Why we should ditch rake and leave the leaves
By: Maddie McGay
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... It's the time of the year again.
.....
The air has already started to turn crisp, and those brightly colored leaves have begun to fall, and will blanket years across North Jersey. And while many people may pride themselves on keeping their yards looking pristine, you may want to think twice before bagging and clearing away that crunchy fall foliage.
..... In an initiative aptly referred to as "Leave the Leaves," many people are encouraging homeowners to leave their fallen leaves along -rather than raking them up and disposing of them - because of the natural benefits they provide to our ecosystem and wildlife.
..... The National Wildlife Federation has even deemed October Nation Leave the Leaves Month. And last year, [2023] the organization surveyed nearly 1,2000 individuals about what they do with their fallen leaves.
.....
"We've seeing the majority of people removing their leaves with only a handful suing the waste for other purposes such as compost or mulch," David Mizejewski, a naturalist for the National Wildlife Federation, said at that time. "This tells us there's an opportunity to educate the public about how often leaves can still benefit wildlife and the garden no matter if you remove them from your yard or leave them be."
..... Many people consistently fertilize their lawns to provide essential nutrients to the soil, promoting strong and healthy grass. But if you just leave your fallen leaves, your lawn's soil will receive organic nutrients form the leaves as they decompose, meaningNorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey there will be no need for you to fertilize it.
.....
"We've never gotten rid of our leaves, and we've also never fertilized our lawn because it basically does the same thing," said Elaine Silverstein, a professional horticulturist and vice president of chapters for the Native Plant Society of New Jersey. "Nobody fertilizes the forest. The nutrients come from recycling leaves that fall down every year. That's the fertility in your soil."
..... Emile DeVito, manager of science and stewardship at New Jersey Conservation Foundation, said keeping your soil fertilized naturally this way will also help suppress weed growth in your lawn.
..... He said leaves help block sunlight form penetrating directly into your lawn's soil, which will prevent weeds from growing, sparing the cost of buying mulch.
..... Fallen leaves also serve as a habitat for wildlife.
..... For example, Silverstein said, caterpillars and moths typically wait out the winter season as pupae in the dead falling leaves. But if you dispose of your fallen leaves, she said, you're disposing of these insects as well.
..... Similarly, bumblebees, snails, beetles, spiders and other insect also rely on leaves to protect them during the winter, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
.....
Leaving your leaves in your yard, rather than piling them up on the curb to be collected, will also likely save municipalities money on leaf collection, Silverstein said. North Jersey towns like Glen rock and Englewood encourage residents to leave their leaves.
How to use leaves as mulch
..... Although the concept is leaving your leaves, there are some things you can do with your fallen leaves to ensure that they provide the most benefits erosible.
..... DeVito said you can consider mulching your leave so they decay faster than if they've full size, letting them blend in more with your grass. you can likely use your lawn mower to do so, he said, because most lawnmowers are mulching lawnmowers.
.....
But Silverstein said to keep in mind leaves, there are likely already insects suing those leaves to protect themselves form the winder. So she recommends refraining form chopping up your leaves, if possible.
.....
And if you live somewhere with an abundance of trees, DeVito said, you may end up with more fallen leaves than other areas get. With this, he said it may not be feasible to keep all the leaves that fall in your yard. In that case, he recommends keeping the first and last few weeks of fallen leaves, for example, and disposing of the rest if it's too much.
..... You can also use a rake or leaf blower to move some break down, Silverstein said. And she also recommends composting to further make use of these fallen leaves.
..... "If you make a nice pile of leaves or put them in a wire bin, a year form now you'll have compost," she said. "You can add your green material, kitchen scraps and other stuff, which is fine because that's a good way of recycling that and keeping the garage collection lower. It's a great way to encourage people to make compost out of their leaves."