Leafy Problems Become Healthy Lawns

Autumn is perhaps the most mellow and reflective season of the year. Shorter days encourage reading in the evening while crisp air and colorful vistas invite weekend hikes and trips to the countryside. Regrettably, too many people waste their precious weekends raking leaves into piles or shatter the quiet peace of sunny afternoons with leaf blowers. There is a better solution.

Rather than trying to rid your lawn of fallen leaves, you should actually consider leaving them where they are. It is nature’s way to recycle, after all. Certainly no one is raking up and bagging the leaves which fall in wooded parks and forests. Given a bit of time, all of the leaves are transformed by worms, bacteria and other organisms into rich humus, which will continue to feed trees, shrubs, and other plants year after year for millennia.

Your yard is simply an extension of the same natural process. Trees around your property draw nutrients and minerals from the soil, converting those elements into new leaves and branches. By raking up those leaves, you essentially short-circuit the natural cycle by which nutrients are returned to the soil. After a number of years, the soil will lose its fertility. In fact, carting off leaves and grass clippings is akin to strip mining, ultimately affecting the health of everything you are trying to grow.

Spreading costly fertilizers on your lawn may restore some nutrients, but not all of the vital minerals and organic matter needed for healthy, vigorous plants. Leaves, on the other hand, contain all of the nutrients and micronutrients your lawn needs. The trick is getting those leaves back into the soil without smothering your lawn in the process.

Enter the lawnmower. For the past ten years, almost all new lawnmowers sold have been mulching mowers. After decades of bagging clippings, a majority of homeowners have learned that it is best to “grasscycle” their lawn clippings when they mow. Clippings left in place quickly decompose and provide nutrients to keep the lawn healthy.

Your lawnmower can now do double-duty as a leaf-mulcher. Mower blades can easily shred whole leaves into small pieces, approximately one-tenth their original size. Your once-daunting bounty of leaves will disappear into a thin layer of tiny particles easily digested by worms and bacteria. In fact, a healthy earthworm population is capable of dragging a one-inch layer of organic matter down into their underground burrows in just a few months. Unseen by human eyes, they are diligently loosening and enriching your soil, and feeding the roots of your lawn for free. Perhaps you should think of your mower as a food processor for worms!

Begin your regimen of leaf-mulching by setting the mower to a normal three-inch height. Remove bagging attachments and block off the chute on a rear-discharge machine. Run your mower over the lawn while walking slowly, giving the mower blades plenty of time to shred up the leaves. Please note that mower-mulching works best when leaves are relatively dry and are no more than one inch deep. Do not wait until every last leaf has fallen before getting started.

If your mower has a side discharge chute, you will probably want to begin on the outside perimeter of your lawn, blowing your chopped leaves onto unmowed areas, and continue mowing inward. This will keep the leaf particles on the lawn, and even allow you to mow over them a few more times. Some savvy gardeners like to direct the discharge of shredded leaves into ground cover areas or under foundation plantings where organic matter is also welcome.

If your first pass over the lawn has left a significant quantity of whole leaves, go back over the leaves while mowing at a right angle to the first cut, perhaps walking even more slowly. Leaves take more work than grass, especially if they are somewhat damp.

There are other options and uses for some of your shredded leaves. For example, if your mower does have a bagging attachment, you might want to apply the shredded material as a mulch two to four inches thick under your trees and shrubs. Do not pile the mulch directly against tree trunks.

Shredded leaves can also be applied to other planting beds, such as perennial borders and herb gardens. Avoid applying mulch until after the first hard freeze. A two to three inch mulch layer will help maintain a uniform soil temperature all winter and protect tender root systems. The mulch blanket will also prevent frost upheaval caused by frequent thawing and refreezing, which is especially damaging to bulbs, tuberous flowers, and some half-hardy perennials.

Naturally, the leaf mulch will also feed your plants by recycling nutrients, conserve soil moisture during dry spells, and prevent the emergence of weeds.

