Leaves

I have an article in The Western Tribune today, copied below. They don't let me write about anything exciting, but enjoy anyway.



It’s nearing the end of January, and piles of leaves, fallen months ago, are still appearing in plastic bags on the curb. As a Horticulturist and someone concerned about the environment, this has always bothered me a bit.

In an undisturbed forest, leaves fall from trees in autumn and gradually decay, releasing their nutrients back into the soil, and replenishing the soil’s organic matter content. In this process, the forest soil stays rich, fertile, and pliable.

The annual removal of leaves disrupts this natural process, and over time, renders the soil in our home landscapes dense, infertile, compacted, and less able to retain water during droughts.

Additionally, picking up leaves from the curbside usurps a considerable amount of our public financial resources. Organic refuse also occupies substantial space in our limited landfills. As large trucks drive around picking up piles of leaves, they release tons of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.

But are there alternatives to this? Won’t our landscapes turn into vast leaf piles if we don’t remove the leaves?

Consider the natural forest that I mention above. Do leaves build up to problematic proportions in forests? Thankfully, nature has ways of keeping things in balance.

All good gardeners recognize the water-conserving and weed-suppressing value of a good layer of organic mulch. While leaves make a perfectly good mulch, some home-owners may find their appearance a bit untidy. Try placing the leaves behind your landscape plants where they will be unseen or less noticeable. If your landscape contains natural areas under trees, put leaves removed from your lawn there, where they will appear quite natural. You may be a bit dismayed by the initial “puffiness” of the leaves, but they will settle to a small fraction of their original volume over the winter.

Another option is to establish a compost pile where leaves will rapidly degrade into a useful garden soil amendment. Composting is a simple science, but it pays to learn to do it right. Your County Extension Service has some good publications on composting. Also look for information in books on natural gardening at the library.

It may be true that the size of many modern properties necessitates the removal of some leaves. But even so, bagging them is unnecessary, and prevents the leaves from decaying naturally.

A leaf is an amazing invention of the natural world, representing the base of the food chain by transforming light, air and water into sugars. Let’s consider recognizing their importance by allowing them to remain a part of the natural cycle in our home landscapes.