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Fall Cleanup: Loving Your Leaves

by Patricia A. Michaels

Americans, long enchanted with the idea of a perfectly manicured lawn, experience a love-hate relationship come fall. On the one hand, the changing of the leaf color guard adds a sparkling type of frame to any home owner's yard.

On the other hand, the fragility of the frame guarantees that the leaves will soon wind up on the ground in need of care. Traditionally, Americans have approached the leaf care task with rakes, leaf blowers and plastic bags in hand.

Tradition, by definition, runs opposite of change. Over time, environmentalists' concerns have spurred on, if not a revolution in yard care practices, at least some change.

Consider the great leaf blower debates, for example, going on in communities around the country. It pits the gadgets and noise loving crowd against the peace and quite crowd, much the same way the great snowmobile debate heats up come winter. Because of the noise made by the peace and quiet crowd, manufacturers have begun to produce quieter versions, although you might not know it if your neighbor still has the older version.

The smell of burning leaves is certain to spur many happy memories of falls from days gone by. However, as environmentalists have pointed out, burning leaves also produces air pollution. As the options begin to dwindle, with rake in hand the home owner may consider bagging. Perish the thought. Bagging leaves unnecessarily burdens already overburdened landfills.

No burning, no bagging...what's a home owner to do? Never one to be outdone in the ingenuity category, American's with an eco-friendly approach to yard care have come up with more than a few great ideas for the great fall cleanup. Here are two of the most popular:

• Compost your leaves - Leaves are one of nature's favorite foods. They are all natural and once they begin to decompose, they start adding nutrients to your soil. After five or six months of sitting in a compost bin or a quiet corner of your yard, your leaves will be transformed into a delicious organic diet for your garden and shrubbery come spring planting season.
• Recycle your leaves - Communities across the country sponsor leaf collection and recycling programs. The home owner need do little more than gather the leaves in piles on the street to be picked up at a scheduled time. The leaves are then transported to a commercial recycling facility where they are turned into yard care products such as soil amendments and fertilizers. Call your local city or community government office to find out if they have a program or inquire about the possibility of a program start-up.

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