You can also add your shredded leaves to a compost pile or bin. The smaller leaf particles decompose in about 75 percent of the time required by whole leaves, and you can further add a astonishing volume of shredded leaves into the bin, which is useful for properties with numerous mature trees. In addition, if you find that you are cutting some grass while running over the leaves, you are probably creating the perfect blend of materials to ensure an effective, fast-working compost pile. Your shredding efforts may even reward you with nutrient-rich compost ready for use in the Spring.

Copyright 2014, Joseph M. Keyser

Autumn: Turn Over a New Leaf

Glorious Autumn! Keat's season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. It is also (alas) the season of the rake. It seems that you spend the better part of your precious weekends just raking up leaves. And just when you have gotten them under control, along comes a brisk gust of wind, a sprinkling of rain, and your lawn is covered all over again. Groan! Time to drag out the rake once more.

Here is a solution to simplify your fall and improve the long-term health and vigor of your lawn, trees, and garden beds:

Mulch ado about leaves.
There are a large number of expensive, awkward, and sometimes useful products being hawked to suck up your leaves and turn them into mulch. There are blower-vacs which blow leaves into a pile which you can then suck up and shred. There are chipper-shredders with elephant trunks that also allow you to suck up and shred leaves, although you have to rake them into piles first. And lawn jockeys with disposable incomes can check out the over $1,200 self-propelled machines which act like gas-powered vacuum cleaners on your lawn (watch out for small pets).

Mower for less.
These contraptions may not be the solution for you. However, if you are like most homeowners, you may not have realized that your lawn mower is already a deluxe leaf mulcher in its own right. And perhaps the easiest way to deal with leaves is to mow them right back into the lawn itself. Forget back-breaking raking and bagging!

Please note that mower-mulching works best when leaves are relatively dry and are no more than one inch deep. Deeper "drifts" might need to be partially raked first -- or plan to run back and forth over the leaves several times. And do not worry if your model is not a dedicated mulching mower, any type of mower will do.

Start your do-it-yourself "mulchinator" by setting the mower to a normal three-inch height. Remove bagging attachments and block off the discharge chute on a rear-discharge machine. Then run your mower over the lawn while walking slowly, giving the mower blades plenty of time to shred up the leaves.

If your mower has a side discharge chute, you will probably want to start on the outside perimeter of your lawn and start mowing inward. This will keep the leaf-bits on the lawn, and even allow you to mow over them a few more times. Of course, some folks like to "blow" shredded leaves into ground cover areas, under foundation plantings, or into wooded areas, adding to the organic content of soils there, which is another option.

If your first pass over the lawn has left a significant quantity of whole leaves, go back over the leaves while mowing at a right angle to the first cut, perhaps walking even more slowly. Leaves take more work than grass, especially if they are somewhat damp.

Stay out of the gutter!
It is important not to blow whole or shredded leaves into streets, storm drains, or nearby streams. Those innocent-looking particles can create problems for sensitive aquatic life by suffocating plants, fish eggs, and insect larvae, clouding the water, tying up oxygen, and altering the stream's pH (increasing toxic acidity). And that is also why you should never rake leaves into the street or gutter: leaf leachate always ends up in your neighborhood stream.

Too many leaves?
The swirling mass of leaves may seem daunting at first, but the final particle size will be one-tenth of the original leaf. This will make it easily digestible by worms and bacteria. Skeptics often voice a concern that shredding leaves into turf areas will overwhelm and kill their lawn. Not at all! In fact, research at the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania found that earthworms will actually drag a one-inch deep layer of organic matter into their burrows in just a few months, loosening and enriching your soil, and feeding the roots of your lawn for free.

Numerically, while you may imagine that all of those leaves will add up to far too much organic matter for your lawn, the fact is that 30 tall paper bags full of leaves, once shredded, will break down within a season to about one cubic yard of leaf mold or compost. Applied to your lawn as a topdressing, you would only be able to cover about 48 square feet (a six foot by eight foot patch). In fact, to topdress a lawn properly, most savvy gardeners have to import tons of commercial compost above and beyond the compost they make at home! Fear not: you will never have too many leaves or too much organic matter!

