WEBVTT - Why Should You Stop Raking Fall Leaves?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren bog Obam Here. To a lot of folks, some

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<v Speaker 1>of the best fall memories include raking and jumping in

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<v Speaker 1>huge piles of leaves before squeezing them into bags and

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<v Speaker 1>placing them by the curb to be hauled off to

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<v Speaker 1>the landfill. Some folks are old enough to remember when

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<v Speaker 1>burning leaves was standard practice. These days, however, neither is

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<v Speaker 1>looked upon with approving eyes. Raking, bagging, and hauling leaves

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<v Speaker 1>away might make your yard look like a show place,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's no longer considered environmentally friendly. Why Well, like

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<v Speaker 1>we said, those lawn refuse bags go to the landfill,

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<v Speaker 1>and according to the US Environmental Protection Agency, in yard

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<v Speaker 1>trimmings accounted for thirty four point seven million tons of

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<v Speaker 1>municipal solid waste. The majority of that one point three

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<v Speaker 1>million tons was recovered and composted or mulched in state programs,

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<v Speaker 1>but ten point eight million tons still went to the landfill.

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<v Speaker 1>That's more than eight percent of total waste generated. However,

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<v Speaker 1>if you have a lawn that you want to maintain,

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<v Speaker 1>getting rid of the fallen leaves is essential, because not

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<v Speaker 1>only will wet leaves smothering kill the grass. They can

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<v Speaker 1>also prevent new growth from taking hold come springtime. So

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<v Speaker 1>what are you to do rather than raking and bagging?

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<v Speaker 1>The University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Service suggests mowing

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<v Speaker 1>the leaves with a multure instead. A multure is a

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<v Speaker 1>machine similar to a lawnmower and that it cuts grass

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<v Speaker 1>as you pushed along, except it has specialized blades that

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<v Speaker 1>keep chopping the clippings into very fine pieces. By mulching

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<v Speaker 1>dry leaves, which essentially shreds them into dime sized pieces,

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<v Speaker 1>you've created free food for your yard. The tiny pieces

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<v Speaker 1>of shredded leaves will filter down between the blades of

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<v Speaker 1>grass and add vital nutrients like nitrogen back to the soil.

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<v Speaker 1>The ideal time to mulch the leaves is when you

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<v Speaker 1>can see the blades of grass start poking through the

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<v Speaker 1>blanket of leaves. That may mean weakly mulchings depending on

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<v Speaker 1>the size of your yard and the number of trees.

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<v Speaker 1>You don't want to completely cover your lawn with a

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<v Speaker 1>thick layer of mulch, though, so if the leaves get

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<v Speaker 1>too heavy, rake the extra ones in a pile and

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<v Speaker 1>then spread them around your trees or shrubs. In addition

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<v Speaker 1>to adding back nutrients, mulching your garden has other benefits.

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<v Speaker 1>It helps keep weeds at bay, holds moisture in the soil,

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<v Speaker 1>and helps moderate soil temperatures. Your lawn, trees, shrubs, and

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<v Speaker 1>the environment will thank you for mulching instead of raking

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<v Speaker 1>the leaves. Some cities and municipalities have stopped picking up

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<v Speaker 1>bagged yard clippings altogether, including leaves, because of the cost

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<v Speaker 1>and environmental concerns. Rather than continuing to raise taxes for

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<v Speaker 1>garbage pickup, they've offered mulching workshops and called on homeowners

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<v Speaker 1>to invest money into multures or mulching blades for lawnmowers

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<v Speaker 1>so that they can beautify their yards with homegrown mulch

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<v Speaker 1>like yard confetti. Today's episode was written by Patty Rasmussen

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<v Speaker 1>and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is production of

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<v Speaker 1>iHeart Radios Has Stuff Works. For more in this and

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<v Speaker 1>lots of other nutrient rich topics, visit our home planet

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