I have a lot of trees in my fairly large yard, and you know what that means, lots, and lots, of leaves are starting to fall at this time of year. Don’t get me wrong, I love fall! However, I dread the idea of raking leaves. You almost have to wait for all, or at least most of the leaves to fall before you start picking them up or it will become a recurring weekend event between now, going into December.
Sometimes we don’t even have a fall, it goes straight into winter, and then the leaves have to wait until spring. I know what you’re thinking, just mow over them and mulch them back into the ground. Great idea! We tried that the first year. Because there are so many trees which have so many leaves, mowing them created a very thick layer of mulch that subsequently killed a good portion of the grass.
On to plan B!
So, we had to figure out plan B. Burning them is not a good option. You get into subdivision ordinances and if it’s windy, you run the risk of either burning down your own house or the neighbors, then you have a whole new set of problems.
Composting is the best option, but I only have one compost bin and that fills up quickly when this task begins. I got mine at www.CompostBins.com, so if you are considering a composting regimen, you may want to check them out. In the end, the best option for my situation, turned out to be, rake them into piles, vacuum them up, put them into those very tall paper bags you can get at most any discount or hardware store, and have your waste removal company take them away, and still give back to the earth.
Walla! No more leaves! Ok, so there are still some leaves, but at least the stragglers won’t kill the grass this year, I hope.
How do you tackle your leaves in the fall?
