WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Why Should You Stop Raking Fall Leaves?

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

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff. I'm Laurenvoglebomb, and today we've got a classic

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<v Speaker 1>episode for you. In this one, we get into the

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<v Speaker 1>environmental science around raking leaves off of lawns. It's actually

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<v Speaker 1>doing both your grass and your community a disservice. Welcome

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

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Voglebomb. Here to a lot of folks, some of

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>Some folks are old enough to remember when burning leaves

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<v Speaker 1>with standard practice. These days, however, neither is looked upon

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<v Speaker 1>with approving eyes. Breaking bagging, and hauling leaves away might

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<v Speaker 1>make your yard look like a showplace, but it's no

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<v Speaker 1>longer considered environmentally friendly. Why Well, like we said, those

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<v Speaker 1>lawn refuse bags go to the landfill, and according to

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<v Speaker 1>the US Environmental Protection Agency, in twenty fifteen, yard trimmings

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

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<v Speaker 1>solid waste. The majority of that twenty 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 in

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<v Speaker 1>twenty fifteen. However, if you have a lawn that you

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<v Speaker 1>want to maintain, getting rid of the fallen leaves is

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<v Speaker 1>essential because not only will wet leaves smothering kill the grass,

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

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<v Speaker 1>So 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 in 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 lea, 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 melt 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 these,

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>rake the extra ones in a pile and then spread

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<v Speaker 1>them around your trees or shrubs. In addition to adding

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<v Speaker 1>back nutrients, molting your garden has other benefits. It helps

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>Some cities and municipalities have stopped picking up bagged yard

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<v Speaker 1>clipigs altogether, including leaves, because of the cost and environmental concerns.

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<v Speaker 1>Rather than continuing to raise taxes for garbage pickup, they've

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<v Speaker 1>offer mulching workshops and called on homeowners to invest money

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<v Speaker 1>into mulchers or mulching blades for lawnmowers so that they

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<v Speaker 1>can beautify their yards with homegrown mulch like yard confetti.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article why you should

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<v Speaker 1>stop breaking fall Leave's stat on HowStuffWorks dot com written

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<v Speaker 1>by Patty Resmusen. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in

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<v Speaker 1>partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com, and it's produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the

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