Your lawn needs leaves.
For decades, homeowners have bagged their grass clippings and leaves and sent them off to a landfill. And lawn chemical salespeople successfully and profitably sold the idea that healthy lawns needed bimonthly fertilizer and pesticide applications. Times have fortunately changed. The fact is that lawns and gardens can be maintained organically, for the most part, and without toxic inputs, just by recycling the natural materials already in place. When you bag up your clippings and leaves, you are short-circuiting the natural recycling process.

Think of the cycle this way: tree roots absorb water, minerals, and a host of nutrients from the soil. These materials are used to add girth to the tree trunk and boughs, set forth new branches, grow more roots, and grow leaves, flowers, and fruits or seeds. In a natural setting, such as a forest or woodlot, leaves, small twigs, blossoms, and fruits drop to the ground and slowly decompose, returning all of the original organic building blocks to the soil for future use.

What happens when you bag up leaves? How is that organic matter going to get back to the soil for the tree to use in coming years? You may think that by fertilizing your lawn you are returning everything the tree needs. Wrong! Of the more than one dozen major and minor nutrients that plants need to grow, how many are in your bag of fertilizer? And what about the organic matter that creates humus, the very soul of soil itself?

Bagging leaves and grass is equivalent to strip mining. The minerals, nutrients, and organic matter are continually stripped away year after year. Eventually, without those vital materials, your trees, your garden, and your lawn will start to suffer. It is time to undo this damage by getting that organic matter back into the soil. And you can easily start just by mowing your leaves into your lawn.

It's in the bagger!
There are other options and uses for some of your shredded leaves. For example, if your mower does have a bagging attachment, you might want to take the shredded material and start using it to mulch some of your trees and shrubs. This is also true for gardeners with some of the fancier shredding equipment. Apply up to four inches deep, and your mulch layer will also act as a blanket to prevent frost upheaval in planting beds, which is especially damaging to bulbs, tuberous flowers, and some half-hardy perennials. You will also be feeding and protecting your plants and preventing weed growth for almost a full year.

A compost pile or bin is another excellent half-way point for shredded leaves. Those smaller leaf particles break down in less than half the time of whole leaves, and you can fit a prodigious quantity of shredded leaves into your bin. Also, if you find that you are cutting some grass while shredding leaves, you are probably creating the perfect blend of carbon and nitrogen-rich materials to ensure a hot, fast-working compost pile.

Recommended chores.
Mulching leaves into lawns is just the first step toward a naturally healthy lawn and environment. You should also consider aerating your lawn by either renting a core-aerating machine (about $70) or hiring a lawn care firm ($75 and up depending on overall lawn size). Aerating breathes life into compacted soils and helps organic matter filter deeper into subsoils and root zones. You should also test your soil with a kit from your county or municipality's local Cooperative Extension Service (costs are about ten dollars) to determine proper nutrient application rates. Your soil test will also indicate the type and quantity of lime your lawn needs; local soils are naturally acidic. And don't forget: fall is the only beneficial time to consider feeding your lawn -- only use a slow-release or organic nutrient source to feed the soil and your lawn's roots all winter long.

Copyright 2014, Joseph M. Keyser

Turning Over a New Leaf!

Glorious Autumn! Keat's season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. It is also (alas) the season of the rake. It seems that you spend the better part of your precious weekends just raking up leaves. And just when you have gotten them under control, along comes a brisk gust of wind, a sprinkling of rain, and your lawn is covered all over again. Groan! Time to drag out the rake once more.

Here is a solution to simplify your fall and improve the long-term health and vigor of your lawn, trees, and garden beds:

Mulch ado about leaves.
There are a large number of expensive, awkward, and sometimes useful products being hawked to suck up your leaves and turn them into mulch. There are blower-vacs which blow leaves into a pile which you can then suck up and shred. There are chipper-shredders with elephant trunks that also allow you to suck up and shred leaves, although you have to rake them into piles first. And lawn jockeys with disposable incomes can check out the over $1,200 self-propelled machines which act like gas-powered vacuum cleaners on your lawn (watch out for small pets).

