KATHLEEN CORBIN

Leaves have their own ecosystem!

You would be amazed at the number of animal and insect species that use the leaf layer as their primary habitat.  Frogs and toads, chipmunks, lizards, earthworms, butterfly and moth caterpillars and larvae can be found among the leaves. Birds forage in the leaves searching for insects to eat and to feed to their babies during nesting season.

Leaves are actually “free” mulch and fertilizer

As the leaves break down, they fertilize and enrich the soil.  They also protect the plant roots and preserve soil moisture throughout the winter.  Whole leaves are better for your yard than mulched leaves as whole leaves protect the insects and wildlife living among them.

What do I do if I don’t want leaves?

If you simply must get rid of your leaves, at least do so with the most sustainable methods possible.  You can compost leaves at home or drop them off at a composting center.  My neighborhood has curbside pickup of yard waste and leaves which are taken to a composting center.

Whatever you do, do not put leaves in the trash.  As the leaves breakdown they create methane gas. Methane is one of the worst greenhouse gases contributing significantly to climate change.

Leaves vs Lawns

Of course, leaves are not a great thing for your grass as the leaves will actually smother the lawn. So, using a rake (the best method), you can rake the leaves off the lawn and into your surrounding beds.  Here they can breakdown over the winter without ruining your lawn.  But, an even better idea is to reduce the size your grassy areas.  Grass is really not environmentally friendly at all.  Lawns require a large amount of polluting pesticides and fertilizers and huge amounts of water to maintain their lush green carpet.  Maybe it’s time to convert most of our artificial lawns into natural flower beds, shrubs, and trees that require less water.  Think about climate change and which native plants will fare the best in your area.

My Pet Peeve (or at least one of them)

One of my pet peeves is the massive commercial lawnmowers and leaf blowers going through my neighborhood all summer and fall.  These gas guzzlers produce a lot of air and noise pollution.  At our house, we have been using an electric mulching lawnmower which gets the job done very well.  California passed a law banning any new gas-powered lawn equipment by 2024 in order to cut down on air and noise pollution.  I’m all for seeing that idea go nationwide.

While on the subject of pet peeves, please stop using the mass yard sprays from commericial yard care companies. They are really NOT effective at killing mosquitos and they WILL kill butterflies, bees, ladybugs, and other important insects. The sprays also allow the mosquitos to become resistant to the spray and turn into “super” mosquitos. There are better ways of dealing with mosquitos which I won’t go into here.