Editor's Note
One of our neighbors rakes his lawn every November until it looks like a golf course. He bags every leaf, leaves the bags at the curb, and come April he's at the garden center buying compost.
We used to do the same. We don't anymore.
What's in the pile
Leaves are full of the stuff trees pulled from the soil all summer. Nitrogen, potassium, calcium, carbon. Let them rot where they fall and it all goes back into the ground. Nobody rakes a forest, and forest soil is about as rich as it gets.
That layer is also where a lot of wildlife spends the winter. Moth and butterfly cocoons, firefly larvae, bumblebee queens dug in just under the surface. Bag the leaves and they go to the curb too.
And bagged leaves that end up in a landfill don't turn into soil. Without air they rot slowly and give off methane. So we pay to throw out free fertilizer, then pay again for mulch.
On the lawn, we just mow over the leaves once or twice. They break into small bits that sink between the grass and are gone in a few weeks. Takes twenty minutes.
Around trees, shrubs and flower beds, we leave them whole. They keep the roots warm and the soil damp, and by late spring you'll barely see them.
Anything extra goes into a wire ring in the back corner. A year or two later it's leaf mold, dark and crumbly, and seedlings love it.
One thing: wait to clean up in spring until it's been properly warm for a while, around 10°C (50°F) during the day. That gives everything sleeping in there a chance to move out.
So this weekend, skip the rake. If the neighbors ask, tell them you're building soil.
P.S. Raker or leaf-leaver? Hit reply and tell us.
Till next time,
Organic living isn’t about perfection – it’s about progress. Start with one swap this week (we won’t tell if it’s the dishwasher tablet 😉).
Till next time,