The conditions this fall were ideal to bring out the best in the tree canopies.
The colours produced were brilliant with vibrant reds and golds bathing and decorating many well-planned, treed, Bradford streets. Having feasted our eyes for the last three weeks on nature’s fall glory, we are reminded, in these first weeks of November, that which is up must eventually come down. Piles of leaves are accumulating everywhere and people, being who they are, feel the need to leave their properties free of leaves prior to the arrival of snows. Their leaf removal angst is responsible for the excessive noise and the polluting gases of the leaf blowers. Now, instead of colourful canopies, our streets are festooned by copious leaf-filled bags to be taken away, hopefully for composting.
That urge to remove all leaves makes me realize that we biology teachers have failed our students. People’s apparently innate and consistent drive for “neatness” of lawns makes folks make the wrong choice biologically.
Trees get their lovely canopies by absorbing their nutrient content from the surrounding soil. Any graduate from Guelph’s agriculture programs, or anyone raised by successful farmers, will know that the richness of any crop is directly dependent on the richness of the soils in which plants grow.
Minerals from the soil strengthen and enlarge trees whereas their energy derives from the sun combining atmospheric gases. Any farmer or gardener can tell you that too little fertilizer will stunt the plants and too much fertilizer will also harm them by chemical poisoning. All life on Earth thrives within very narrow, confined boundaries.
The removal of leaves is counterproductive. Why not replenish and replace the minerals taken by the tree in its making of the leaves and growth by root absorption with the minerals deposited by rotting leaves? Leaving the nutrients coming from the leaves will not only free yourself from leaf blowers and from raking but will also save you fertilizer cost and make you feel good about enriching the soil. The soil will thank you next year by growing plants that look and produce better.
A problem of too many leaves leaving a wet choking layer killing whatever is underneath could develop. To solve that, do a late fall run with the lawnmower.
If we recycle all the natural products, our community and our offspring will benefit. It takes a change in our attitude, our outlook and methodology to affect this. Give it a try this fall?
Please, like my fellow soil stewards and gardeners, let resting leaves lie where they fall or compost them in your yards to be used in your gardens. My promise to you is that if you do that, better results will be your reward.
