Leaves

I mow and mulch and put the leaves on my flower beds. There is always enough left on the grassways to give them nutrients.

I have neighbors that have do many different things with their leaves. The lady that lives across the street that has the most trees mulches her leaves and leaves them on the ground. Several have services that bag them and take them away.

My neighbor right next door cut down 10 trees so she wouldn’t have to rake leaves. How do you change this kind of thinking?? I sure wish I could.

I hope someone tells us some good ideas. I have talked to my neighbors about such things. I don’t know if it does any good or not. I haven’t seen any changes where changes need to be made.

In my neighborhood, full of mature maples lining the street, leaves are a serious issue. The city crews come with a giant leaf vacumn, several men out ahead of it raking the street piles back into place. Two men hold the nozzle, at least a foot in diameter that sucks up the leaves. I don’t have trees near the street, there were silver aspens planted when the house was built in the 1950’s, that died. The city does make the leaf mulch available to the public but you need a truck or trailer to haul it. They also take tree limbs and brush, also Christmas trees, mulch them and use the mulch for parks, plantings, etc. It seems like a good system. The leaves when wet on the street are very slippery and must be removed. Personally, I have an electric blower/vacumn that gives me nicely chopped leaves that go into the compost and raised beds. I have thought about grabbing the bags of leaves some people leave at the street but haven’t done it so far. The city crews empty these bags into the big vacumn to go into the giant pile at their public works area.

Frances-

Our township also offers leaf mold to those who will pick it up themselves. I’ve had my crew check it out and they have told me that it hasn’t been left to decompose enough. It’s a good reminder though to make others aware that this service might exist in their
neighborhoods. Your technique of using the blower/vacuum to chop up leaves sounds like a really efficient one. Fran

I’ve always found leaf removal to be odd and unnatural. When I moved into my house over twenty years ago- there was not a ladybug or earthworm to be found. Soil is on the sandy side. I started composting and “leaving” things where
they were in the fall – to die down naturally. Neighbors on either side of me remove everything- one vacumns his leaves. My soil is now good and I have the best garden on the block!!

Pat-

Thanks for sharing your experiences. You’re a great example of what can happen to less than perfect soil when fed with nutritious amendments.
I love the fact that you ‘leave’ your leaves around and that you have the best garden on the block. You go girl, go!!! Fran

Jodi,

Thanks for posting. It was good to hear from you.

I think you’re my new hero. I love this phrase: leafnapping. I’ve thought about it but have never tried it.

Not to worry about not getting all of the leaves raked before the snow, and bulbs as well.

I have been known to get out in mid-winter, if and when we have a stretch of milder weather, to rake leaves and plant bulbs.

As far as leaf blowing, sometimes I see a person using a leaf blower and it seems to also such an arduous process. Besides being an environmental issue, it just seems so much more fun, quicker and practical to rake, except perhaps in nooks and cranny. Fran

What can people do without a power mower to break down leaves left in place? We have a push mower and it won’t handle leaves. We compost but the compost pile often overflows.

I love reading that other people hoard leaves the way I do! I have maple and oak trees everywhere and still I have the neighbor’s landscaper dump a truckload of their leaves on my property. Most of them I put thru my chipper but those I don’t have time for I just pile up, cover with tarps and let them just compost on their own. I use the chipped ones on all my gardens in the spring – they look so neat and yet are ‘doing their thing’ keeping the soil moist and attracting lots of worms, etc. Leaves are just nature’s gold and it really kills me to see them dumped in the landfill – I am afraid to grab those, tho’ as there are those who are still using chemicals on their lawns.

I compost most of my leaves, and all the rest stay where they fall in woodland areas of my garden. Since they’re mostly red oak leaves, a fair amount really do need to be removed in order to let bulbs and perennials do their thing, because the leaves tend to form a thick mat.

I tried using a leaf vaccuum/chopper and found it intensely unpleasant–noisy and dusty. So I’ve resorted to composting the leaves whole, in round chicken-wire bins, for about 1-1/2 years.

I think a good place to start to build awareness would be at local government web sites, followed then by newsletters/flyers from the same. Show the various options available to people in that community:

– let leaves stay where they fall (in some cases)
– rake and bag leaves (for either gov’t pickup or maybe sharing with neighbors)
– mulching mowers, to mulch them right into a lawn
– rake leaves into piles, or add to bins, for composting and subsequent garden use
– etc.

Save Your City – Leave Raking Awareness Push

by ladynada
October 12, 2008 6:29 am EST

Nationwide across the United States, a Leave Raking Awareness Push has started in communities feeling the pressures of the FALL SEASON. In Early October, no one should be SURPRISED that an urgency surrounds the growing threat of leave suspension, that visits us every year at this time. Why is the “Fall of 2008” so different?

Talks of Harvest aside, the aging population of Baby Boomers scattered across the united states of america are hard pressed to either rake their leaves themselves or pay to hire landscapers to do the tedious job for them. In the meantime, it is quite apparent, even this early on in October, that many homeowners will opt to “WAIT IT OUT” until all the leavings have SETTLED and then make the FINAL DECISION.

The threat of the leaves carried on the WINDS of CHANGE from other surrounding dwellings is just too great to sacrifice and the pay cost of removalS during the onslaught. With the secret machinations of these homeowners in mind, a great PUSH has swelled up to raise awareness among the YOUNG PEOPLE of the united states of america, to come to the FOUR, and STAND in the GAP.

This Leave Raking Awareness Push will not only solve the problems facing homeowners nationwide, but will also prepare those same people for the ripple effects of the Economic Crisis. By Enlisting the aid of younger able bodied and available teenagers and adults in your community, your town will be able to develop an enhanced social net of acquaintances and Caring.

The process by which each community must mobilize to effect the infrastructure necessary for children and young adults to meet after school and be counseled trained and equipped to then embark under adult supervision to lawn assignments throughout the neighborhood, would create linkages among social groups in towns that are necessary to have a disciplined response to economic hardships that may arise. Plus, we get all our lawns raked!

The resulting social network would re-constitute the people of the united states of america to a first name, everyone is my neighbor basis.

The Children would be the unifying factor and multiplier.

HOW TO DO CREATE A LEAVE RAKING AWARENESS PUSH in your AREA

Please, first come up with as many ideas as you can on your own. All I can really do is offer some ideas that have come to me here.

First of all, just sharing the IDEA of it, is enough to know that it can and will result in the NETwork being created. The reason is that the idea is so easy to implement on any scale.

Combining Money remuneration into your program can initially be the key. As you gather more people who like the idea and want to see it happen, devise ways to raise money from all areas of your city: households, businesses, churches, govts, everyone donate to a FUND from which to PAY the children for raking the lawns.

To see this part happen, you must blanket your city with advertisement of the idea through those same groups including your local newspapers. Do not forget to inform civil servants and Police, Fire Hospital and Ambulance peoples. Print up flyers about the IDEA and setup a date and time and a meeting at a civil meeting place, like town hall or high school… then set up more meetings to discuss the next week at more local places… as the idea spreads.. the kids will love it

for the next two months the kids can earn money and get to know their neighborhood. Adults who like to volunteer can chaperone work groups who can work the same area. Local residents can meet their neighbors kids and their neighbors.

At meetings, people can discuss the economic situation’s impact on their city, and kids are present too… so more open discussions will take place and more ideas will come up to prepare or help with problems as they arise.

so… thats enough… as you can see this can spread very easily as little or as much as your desire to see it happen in your city..

nada

Nada-
Thanks so much for your thoughts on LEAVES RAKING AWARENESS PUSH. I hope your post will be informative to our readers. Fran