Autumn – for some the worst season, and for others the most beautiful. When the leaves on the trees start to turn colour, the morning mists, the silver dew on the grass, in short, you can see that nature is going to rest. Everything seems to slow down, calm down. The fields are harvested, the grass stops growing, the farmers sow their winters, and summer is definitely gone. And then, slowly, the leaves begin to fall from the trees. First one, then another, and then there isn’t a tree that doesn’t start to drop its leaves. And when the wind is added to the mix, leaves fly through the air like snowflakes. That’s autumn in full swing.
The good old classic rake
We usually deal with leaf clean-up in the classic way – rakes, leaf bags, wheelbarrows and a never-ending round of tidying up, right after the autumn wind has blown it all over the garden. Leaves used to burn, and the typical smell of smoke wafted from just about every garden. What an unmistakable sign of autumn. Columns of smoke rising into the sky, or billowing from garden to garden, depending on the weather. There were those who raked up the fallen leaves and used them in compost as part of the regeneration of organic material. Someone also used it to make a hedgehog bed for the winter. Even so, leaves can be useful.
Electricity or petrol helpers
In addition to traditional raking, there are now more modern methods of cleaning up fallen leaves. One of these methods is the use of vacuum cleaners, or air blowers, which can greatly help with the cleanup. However, there is still the completion of leaf disposal. Even if we use a leaf blower, the leaves accumulate in the place where we want them. A simple rubberized tarp can make the job of loading significantly easier. If we spread it out on some flat ground under the trees, and then weight the corners with bricks or stones, we can pile the leaves on the prepared tarp with both a blower and an ordinary rake. Once we have the leaves raked onto the tarp, we remove the ballast and simply lift the tarp and tie the corners together. Afterwards, simply remove the leaves in the tarp or take them to the compost heap or to the prepared container. Then we wait a few days for more leaves to fall and repeat the process until we have cleaned up.
Can fallen leaves endanger us?
Keep in mind a few reasons to clean up fallen leaves. Some tree species can be attacked by fungal disease, mildew, or other diseases. If we leave such infected leaves in the garden until spring, the infected leaves can carry the disease through the ground and back into the trees through the root system. We then have no choice but to proceed to eradicate such diseases chemically. Which is indeed effective, but these substances also get into the fruit or vegetables and we then consume them. Another danger from uncleared leaves can be a common accident. The Department of Surgery could present us with dozens of cases of slips and subsequent injury. So if nothing else think of your safety and that of your loved ones. And remember that leaves, manure, grass will decompose over time to form compost that will replenish nutrients not only for the trees but the whole garden, without any chemicals. And that’s a priceless benefit. So have a great autumn clean-up.