1 00:00:01,880 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:10,240 Speaker 1: brain Stuff. I'm Laurenvoglebomb, and today we've got a classic 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: episode for you. In this one, we get into the 4 00:00:13,039 --> 00:00:17,440 Speaker 1: environmental science around raking leaves off of lawns. It's actually 5 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:23,120 Speaker 1: doing both your grass and your community a disservice. Welcome 6 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain Stuff, 7 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:31,120 Speaker 1: Lauren Voglebomb. Here to a lot of folks, some of 8 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:34,200 Speaker 1: the best fall memories include raking and jumping in huge 9 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:37,159 Speaker 1: piles of leaves before squeezing them into bags and placing 10 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:39,520 Speaker 1: them by the curb to be hauled off to the landfill. 11 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: Some folks are old enough to remember when burning leaves 12 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: with standard practice. These days, however, neither is looked upon 13 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:50,559 Speaker 1: with approving eyes. Breaking bagging, and hauling leaves away might 14 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:52,839 Speaker 1: make your yard look like a showplace, but it's no 15 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: longer considered environmentally friendly. Why Well, like we said, those 16 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: lawn refuse bags go to the landfill, and according to 17 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 1: the US Environmental Protection Agency, in twenty fifteen, yard trimmings 18 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 1: accounted for thirty four point seven million tons of municipal 19 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: solid waste. The majority of that twenty one point three 20 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:16,280 Speaker 1: million tons was recovered and composted or mulched in state programs, 21 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 1: but ten point eight million tons still went to the landfill. 22 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: That's more than eight percent of total waste generated in 23 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 1: twenty fifteen. However, if you have a lawn that you 24 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: want to maintain, getting rid of the fallen leaves is 25 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:33,960 Speaker 1: essential because not only will wet leaves smothering kill the grass, 26 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: they can also prevent new growth from taking hold come springtime. 27 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: So what are you to do rather than raking and bagging. 28 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:45,919 Speaker 1: The University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Service suggests mowing 29 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 1: the leaves with a multure instead. A multure is a 30 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: machine similar to a lawnmower in that it cuts grass 31 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: as you pushed along, except it has specialized blades that 32 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 1: keep chopping the clippings into very fine pieces. By mulching 33 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 1: dry lea, which essentially shreds them into dime sized pieces, 34 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: you've created free food for your yard. The tiny pieces 35 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: of shredded leaves will filter down between the blades of 36 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 1: grass and add vital nutrients like nitrogen back to the soil. 37 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:14,800 Speaker 1: The ideal time to melt the leaves is when you 38 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: can see the blades of grass start poking through the 39 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:20,920 Speaker 1: blanket of leaves. That may mean weakly mulchings depending on these, 40 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: size of your yard and the number of trees. You 41 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:25,720 Speaker 1: don't want to completely cover your lawn with a thick 42 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:28,520 Speaker 1: layer of mulch, though, so if the leaves get too heavy, 43 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: rake the extra ones in a pile and then spread 44 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: them around your trees or shrubs. In addition to adding 45 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:38,240 Speaker 1: back nutrients, molting your garden has other benefits. It helps 46 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 1: keep weeds at bay, holds moisture in the soil, and 47 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: helps moderate soil temperatures. Your lawn, trees, shrubs, and the 48 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: environment will thank you for mulching instead of raking the leaves. 49 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 1: Some cities and municipalities have stopped picking up bagged yard 50 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:56,080 Speaker 1: clipigs altogether, including leaves, because of the cost and environmental concerns. 51 00:02:56,840 --> 00:02:59,720 Speaker 1: Rather than continuing to raise taxes for garbage pickup, they've 52 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:03,320 Speaker 1: offer mulching workshops and called on homeowners to invest money 53 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 1: into mulchers or mulching blades for lawnmowers so that they 54 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,919 Speaker 1: can beautify their yards with homegrown mulch like yard confetti. 55 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article why you should 56 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: stop breaking fall Leave's stat on HowStuffWorks dot com written 57 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:25,000 Speaker 1: by Patty Resmusen. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in 58 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com, and it's produced by 59 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:30,359 Speaker 1: Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the 60 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 61 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: favorite shows.