Leave Leaves

Naturally trees benefit from their leaves, twice. Once to photosynthesise and to extract energy from the sun. Then when they fall and land near the tree, they compost down, in woodlands this happens relatively quickly thanks to the healthy soil biology, feeding the Soil Food Web with organic matter. By feeding the Soil Food Web, it greatly helps the roots, by boosting the Mycorrhizal Fungi.

This is why leaves should be left. If they fall on lawns, they will temporarily degrade the lawn whilst they compost down. This can be accelerated by using a mulching mower to cut up the leaves into very small pieces and fire them to the bottom of the grass. Here they are readily eaten by worms. Tony Kirkham assured a seminar that they disappear by morning at Kew.

The alternative is to rake them up and either put them on beds near the tree or in a compost heap to create leaf mould and then placed around trees.

Let nature do it’s work!