1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:10,119 Speaker 1: Lauren bog Obam Here. To a lot of folks, some 3 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: of the best fall memories include raking and jumping in 4 00:00:13,039 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: huge piles of leaves before squeezing them into bags and 5 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:17,959 Speaker 1: placing them by the curb to be hauled off to 6 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,919 Speaker 1: the landfill. Some folks are old enough to remember when 7 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:24,959 Speaker 1: burning leaves was standard practice. These days, however, neither is 8 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: looked upon with approving eyes. Raking, bagging, and hauling leaves 9 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:31,320 Speaker 1: away might make your yard look like a show place, 10 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:36,239 Speaker 1: but it's no longer considered environmentally friendly. Why Well, like 11 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 1: we said, those lawn refuse bags go to the landfill, 12 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:43,840 Speaker 1: and according to the US Environmental Protection Agency, in yard 13 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:47,479 Speaker 1: trimmings accounted for thirty four point seven million tons of 14 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:51,159 Speaker 1: municipal solid waste. The majority of that one point three 15 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: million tons was recovered and composted or mulched in state programs, 16 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 1: but ten point eight million tons still went to the landfill. 17 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 1: That's more than eight percent of total waste generated. However, 18 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: if you have a lawn that you want to maintain, 19 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,680 Speaker 1: getting rid of the fallen leaves is essential, because not 20 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:13,560 Speaker 1: only will wet leaves smothering kill the grass. They can 21 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: also prevent new growth from taking hold come springtime. So 22 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:21,040 Speaker 1: what are you to do rather than raking and bagging? 23 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:25,040 Speaker 1: The University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Service suggests mowing 24 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: the leaves with a multure instead. A multure is a 25 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: machine similar to a lawnmower and that it cuts grass 26 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,360 Speaker 1: as you pushed along, except it has specialized blades that 27 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: keep chopping the clippings into very fine pieces. By mulching 28 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: dry leaves, which essentially shreds them into dime sized pieces, 29 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 1: you've created free food for your yard. The tiny pieces 30 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:47,560 Speaker 1: of shredded leaves will filter down between the blades of 31 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 1: grass and add vital nutrients like nitrogen back to the soil. 32 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: The ideal time to mulch the leaves is when you 33 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 1: can see the blades of grass start poking through the 34 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: blanket of leaves. That may mean weakly mulchings depending on 35 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: the size of your yard and the number of trees. 36 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 1: You don't want to completely cover your lawn with a 37 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: thick layer of mulch, though, so if the leaves get 38 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 1: too heavy, rake the extra ones in a pile and 39 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:13,520 Speaker 1: then spread them around your trees or shrubs. In addition 40 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:16,639 Speaker 1: to adding back nutrients, mulching your garden has other benefits. 41 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 1: It helps keep weeds at bay, holds moisture in the soil, 42 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: and helps moderate soil temperatures. Your lawn, trees, shrubs, and 43 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: the environment will thank you for mulching instead of raking 44 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 1: the leaves. Some cities and municipalities have stopped picking up 45 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:33,799 Speaker 1: bagged yard clippings altogether, including leaves, because of the cost 46 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:37,800 Speaker 1: and environmental concerns. Rather than continuing to raise taxes for 47 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:41,640 Speaker 1: garbage pickup, they've offered mulching workshops and called on homeowners 48 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 1: to invest money into multures or mulching blades for lawnmowers 49 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:47,639 Speaker 1: so that they can beautify their yards with homegrown mulch 50 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:56,239 Speaker 1: like yard confetti. Today's episode was written by Patty Rasmussen 51 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:58,959 Speaker 1: and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is production of 52 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,240 Speaker 1: iHeart Radios Has Stuff Works. For more in this and 53 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:03,800 Speaker 1: lots of other nutrient rich topics, visit our home planet 54 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: how stuff Works dot com and for more podcasts from 55 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: my Heart Radio, visit i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 56 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.