Keep your leaves on your lawn. Mother Nature deposits them there for a purpose: to feed and nourish your lawn. That’s right, mulching leaves into your lawn is the same as feeding your lawn. This results in a greener, healthier lawn next summer. Research has proven that mowing leaves into your lawn can improve its vigor, and help to slow down weed germination in the spring.
Organic matter and nutrients from leaves mown into lawn areas has been proven to improve turf quality. At Michigan State University, researchers set a rotary mower to cut at a height of 3 inches and then mowed an 18-inch-deep layer of leaves into test plots. That’s the equivalent of 450 pounds of leaves per 1,000 square feet. The tests resulted in improved soil and healthy lawns with few remnant leaves visible the following spring.
You can achieve similar results if you set your mower to cut at the same height as in the Michigan State study, and mow at least once a week during peak leaf fall when your lawn reaches a height of 4 inches. Leaves shred most efficiently when slightly damp, so mow after a light dew. If you follow these simple guidelines, you will never rake another leaf and improve the quality of your soil.
Leaves have so many uses in your yard:
Use leaves for winter protection around plants- Pile l
eaves up around plants once the ground is frozen, and then remove in early spring, this helps insulate tender plant roots from damaging freezing and thawing conditions. Leaves piled around roots will help soil maintain a more even temperature. This helps plants survive where alternating periods of freezing and thawing don’t provide consistent snow cover.
Mulch for gardens and under trees and shrubs
- Shred leaves and then spread in garden, this shades exposed soil so less weeds, helps the soil retain moisture, and as leaves break down they provide nutrients that plants need. Shredded leaves applied as mulch protect plant roots from heat and cold and retain soil moisture during dry spells.
Used in composting, leaves are a source of “brown” high carbon material
- Rake leaves into a pile beside your composter and store them in a second
composter or other suitable container, whenever you throw greens into your main composter add in a handful of leaves, this keeps down smells and flies and helps to create a balance in your composter that will turn into finished compost quicker.
There’s no limit as to how many leaves to put into your composter, but if you have a lot, shredding them first will help to break them down faster.
Make leaf compost : your own source of free fertilizer
- Set up an area in your yard to store the leaves. It can be as easy as a chicken-wire cage to contain them. You can also just pile them into one corner of the yard out of sight and where the wind can’t reach them. By next year, they will be reduced to a fraction of their original size. When you need compost, just dig down to the bottom of the pile.
Stockpile leaves
- Store piles of leaves in an extra composter, garbage bin, make a wooden crate, in a pile hidden out of site in the garden. Then you can use them year round.
Mow leaves and leave on the lawn
- By mowing the leaves in the fall about once a week until they are finished falling you will not have to rake a single leaf. Tip: Set the front wheels on your mower higher than the back to mow over the leaves.
- Leaves will break down on the lawn and provide nutrients to the soil and cover exposed soil, helping to stop weed seeds from germinating.
Start a new garden
- Rake leaves to where you want to start a new garden. Let them sit over the winter and plant into your new bed in the spring.
Extend the season for winter root vegetables
- Extend the season for vegetables, like rutabagas, carrots, leeks, kale or beets, by using a heavy layer of shredded leaves to cover them. You may find that you can harvest these vegetables all winter with this added protection from the leaves.
Tips:
· There’s no limit as to how many leaves to put into your composter, but if you have a lot, shredding them first will help to break them down faster.
· Do not leave a thick layer of leaves on your lawn. Thi
s can lead to rotting of the grass or perennials beneath. If using full leaves in your gardens for winter protection, rake the leaves out in the spring and use in your composter, or shred them and leave on the lawn.
· Consider gathering leaves from your neighbours’ lawn if you have a short supply.
· Put leaves into a plastic garbage can and use your weed-whipper to chop them up.
· Use the bag catcher on your lawn mower, run over the leaves and then just empty the bag into your composter or gardens.
If we all keep our leaves on our properties, we will improve our gardens, save money, and enhance the environment we all share.
For more information or questions about our Healthy Landscapes Program, email (healthylandscapes@guelph.ca ) call 519-822-1260 x 2109.
