Autumn gives us the gift of leaves.

Byline: Paul Rogers

COLUMN: Roots of Wisdom

Storms of wind and rain have done an efficient job of removing loads of leaves from your trees and your neighbors' trees. Whether from your own yard or from down the street, the leaves should be considered a gift. Yes, it is a gift that requires effort on your part, but a gift nonetheless.

The species of tree that provided the leaves will determine, in part, how the leaves will be treated. Start at the beginning. The wet leaves plastered on lawns and hard surfaces and windrowed against fences, stairs and buildings need to be removed. Tree leaves left on lawns damage the grass, as they block the sun, prevent the grass from drying and provide conditions that foster disease.

A flexible-tined rake or a lawn vac unit will assist in the gathering of the leaves. An "air-broom" will move dry leaves into windrows for easier pickup or to blow the leaves clear of the manicured portion of the property into fields or wooded areas.

In recent years it is recognized as a Best Maintenance Practice to use lawn mowers as mulching machines by running the mower over the tree leaves to break the leaves into tiny bits that rapidly break down and fertilize the grass. The lawn gets top-dressed with free organic matter that will feed the grass, the "waste" is recycled on the property and you save money because you need to buy less fertilizer and likely less fungicide.

The piles of leaves against structures and around plants can perform as mouse-houses. How pleased will moles, voles and other rodents be if they are protected from the eyes of hawks and owls. As the leaves pack down around plants and are frozen in place, the bark-eating rodents are locked into the pantry for the winter. They have no need to travel. Life is good!

What gardeners and homeowners need to do is remove those tree leaves as soon as possible. Bag or pile them in an out-of-the way location until the soil has frozen solid. This condition may not occur for weeks yet. The soil temperature remains at 42 degrees. The soil is moist to wet because of the moisture that we have received. When the soil finally freezes deep and hard, there will be no surface tunneling.

If you find yourself with more tree and shrub leaves than you need, build a compost heap or snow fence corral to hold the leaves in place until they break down into "black gold." Leaves of beech, birch and maple are alkaline in composition. They sweeten the soil by releasing the lime in their tissue.

Oak leaves are made of sterner stuff. They break down slowly. To accelerate their decomposition, season their piles with calcium nitrate granular fertilizer or dried blood. If pine needles litter your property, collect them and redistribute them under existing pines or other evergreens.

Consider the leaves covering your property as a gift from nature. After leafing, blooming and perhaps fruiting, the same trees that provided summer shade and autumnal splendor now offer fertilizer, mulch and healthy exercise.

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Title Annotation:	LIVING
Publication:	Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA)
Date:	Nov 11, 2012
Words:	519
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