‘Tis the time of year for cider, pumpkins, turkeys and, apparently, leaf blowing.  It never ceases to amaze me the number of obsessive leaf pickers/gatherers there are.  I was stunned and amazed the other day driving by a woman in the street picking up each leaf along the curb and dropping it in the pile next to the apron of her drive.  She apparently didn’t look at her neighbors’ yards, which were covered with leaves.  I assume she would do it all over again when the next big gust of wind came along.

I haven’t raked or bagged leaves in years and I do not understand this fall obsession of making big curb piles.  Why give all that nutritious material to the big city, leaf-sucking machine?  I have a mulcher mower that chops all of my leaves and to incorporate into the lawn.  Doing this gives the nutrients to the grass and back to the trees from which they came. My yard has lots of leaves from a silver maple and red oak – both 50+ in age — and some other new and old trees.  Adding to those are more from the neighbors and from the golf course behind me, plenty for the mower to greedily munch.  Why should the city pay (your tax dollars) to have leaves picked up that you could have benefit your property or compost rather than having a company compost them and sell them back to you?  And think about all the petroleum byproducts and plastic debris that are inadvertently picked up in it.  Do you really want to add that to your veggie garden?  And the environment suffers from the additional gas and fumes from all the equipment used to gather them up.  My mother actually rakes her neighbors’ leaves from their lawns and also takes those already in piles and grinds them up for garden compost. 

So if you are one of those leaf pilers out there, I would love to hear the explanation of why you do this; otherwise, think before you pile and just leaf it there for the mower.

Posted by Joe Mehalik

The fiery glow of  Sweetspire (Itea virginica ‘Henry’s Garnet’) seems to raise the temperate around it by a few degrees, although that’s purely an illusion today! The two main groups of pigments that give autumn leaves their colors are: Carotenoids, which produce yellow, orange, and brown colors; and Anthocyanins, water-soluble substances which are produced when there are high levels of sugars in leaves or fruits under bright light conditions. Bright days and longer cooler nights, with adequate, but not excessive rainfall, are generally considered to be the catalysts for great fall leaf color.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a good, readable explanation of “Why Leaves Change Color” online, for all of us who have never tired of asking “why?” Whatever the color, do heed the good advice on this site and others to rake and compost fallen leaves. They also make an excellent mulch when left in place where they fall. Tiny micro-organisms will put them to good use replenishing the all-important organic content of the soil.

Posted by Ann McCulloh

It’s All About Leaves This Month

Have you ever stopped to consider the wonder of leaves? In the spirit of the season, here are a few things you may not know. Leaves are solar panels…really efficient solar panels. Leaves come in unexpected forms. Did you know the spines on a cactus are really leaves? Did you know that the tendrils on a grape vine are really leaves? Did you know that all those little rose “leaves” on one little stalk are really part of one big leaf? Did you know that the celery stalks and onion bulbs you purchase are really leaves?

Leaves are extremely complex and not easy to describe. They come in so many different shapes and sizes, too. Botanists have a long list of separate descriptors for the overall shape of a leaf, the tip of the leaf, the edge of the leaf, the base of the leaf, etc.

See what I mean? There is no end to the wonder of green, but I must “leaf” off here.

Do you have any fun facts about leaves? Let me know.