How autumn leaves can benefit lawns
Jerry Zona, executive director of Tri-County CleanWays, uses compost mixed with potting soil around his landscaping. It’s just one of the uses for compost, and fall is the perfect season to get into it.
Described by Zona as “human intervention in the natural process of decay,” composting is recycling organic waste. Almost anything made of organic matter will compost, according to Zona, and fallen autumn leaves are one of them.
“Just about anything organic from your yard can be composted, as well as a lot of your kitchen scraps,” Zona said.
Leaves are a carbon source, otherwise known as a brown material. Combined with nitrogen sources, green materials, and an adequate amount of oxygen, they will break down into soil.
“Balancing those 3 things will speed up a process that can take up to 2 years in nature, in as little as 6 or 7 weeks, depending on how much time somebody wants to put into it,” Zona said.
Fallen leaves are rich in both carbon and minerals, making them a good brown material to utilize as a free source.
Diane Dallos, Penn State Extension Butler County Master Gardener coordinator, said various tree leaves can be preferable for faster decay.
“Overall, they’re an excellent resource and can really help improve moisture retention, can improve soil structure and can improve the nutritious content of soil,” Dallos said.
Although fall is a great time for those in a wooded area to collect their brown materials, green materials thrive in the spring. Bringing composting to every season, nitrogen rich organic materials include grass clippings, weeds and vegetable scraps. Homeowners cutting their grass can save it to pair with their fall leaves.
“It’s actually a good time for people to stockpile some grass that they can use to compost with their leaves in the fall,” Zona said.
Tri-County CleanWays utilizes the spring and fall for their composting workshops. The workshops teach anyone interested in composting how to get started with a compost bin.
“Normally when we do a compost workshop, we’ll typically do it either in October, November, when the leaves are coming down; or we’ll do one in the spring, when people are gearing up to cut their grass,” Zona said.
The rich, compost soil a gardener is left with can be used for several things around the lawn. It can be used for planting, filling in holes in the lawn or mixed in with potting soil. As things grow every year, they remove the nutrients from the soil. Compost can add those nutrients back in.
“So adding back in is a great way to continue making sure that we have thriving, growing gardens, for seasons to come,” Dallos said.
Because leaves are so rich in nutrients, they can be used for a few other landscaping needs. Running over leaves with a lawnmower to shred them into smaller bits allows them to decay faster. Once broken up, they can be moved from hazard areas and left on the grass.
Leaving broken up leaves on the lawn to decay recycles the natural minerals and organic matter of the leaves. Dallos noted this should be done frequently with smaller quantities or at the end of the season.
“Running them over with a lawnmower or a (vacuum) and then moving them to the spaces that you want them is a really great way to maintain that balance between leaf management and having good ecological spaces,” Dallos said.
Many gardeners use their fallen, shredded leaves as a mulch for their flowers and gardens, rather than composting.
Dallos said they can retain moisture well and provide nutrition to the soil. Applying a 2-inch layer of shredded leaves to flower beds will also provide insulation for perennials.
“It just becomes really important to consider those factors when you’re considering what you’re doing with your leaves,” said Dallos.
Those raked up leaves can also be used for a habitat pile for wildlife. A habitat pile can be as simple as a pile of leaves and a few downed branches under a tree. The debris will eventually break down and, in the meantime, it creates a place for wildlife to nest.
“So just being a little more conscious of what we do with those and inviting spaces that those small animals, those birds, those pollinators can nest, and, you know, kind of thrive,” Dallos said.
