Raking Leaves In North Dakota Is The Worst, Here Are Some Options

Spend more time with family and less time raking leaves this fall by taking part in these alternative tips for dealing with fallen fall foliage.

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Chop Leaves for Compost

Compost the leaves to turn them into organic matter for your garden. The secret to creating healthy garden soil that supports the growth of beautiful, fruitful plants is organic matter. It aids with disease prevention, moisture retention, and soil aeration.

Mowing leaves is the quickest and most straightforward approach to get rid of them from a lawn. Not to mention shredding something into tiny little pieces momentarily satiates your blood lust from having to deal with corporate and middle management. Fill a bag with the chopped leaves from your mower's grass catcher and place it in your compost bin. With smaller spaces, a leaf vacuum is quite useful. The process of chopping leaves is dusty. If you have allergies, put on an eye mask and protective goggles.

Make Leaf Mold

Up to 80% of the nutrients and minerals in an average tree are stored in its leaves. By recycling these leaves into your garden, you can extract a valuable resource that is high in nutrients. It's not advised to put it all in a large leave bag and huff it to see what happens. An organic matter that can be used to retain such nutrients is leaf mold. That explains why walking on a forest floor feels squishy. Leaf mold absorbs 300–500% of its own weight in water, acting as a sponge. It's also excellent as a mulch.

Use Leaves For Mulch

The quickest and most straightforward way to use leaves is definitely to produce a fantastic, free DIY mulch out of them. Rake small-sized leaves straight onto planting beds. It's a good idea to cut huge leaves before using them as mulch. Please do not use mulch for any plants that would be frowned upon by the DEA, unless you live in a cool state, then go for it. As with any mulch, it's best not to put leaves up against tree or shrub trunks. Rather, put them in a donut-shaped arrangement around stems, allowing some gap for airflow.

Let Leaves Offer Shelter

Beneficial insects are protected from the winter elements by leaves that accumulate in planting beds and beneath plants. Be sure to charge way too much for rent to all of your invertebrate tenants, no free loaders here. Allow leaves to accumulate and remain in these spots until spring arrives and the chilly weather passes. Insects awaken from their winter hibernation on warm spring evenings, and they emerge from leaves to commence a new life cycle.

Blow Leaves Away

The most effective equipment for clearing leaves off decks, driveways, walkways, and other hardscapes is a leaf blower. If you select a model with a leaf vacuum feature, you will be able to collect and cut leaves. If not, blow them into your neighbor Steve's lawn, because that guy is a jerk and you're pretty sure hey may be in a cult. The unsung hero of the winter season is a leaf blower. It helps maintain walks free of snow in the winter and keeps your yard free of leaves in the fall. Check out these best leaf blowers.