Ah, leaves. As the fall season is upon us and our leaves start to drop, the mass raking, mowing, bagging, and dumping at our curbs takes place. I would like to present some very good reasons for using our leaves and other organic matter on-site instead of disposing of them off of our properties.

Leaves feed our soils. They are nutrient rich and break down in our vegetable, perennial, and landscaped beds, and around our trees. They help protect our trees and plants from winter winds and elements. Deep leaf mulching protects plants and trees from the freezing and thawing cycle that is so common in our winters here and so harmful to the root systems of plants. In the spring, leaf mulch protects seedlings from late winter/early spring frosts, and continues to feed and mulch the soil. I have used deep leaf mulching for many years in my very large, perennial, native garden in my front yard with no detrimental affects to the pH levels in the soil. In fact, this technique helped solve a serious weed problem that developed in the years prior to our owning the property, when the garden was not tended for a period of years.

As a community situated on Lake Monona we need to be aware of the organic matter in our storm water runoff and how if affects our waters. When leaves sit in the street, they are carried by winds and rains into our storm drains and into Lake Monona. Also, rain seeping through leaves piled in or next to the gutter and around the storm drains makes a rich, concentrated “nutrient tea” that is good for fertilizing plants in our yard, but also good for fertilizing unwanted algae growth in our lakes. This is part of the reason our lakes turn green in summer. Rather than create windrows of leaves that add to the degradation of our lakes while they wait for collection, we can use the leaves as mulch, collect the leaves to add to our compost bins, or use a mower to shred the leaves and let them remain on the lawn as a nutrient-rich fertilizer.

By using our organic yard waste, such as leaves, small branches, plant stalks, garden matter, and grass clippings to feed our yards and gardens, we create a healthier, living soil. Soil rich in nutrients and organisms is fertile and creates a lighter density that is better at holding water. One of the earth’s most important resources is fresh water. By holding water, nutrient-rich soils not only benefit our trees, plants and grasses, they help feed our underground aquifers and assure us of water in our future. Compacted, chemically-treated, dead soil will not hold water. Water runs right over the top of such soils to lower ground, street gutters, or nearby streams and lakes. 

Whether we drive to drop off our yard waste or municipal workers pick it up, the act of sending it to dumping sites is very expensive, uses precious fuels, and creates significant carbon output. The irony is that after sending our compostable materials away, many of us go to our county site to get composted matter to feed our yards and gardens, or we buy manure and other soil amending products to do the job. Using our leaf and yard waste resources right at home saves us from doing both.

Composting yard wastes doesn’t have to be tedious or time consuming, especially if we put our organic matter right back into our garden beds and under our trees.

I hope you’ll consider trying some of these techniques. Our lakes and your soil will greatly appreciate it, and you will be working within the natural cycle of decay and regeneration.

For more ideas and specifics, please pick-up the UW-Extension Yard Care Series handout Managing Leaves and Yard Trimmings at the Sustainability Section at the Monona Public Library, or access it on line at this link: http://learningstore.uwex.edu/Yard-Care-Series-Managing-Leaves-and-Yard-Trimmings-P433C0.aspx.