Mower for less.
These contraptions may not be the solution for you. However, if you are like most homeowners, you may not have realized that your lawn mower is already a deluxe leaf mulcher in its own right. And perhaps the easiest way to deal with leaves is to mow them right back into the lawn itself. Forget back-breaking raking and bagging!

Please note that mower-mulching works best when leaves are relatively dry and are no more than one inch deep. Deeper "drifts" might need to be partially raked first -- or plan to run back and forth over the leaves several times. And do not worry if your model is not a dedicated mulching mower, any type of mower will do.

Start your do-it-yourself "mulchinator" by setting the mower to a normal three-inch height. Remove bagging attachments and block off the discharge chute on a rear-discharge machine. Then run your mower over the lawn while walking slowly, giving the mower blades plenty of time to shred up the leaves.

If your mower has a side discharge chute, you will probably want to start on the outside perimeter of your lawn and start mowing inward. This will keep the leaf-bits on the lawn, and even allow you to mow over them a few more times. Of course, some folks like to "blow" shredded leaves into ground cover areas, under foundation plantings, or into wooded areas, adding to the organic content of soils there, which is another option.

If your first pass over the lawn has left a significant quantity of whole leaves, go back over the leaves while mowing at a right angle to the first cut, perhaps walking even more slowly. Leaves take more work than grass, especially if they are somewhat damp.

Stay out of the gutter!
It is important not to blow whole or shredded leaves into streets, storm drains, or nearby streams. Those innocent-looking particles can create problems for sensitive aquatic life by suffocating plants, fish eggs, and insect larvae, clouding the water, tying up oxygen, and altering the stream's pH (increasing toxic acidity). And that is also why you should never rake leaves into the street or gutter: leaf leachate always ends up in your neighborhood stream.

Too many leaves?
The swirling mass of leaves may seem daunting at first, but the final particle size will be one-tenth of the original leaf. This will make it easily digestible by worms and bacteria. Skeptics often voice a concern that shredding leaves into turf areas will overwhelm and kill their lawn. Not at all! In fact, research at the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania found that earthworms will actually drag a one-inch deep layer of organic matter into their burrows in just a few months, loosening and enriching your soil, and feeding the roots of your lawn for free.

Numerically, while you may imagine that all of those leaves will add up to far too much organic matter for your lawn, the fact is that 30 tall paper bags full of leaves, once shredded, will break down within a season to about one cubic yard of leaf mold or compost. Applied to your lawn as a topdressing, you would only be able to cover about 48 square feet (a six foot by eight foot patch). In fact, to topdress a lawn properly, most savvy gardeners have to import tons of commercial compost above and beyond the compost they make at home! Fear not: you will never have too many leaves or too much organic matter!

Your lawn needs leaves.
For decades, homeowners have bagged their grass clippings and leaves and sent them off to a landfill. And lawn chemical salespeople successfully and profitably sold the idea that healthy lawns needed bimonthly fertilizer and pesticide applications. Times have fortunately changed. The fact is that lawns and gardens can be maintained organically, for the most part, and without toxic inputs, just by recycling the natural materials already in place. When you bag up your clippings and leaves, you are short-circuiting the natural recycling process.

Think of the cycle this way: tree roots absorb water, minerals, and a host of nutrients from the soil. These materials are used to add girth to the tree trunk and boughs, set forth new branches, grow more roots, and grow leaves, flowers, and fruits or seeds. In a natural setting, such as a forest or woodlot, leaves, small twigs, blossoms, and fruits drop to the ground and slowly decompose, returning all of the original organic building blocks to the soil for future use.

What happens when you bag up leaves? How is that organic matter going to get back to the soil for the tree to use in coming years? You may think that by fertilizing your lawn you are returning everything the tree needs. Wrong! Of the more than one dozen major and minor nutrients that plants need to grow, how many are in your bag of fertilizer? And what about the organic matter that creates humus, the very soul of soil itself?

Bagging leaves and grass is equivalent to strip mining. The minerals, nutrients, and organic matter are continually stripped away year after year. Eventually, without those vital materials, your trees, your garden, and your lawn will start to suffer. It is time to undo this damage by getting that organic matter back into the soil. And you can easily start just by mowing your leaves into your lawn.

