It's getting to that time of year (admittedly a little later than previous years here in the South East) when the annual task most homeowners don't relish will commence with earnest - Yes its leaf clean-up time!
The trees that have provided us with such beauty will eventually drop their foliage with a vengeance. The lawn, patio, borders, driveway and everywhere else will become the leaves final resting home. Even if you don’t have any trees, your neighbours leaves will find a way to sneak onto your property.
It always saddens me when I see a thick layer of leaves on a lawn, not only does this block sunlight and reduce the turf growth, the leaves will also trap and hold moisture in the turf canopy, increasing the potential for turf disease. Leaves left on decking and paths / patios will almost certainly cause slip hazards.
The key is to undertake leaf clearance little and often.
If you only have a fairly light dusting of leaves on your lawn, then consider using your mower to mulch them (of course the lawn shouldn’t be water logged or covered in frost!) and your mower blades set on high.
The key with mulching the leaves is to ensure that you don’t leave a thick layer of chopped up leaves on the lawn. Most domestic lawn mowers will struggle to mulch the leaves so an alternative would be to keep the grass collector box on and let the mower do the collecting.
If you have a mulching mower this will make the job easier as these are designed to shred and re-shred clippings and leaves finely, allowing them to fall down into the lawn and break down more easily than coarsely chopped materials.
If undertaken on a regular basis, mulching leaves into the turf has no detrimental effects on the grass and also helps to boost soil quality. Numerous university research reports have detailed how leaf mulching affects turf performance. In almost every instance, the results show that chopping up deciduous leaves as part of a regular mowing schedule is an effective means of managing these leaves without harming the turf.
Personally, I mow over the leaves in my garden every two to three days, or whenever they get thick enough to shade out the grass. The drier the leaves are when you mow them, the easier it is to collect them.
If you can’t mow or mulch the leaves, then unfortunately the only other real alternative is the good old fashion rake or leaf blower.
How you blow or rake your leaves is of course down to personal preference, I prefer to blow the leaves into large piles and bag them up whilst others will use a goal post effect with netting etc.
The biggest task is deciding on what to do with the collected leaves!
If you engage the services of a gardener, he or she will have to pay to dump them, the cost is based on weight and of course travel and unloading time. Don’t forget that the gardener under the Environmental Protection Act, has a 'Duty of Care' to ensure that any waste they produce is handled safely and within the law to ensure that waste is managed properly, recovered or disposed of safely, does not cause harm to human health or pollution of the environment and is only transferred to someone who is authorised to receive it!
The council supplied “green bins” never seem to hold more than a weeks’ leaf fall but are ideal for the smaller garden.
Bagging and taking the leaves to the council dump is okay if in small quantities but can be messy and time consuming.
However, I think leaves are a god send, by composting them, the leaves will soon become useful organic material for your soil.
The key to composting is to have a mix of carbon-rich materials (brown or dry materials such as leave) and nitrogen-rich materials (referred to as “green” or fresh materials, like grass cuttings).
As a general rule, two parts green material to one part brown will promote the best decomposition of the materials.
If you don’t like the idea of composting then consider making leaf mould. Leaves left in black bin liners stored in a shady area usually take a good year to compost down sufficiently for use as a mulch or two years to become a soil conditioner.
For larger gardens, a wire cage tucked out of sight is ideal but remember, depending upon the leaf type it can be a few years before you reap the reward.
Should you require assistance with your leaf clearance, either domestic or commercial property we have the resources (man power, rakes, leaf blowers to large vacuum collectors) to handle any size property efficiently and cost effectively.
We will be happy to discuss your requirements for a one off clearance to regular scheduled visits. Please check out my profile page for more details at https://landscapejuice.ning.com/profile/BGSLTD
Comments