Pete Lane, Montgomery County Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent
Soon the green mantle of the deciduous landscape will be turning colors and falling. Fallen leaves may delight the playful, but removal is often viewed as an unavoidable chore.
That's not necessarily so. Even when collection is advisable, there are ways to turn trash into a treasure.
If left on the ground, fallen leaves may accumulate enough to smother turf, ivy or other ground covers. But some fallen leaves, such as locust and maple, tend to dry and decompose quickly. Unfortunately, others, such as poplar, sycamore and oak, diminish little over time. Fall is a vital time of renewal for turf and perennial plants; a blanket of leaves could interfere with that process.
On turf, raking offers health benefits to both the raker and the grass because of the exercise involved and some thatch removal on the lawn. In ground covers and garden beds, leaf sweepers, blowers and vacuums can be very handy and easier on the back. However, all of these collection tools bypass the first principle of recycling--reduce!
Shredding greatly reduces the volume of fallen leaves. A 2-inch layer of dry leaves can be reduced to a one-eighth-inch dusting of shredded leaves by a good mulching mower system. Leaves shredded where they fall rarely produce a layer thick enough to bury grass. Windblown leaves may accumulate layers too deep for a mower and require collection.
An assortment of shredders and chippers can condense the bulk of collected leaves. For those who intend to recycle leaves through composting, shredding speeds up decomposition by giving microbes more surface area on which to feed. Those who bag their leaves may reduce their disposal fees or at least use fewer bags.
Whether composted or merely shredded, the nutrients and organic matter that leaves contain are assets to soil fertility when tilled into vacant fall garden plots. Shredded leaves also can be used as a mulch on the surface around trees, shrubs or in garden beds. They tend to be alkaline, so they help buffer acidic soils. But in alkaline areas, mulch made from leaves needs acidifiers.
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Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Adm. and Director, OSU Extension.
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