It's in the bagger!
There are other options and uses for some of your shredded leaves. For example, if your mower does have a bagging attachment, you might want to take the shredded material and start using it to mulch some of your trees and shrubs. This is also true for gardeners with some of the fancier shredding equipment. Apply up to four inches deep, and your mulch layer will also act as a blanket to prevent frost upheaval in planting beds, which is especially damaging to bulbs, tuberous flowers, and some half-hardy perennials. You will also be feeding and protecting your plants and preventing weed growth for almost a full year.

A compost pile or bin is another excellent half-way point for shredded leaves. Those smaller leaf particles break down in less than half the time of whole leaves, and you can fit a prodigious quantity of shredded leaves into your bin. Also, if you find that you are cutting some grass while shredding leaves, you are probably creating the perfect blend of carbon and nitrogen-rich materials to ensure a hot, fast-working compost pile.

Recommended chores.
Mulching leaves into lawns is just the first step toward a naturally healthy lawn and environment. You should also consider aerating your lawn by either renting a core-aerating machine (about $70) or hiring a lawn care firm ($75 and up depending on overall lawn size). Aerating breathes life into compacted soils and helps organic matter filter deeper into subsoils and root zones. You should also test your soil with a kit from your county or municipality's local Cooperative Extension Service (costs are about ten dollars) to determine proper nutrient application rates. Your soil test will also indicate the type and quantity of lime your lawn needs; local soils are naturally acidic. And don't forget: fall is the only beneficial time to consider feeding your lawn -- only use a slow-release or organic nutrient source to feed the soil and your lawn's roots all winter long.

Copyright 2013, Joseph M. Keyser

Autumn Leaves Feed Healthy Lawns

Autumn is perhaps the most mellow and reflective season of the year. Shorter days encourage reading in the evening while crisp air and colorful vistas invite weekend hikes and trips to the countryside. Regrettably, too many people waste their precious weekends raking leaves into piles or shatter the quiet peace of sunny afternoons with leaf blowers. There is a better solution.

Rather than trying to rid your lawn of fallen leaves, you should actually consider leaving them where they are. It is nature’s way to recycle, after all. Certainly no one is raking up and bagging the leaves which fall in wooded parks and forests. Given a bit of time, all of the leaves are transformed by worms, bacteria and other organisms into rich humus, which will continue to feed trees, shrubs, and other plants year after year for millennia.

Your yard is simply an extension of the same natural process. Trees around your property draw nutrients and minerals from the soil, converting those elements into new leaves and branches. By raking up those leaves, you essentially short-circuit the natural cycle by which nutrients are returned to the soil. After a number of years, the soil will lose its fertility. In fact, carting off leaves and grass clippings is akin to strip mining, ultimately affecting the health of everything you are trying to grow.

Spreading costly fertilizers on your lawn may restore some nutrients, but not all of the vital minerals and organic matter needed for healthy, vigorous plants. Leaves, on the other hand, contain all of the nutrients and micronutrients your lawn needs. The trick is getting those leaves back into the soil without smothering your lawn in the process.

Enter the lawnmower. For the past ten years, almost all new lawnmowers sold have been mulching mowers. After decades of bagging clippings, a majority of homeowners have learned that it is best to “grasscycle” their lawn clippings when they mow. Clippings left in place quickly decompose and provide nutrients to keep the lawn healthy.

Your lawnmower can now do double-duty as a leaf-mulcher. Mower blades can easily shred whole leaves into small pieces, approximately one-tenth their original size. Your once-daunting bounty of leaves will disappear into a thin layer of tiny particles easily digested by worms and bacteria. In fact, a healthy earthworm population is capable of dragging a one-inch layer of organic matter down into their underground burrows in just a few months. Unseen by human eyes, they are diligently loosening and enriching your soil, and feeding the roots of your lawn for free. Perhaps you should think of your mower as a food processor for worms!

