Absolutely right there with you on this. Our yard is a crazy quilt of fall
leaves.
Stephanie
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 22, 2021, at 9:01 AM, Paul Chrostowski <paul.chrostowski@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Diane
Thank you for this. I mulched our leaves in place for many years but starting
last left them in place over the winter. Everything is interconnected. If we
deprive the insects and other soil invertebrates of a place to rest over the
winter, we are depriving plants of pollen and birds of food. This simple
strategy mitigates those problems and saves energy in addition
Paul C
Sent from my iPad
On Oct 22, 2021, at 8:52 AM, Diane Bartz <dkbartz@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hey,
I've never loved the beautifully manicured lawns in fall because I like to see
some leaves and enjoy the passing of the seasons. But I also like to rake and
have took my leaves to the curb for a decade, and then I mulched them for a few
years.
But apparently this is not a great idea.
I'm not going to preach but if you're interested in a yard with more fireflies
and butterflies and interesting birds, it might pay to be, well, lazier.
Here's some thoughts from people who appear to expert (apologies if I was
fooled):
https://news.wttw.com/2020/11/12/leave-leaves-ecologists-and-bees-will-thank-you
https://www.thoughtco.com/life-cycle-fireflies-lightning-bugs-1968137
https://extension.unh.edu/blog/2020/02/who-are-pollinators-nhs-super-seven
https://xerces.org/blog/leave-the-leaves
I'll admit that my household is not 100 percent on this. But I know that we
won't be mulching leaves this year and I'll be encouraging my spouse, if he
wants to rake, to rake the leaves to a back garden.
Best regards,
Diane Bartz
dkbartz@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:dkbartz@xxxxxxxxx>
