Every morning when I walk outside, a cool crisp bite of fall air catches my ears.  These cool nights are going to lead to falling leaves.  Depending on your mind set, those leaves can be a chore, or free soil food.

What’s in a leaf
Leaves are the remnants of the growing season from trees and shrubs.  These little photosynthesizing factories have reached their potential, and are making their way to your lawn.  Leaves are composed of many nutrients that are vital for plant growth.  These nutrients often have 1 of 2 destinations in a home landscape; the municipal compost pile, or in your soil.

Economics behind leaf removal
I’m not an economist by any means, but I think this equation makes basic sense.  If you spend hours raking leaves to the curb so that you can pay to have those removed, and then next spring buy compost or soil from a compost facility you are paying a lot for something that comes naturally!

X hours raking + $ for removal + $ for product in spring= A lot of unnecessary $

or....

Use the mower, that you already are going to use to cut your lawn with, to mulch and grind up the fallen leaves.  These leaves then break down quickly and add necessary organic matter to the soil.

Time Mowing + beneficial leaf decomposition to the lawn = Happy Lawn and little $

So before you take the time to move all those leaves to the curb, think about alternatives!

Guest Author: Andrew Muntz received his Master’s of Science in Turfgrass science and his Bachelors of Science in Landscape Horticulture at The Ohio State University, Columbus OH.