Wait! What? Leaf me alone!

Today’s posting will be short, I’ve been busy with other things, and maybe not entirely sweet, I’m annoyed at members of the environmental community for making life more complicated than need be. It’s not the way to get folks to do what you’d like them to do. Okay, what am I fussing about this time?

mow, rake, leaf alone?

Photo by J. Harrington

Last autumn I started to follow the Xerces Society program for “Leave the Leaves: Winter Habitat Protection.” It ran contrary to some of what I’d been told much  of my  life but it made sense, including:

Leaving the leaves and other plant debris doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your yard to the wilderness. The leaves don’t need to be left exactly where they fall. You can rake them into garden beds, around tree bases, or into other designated areas. Too many leaves can kill grass, but in soil they can suppress weeds, retain moisture, and boost nutrition.  

We even deferred spring cleanup through No Mow May:

Mowing your lawn less creates habitat and can increase the abundance and diversity of wildlife including bees and other pollinators. One way to reduce mowing is by participating in No Mow May. No Mow May is a conservation initiative first popularized by Plantlife, an organization based in the United Kingdom, but which is gaining traction across North America. The goal of No Mow May is to allow grass to grow unmown for the month of May, creating habitat and forage for early season pollinators. This is particularly important in urban areas where floral resources are often limited. 

Then, this morning, we came across some watershed folks telling us pretty much the opposite of the preferred approach of those who would protect pollinators:

Leaves are a potent source of nutrients. If you mulch them into smaller bits with your lawnmower, it has roughly the same effect as adding a round of store-bought fertilizer. That’s a good thing — as long as it all stays in your yard.

If your lawn looks like it’s more than 50 percent covered in leaves, consider bagging or composting rather than mulching them. Otherwise, your mower might not be able to chop them up enough so that they fall between the grass blades.

Remember that when leaves in any condition are blown or washed into stormdrains, all those nutrients go directly into the nearest waterbody. It’s like dumping fertilizer in the river.

The good folks in the permaculkture field aren't much help either. Their lawn guidance doesn't say much of anything about leaf management.

Since we live somewhere lacking storm drains, we’ll continue with a protecting pollinators program, but it would probably be beneficial if a working group, green ribbon?, were convened to produce a coherent set of guidance so those of us trying to do right by Mother Nature don’t develop migraines trying to sort out exactly what that involves.

Leaves Fell

By Juhan Liiv

Translated from the Estonian by H.L. Hix & Jüri Talvet

A gust roused the waves,

leaves blew into the water,

the waves were ash-gray,

the sky tin-gray,

ash-gray the autumn.

It was good for my heart:

there my feelings were ash-gray,

the sky tin-gray,

ash-gray the autumn.

The breath of wind brought cooler air,

the waves of mourning brought separation:

autumn and autumn

befriend each other.

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