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What to Do with Leaves?           1825  Views
 
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Fear of public opinion or just the urge to be tidy has always spurred us to pick up a rake and get rid of all the leaves that have collected on the lawn as well as planted gardens.  Now comes advice to the contrary, perhaps this will delight those who would rather use the time to do something else.

The first one is from Dr. Goatley of Virginia Tech. - “Leave" Them Alone: Lawn Leaf Management. In this wonderful write up, which was originally published on Dr. Goatley’s blog,  he makes easy to follow recommendations to manage this task: “Don’t bag them, just mulch them.”  Purdue University tested 4,000 lbs of crushed leaves per acre in a single application without affecting the lawn.

I have been practicing this in my yard for several years.  I go even further.  I do not rake leaves from my garden beds either. I just mulch over these leaves.  Depending on the organic content in your soil and the microbial activity they will disintegrate quicker than you may imagine.

The second similar article is in the current issue of Fine Gardening: Improve Your Soil by Raking Less. It recommends both mulching the leaves on the lawn areas as well as leaving them alone in the garden beds.  “If you dread the annual fall leaf-raking marathon, I have good news for you: Raking and collecting leaves every autumn is a tradition without scientific basis. Research has proven that mowing leaves into your lawn can improve its vigor, and observation shows that unraked leaves in planting beds don’t smother shade-tolerant perennials.”

 
Posted on 10/30/2008 11:45:16 AM     © Garden Advice
lawn  care  gardening  leaf  management 
 
 
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Comments
I believe that was the technique the Nearings (Helen and Scott) used in their garden each year ~ a few inches of leaves to enrich the soil.
Report Abuse   Posted by:  coriander On 1/23/2009 9:07:10 pm
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