A Mulch Better Way to Clear Leaves

Mulched leaves decompose, returning nutrients to your lawn and garden beds.

October 10, 2024
3 min read
Man with a lawnmower

The air is crisp, the ACs are silent, and The Garnets are on a roll.

It must be fall.

Leaves are dropping. To paraphrase Clemenza in The Godfather, “Leave the leaf bags, take the mulching mower.” Mulched leaves reduce in volume more than 10-fold. This year, instead of banishing every leaf from your property, mulch mow instead. Just think of all the time you will save. More time to watch The Garnets. Or my personal favorite, take a nap.

Mulched leaves decompose, returning nutrients to your lawn and garden beds. They improve soil structure, insulate your plants against winter cold, offer overwintering sites for pollinators and insects, which in turn provide nourishment for birds.

Imagine reducing the cacophony of leaf blowers. No more ash-like dust of particulate matters covering windowsills and outdoor furniture. Free curbs of miles of piles of leaf bags resembling sandbags in preparation for a battle.

That change alone will reduce your carbon footprint, avoid the need to buy fertilizer to replenish what you have removed, and save the city time and money spent on unnecessary carting. Honestly, how annoying is it struggling to open those stupid bags only to be insulted by how they always fall over when filling. Then without fail you overstuff and rip bags as you mumble words not appropriate for mixed company. Time for a reset.

Rye City Tree Foreman William. O. Weeks has a backlog of trees to plant. He says fall is an ideal time to plant trees. However, certain tasks take precedence, like picking up mountains of leaf bags, other responsibilities and emergencies guaranteed to happen with regularity — all delaying his crew from planting trees. Let’s help Rye to plant more trees by the simple act of keeping our leaves to ourselves for the betterment of lawns, plantings, pollinators, and community.

Early fall is time to remove all plants that are weak, infected, or prone to mildew or fungus. Replace with resistant varieties. Fall is time to plant or transplant trees and shrubs. Incorporate compost from your pile into planting holes. WATER! Water is de rigueur for your plants to develop new roots in the still warm soil.

To ensure your garden is full of color in the fall, add deer resistant plants like Callicarpa with its striking purple berries. Winterberry comes alive with green leaves set against brilliant red berries. Birds love those red berries. Asters, hardy mums, and black-eyed Susan’s offer loads of color.

I love natives, but stray. Two worthwhile fall blooming, deer resistant, part shade tolerant pollinator attractors are Abelia-shrub and Anemone-perennial. Abelia produces dainty pale pink flowers favored by bees well into fall. Japanese anemones’ October blooming flowers attract butterflies and more bees while swaying in the wind. For good reason it is known as windflower.

Remove and dispose of tomato plants and their fallen leaves. Spread your compost pile onto your vegetable garden. The compost will keep soil moist and warm, extending your vegetables’ growing season. Plant cool weather greens like spinach, Swiss chard, and kale. You may be able to get a quick crop of radishes up and growing before hard frost.

Think spring now. Bulbs, bulbs, and more bulbs bloom in spring, greeting everyone along Playland Parkway, and lining Manursing Way and the grande allée in Rye Town Park. Daffodils and bluebells are deer resistant and multiply. This is the year to add them, not add many, to your property. You will be happy you did when spring comes.

Back to leaves. It is time to clean gutters. Besides filled with fresh leaves, you may find good compost in your gutters. Spread on your plantings. Clean gutters will ensure that you do not have water seeping into foundations, promoting mold or back up into the roof that causes water damage.

Climb a ladder, get to work, and enjoy views from aloft.

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