Begin your regimen of leaf-mulching by setting the mower to a normal three-inch height. Remove bagging attachments and block off the chute on a rear-discharge machine. Run your mower over the lawn while walking slowly, giving the mower blades plenty of time to shred up the leaves. Please note that mower-mulching works best when leaves are relatively dry and are no more than one inch deep. Do not wait until every last leaf has fallen before getting started.

If your mower has a side discharge chute, you will probably want to begin on the outside perimeter of your lawn, blowing your chopped leaves onto unmowed areas, and continue mowing inward. This will keep the leaf particles on the lawn, and even allow you to mow over them a few more times. Some savvy gardeners like to direct the discharge of shredded leaves into ground cover areas or under foundation plantings where organic matter is also welcome.

If your first pass over the lawn has left a significant quantity of whole leaves, go back over the leaves while mowing at a right angle to the first cut, perhaps walking even more slowly. Leaves take more work than grass, especially if they are somewhat damp.

There are other options and uses for some of your shredded leaves. For example, if your mower does have a bagging attachment, you might want to apply the shredded material as a mulch two to four inches thick under your trees and shrubs. Do not pile the mulch directly against tree trunks.

Shredded leaves can also be applied to other planting beds, such as perennial borders and herb gardens. Avoid applying mulch until after the first hard freeze. A two to three inch mulch layer will help maintain a uniform soil temperature all winter and protect tender root systems. The mulch blanket will also prevent frost upheaval caused by frequent thawing and refreezing, which is especially damaging to bulbs, tuberous flowers, and some half-hardy perennials.

Naturally, the leaf mulch will also feed your plants by recycling nutrients, conserve soil moisture during dry spells, and prevent the emergence of weeds.

You can also add your shredded leaves to a compost pile or bin. The smaller leaf particles decompose in about 75 percent of the time required by whole leaves, and you can further add a astonishing volume of shredded leaves into the bin, which is useful for properties with numerous mature trees. In addition, if you find that you are cutting some grass while running over the leaves, you are probably creating the perfect blend of materials to ensure an effective, fast-working compost pile. Your shredding efforts may even reward you with nutrient-rich compost ready for use in the Spring.

Copyright 2013, Joseph M. Keyser

A Clean Sweep for the Spring Garden

With warmer days at hand, many of us are heading outdoors to spruce up our yards. These spring chores offer an excellent opportunity to significantly improve the health of our lawns and gardens, which will later save time, energy, and resources.

To begin, start cleaning up fallen leaves, broken branches, twigs, and dead foliage lying under shrubs, trees, and in planting beds. Sanitation is important in maintaining a healthy garden for a number of reasons: fallen leaves can clump together, inhibiting the passage of air and water to the root systems of your plant. Don't use or plan to use whole leaves as a mulch. Also, there are a number of pests and disease organisms which can winter-over in garden debris. Removing these havens removes the pests.

But don't throw those leaves and other trimmings away! All of them can be easily composted, breaking down into a wonderful mulch or soil conditioner for use this coming fall. Branches and larger twigs can be placed on the ground or inside the bottom of a compost bin to facilitate drainage and aeration. Leaves and other materials -- including some of those weeds which are now popping up -- can then be added to the pile. Gradually moisten materials as you put them in. Avoid adding twigs larger than your thumb in diameter -- and no more than 6-10 inches long.

After your "clean sweep," it's time to consider mulching. There are numerous organic and inorganic mulches from which to choose. Most are helpful in suppressing or eliminating weeds (no weeding! no toxic chemicals!), conserving soil moisture and moderating soil temperatures -- which is critical during droughts and heat waves -- and most can improve the appearance of your yard. However, by using materials like shredded leaves, leaf mold, compost, or wood mulch, you are restoring vital nutrients and organic matter and improving soil health. Remember that healthy soil produces healthy plants.

Mulches can be purchased, made, or picked up free. Many municipalities have wisely elected to make chipped or ground-up leaves and woody debris available for free to residents -- either to be picked up from a central location, or even delivered for a nominal fee in some really progressive communities. Bear in mind that this shredded mulch -- like mulch from tree care companies -- is unaged and only suitable for application around established plantings, or used for pathways or play areas. Fresh-shredded wood mulch should be aged or composted for at least six months before using around tender plants like ground covers, flower beds, or vegetable gardens.

