaves, make sure you can see the grass beneath the cut-up leaves. If the leaf layer is too thick, it can smother and kill the grass.
By mowing the leaves and chopping them into small pieces, they will drop between the blades of grass to the soil surface. Once there, microbes can begin to break them down. As the leaves are broken down, they will contribute to the organic matter in soils and nutrients will be released for turf to utilize.
If you’ve ever done any composting, you know how valuable leaves can be as a ‘brown’ material. Compost is a dark, crumbly, and earthy-smelling form of organic matter that has gone through a natural decomposition process. If you have a garden, lawn, trees, shrubs, or even planter boxes or houseplants, you have a use for compost.
While we often dread the appearance of leaves in our yards, they are a valuable and free resource for our landscapes.
Leaves can also be used as a mulch in vegetable gardens, flower beds, and around trees and shrubs.
A layer of mulch can be beneficial in our landscapes. It can help:
· Conserve soil moisture
· Moderate soil temperatures
· Prevent soil crusting and erosion
· Control weeds
· Contribute nutrients and organic matters to soils
When using leaves as mulch, it’s a good idea to shred them first because leaves may clump together, forming a mat that can prevent moisture from reaching the soil. Shredded leaves are more likely to stay in place compared to unshredded leaves.
Leaves can be used to help insulate plants too. By using leaves as insulation, we can keep the soil uniformly cold and prevent freezing and thawing cycles that can damage marginally hardy plants, such as some hybrid tea roses, lavender, etc. This can be done by placing shredded leaves around the crowns of these plants, or wire frames can be built and filled with leaves. If using leaves as insulation, don’t put them on plants until temperatures are consistently below freezing.
