As the leaves fall...

In the Garden
Ralph Purkhiser, Purdue University Master Gardener

    The falling leaves drift by my window….
     It is that time.  The colors this fall have been spectacular!  I hope that you have taken some time to get out and see the beauty.  I took a trip to Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial with Nautica, Tymbre and Manley last Saturday.  We walked the trails where a young Abe Lincoln walked and saw the change of the seasons much as he would have done two centuries ago.  It really was a perfect day for a walk in the park.
     But now the leaves are falling.  More come down each time the wind blows.  It brings back memories to walk with my dog, Buddy, in the piles of leaves in my yard.  However, soon, we all will have to make some decisions about what we will do with the leaves.
     I sincerely hope that I not smell burning leaves this fall.  It is time for that tradition to die.  The fallen leaves are a source of food for the trees and other plants and burning them is simply a great waste of valuable organic material.  
     Most landfills and dump sites have also put a stop to the tradition of bagging leaves in large plastic bags and burying them.  Why would anyone wish to throw away such valuable material?  At the very least, disposal sites now require that leaves and other yard waste be in paper bags that will allow the organic matter to deteriorate rapidly.
     In cities and towns, the street vacuums still exist, and most towns have regulations that leaves must be left at the edge of the roadways on a regular schedule.  The vacuums will pick up the leaves and shred them.  Some municipalities then have composting facilities and offer the resulting leaf mold to gardeners the next spring.  Others simply have a place where the shredded leaves are dumped to compost in time and fill up a ditch.
     The most natural and environmentally friendly way to treat the fallen leaves is to do nothing.  In a natural setting, the leaves simply fall and blow around, eventually decomposing and providing nutrients for the forest soil.  There are other reasons it is good to leave the leaves.  While the monarchs take their famous migration trek, most butterflies spend the winter in chrysalis form, often with the protection of piles of fallen leaves.  Shredding or burning the leaves results in the loss of many pollinators.
     Still, we have to be realistic.  No one wants the leaves that have blown into our living areas left there all winter.  Once wet, the leaves could present a hazard and cause people to fall.  Piles of wet leaves also may form heavy mats that result in smothering out the vegetation underneath.  Lawns are especially vulnerable to such damage.
     Many people, therefore, look for easy solutions.  Lawnmowers with mulching blades may chop the leaves enough to allow them to sift down through the grass blades, where they will rot and supply organic matter to enrich the soil.  As noted before, this will kill any insects that have taken up residence in the leaf piles, but it is otherwise an acceptable solution for the leaves.
     Raking or blowing leaves into garden areas or wooded areas is perhaps the best way to dispose of the leaves.  Use them to provide mulch for plants, especially for newly-planted specimens that are prone to heaving out of the ground during the freeze-thaw cycles that are common in Hoosier winters.  I sometimes do bag some to use to cover areas where root crops have been left in the ground.  When one wants carrots, turnips or other roots, simply move some bags and dig out the vegetables.  In the spring, the leaves may be dumped into the compost bins.
     Whatever decision you make, I urge you to consider the options available for your leaves.  Remember, I have a sensitive nose and I really do not want to smell burning leaves.