Many gardeners and professional horticulturists prefer using leaf mold or leaf mulch. This material breaks down more rapidly than wood mulch and is easily turned into the soil as an organic conditioner. Leaves which have been shredded by a lawn mower or chipper-shredder can be used immediately as a mulch -- or aged for several months to achieve a finer texture and darker color. Whole leaves which have been composting for six to twelve months can also be used, provided they have decomposed and fall apart while handling. And rich, crumbly black compost naturally makes an excellent mulch.

To ensure weed suppression, it often helps to first lay several sheets of newspaper (not this column) or cardboard on the ground around and under trees and shrubs -- or in garden beds. Dampen the newspaper with your hose to keep it in place, and then pile the mulch on. Never apply a layer of mulch over four inches deep, and never place it directly against the trunks of trees and shrubs.

And now you can enjoy the warmer weather -- and the rest of the year. By cleaning, composting, and mulching, you've established a yard which will stay healthy year-round. Back-breaking weeding can be avoided, many plant diseases have been physically eliminated, climate-related stresses have been headed-off, and your organically-enriched soil will grow healthy, beautiful plants naturally. The way Mother Nature intended.

Growing Fun With Your Compost Bin

You can start to enjoy your compost long before it's ready to use. Since many of us set up compost bins in our vegetable garden, it's time to use those bins to their best advantage. Here's how:

Compost cages can be made from sturdy 10 to 13 foot lengths of wire mesh. Make your cage, fill it with compost-ables (leaves and other trimmings), and plant four to six tomato plants (or veggie of your choice) around the base. As the vines grow, tie them to the cage and guide them up and over the top of the pile. Your compost bin now doubles as a tomato cage -- so you're not wasting space, the materials in the bin serve as a mulch to keep plant roots cool and moist during the hottest weather, and -- best of all -- as the materials decompose, nutrients and micro-nutrients are fed directly into the root systems. No fertilizing, no fuss -- just fruit!

In any sunny location, you can grow pounds and pounds of wonderful sweet potatoes in almost any sort of compost bin using leaves alone. Place moistened leaves in a bin, packing them down, and filling to the top. One full month after the last frost, plant six sweet potato slips (root sprouts -- available at many nurseries and garden centers) into the top of the leaf pile. YOU MUST KEEP THE PILE MOIST AT ALL TIMES. After several weeks the vines will take off, soon cascading over the sides and covering the entire bin. It's compost camouflage! After leaves begin to yellow in the fall, harvest your tubers, use the composted leaves in your garden, and add the vines themselves to next year's compost pile.

Copyright 2012, Joseph M. Keyser

Turning Over a New Leaf

Glorious Autumn! Keat's season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. It is also (alas) the season of the rake. It seems that you spend the better part of your precious weekends just raking up leaves. And just when you have gotten them under control, along comes a brisk gust of wind, a sprinkling of rain, and your lawn is covered all over again. Groan! Time to drag out the rake once more.

Here is a solution to simplify your fall and improve the long-term health and vigor of your lawn, trees, and garden beds:

Mulch ado about leaves.
There are a large number of expensive, awkward, and sometimes useful products being hawked to suck up your leaves and turn them into mulch. There are blower-vacs which blow leaves into a pile which you can then suck up and shred. There are chipper-shredders with elephant trunks that also allow you to suck up and shred leaves, although you have to rake them into piles first. And lawn jockeys with disposable incomes can check out the over $1,200 self-propelled machines which act like gas-powered vacuum cleaners on your lawn (watch out for small pets).

Mower for less.
These contraptions may not be the solution for you. However, if you are like most homeowners, you may not have realized that your lawn mower is already a deluxe leaf mulcher in its own right. And perhaps the easiest way to deal with leaves is to mow them right back into the lawn itself. Forget back-breaking raking and bagging!

Please note that mower-mulching works best when leaves are relatively dry and are no more than one inch deep. Deeper "drifts" might need to be partially raked first -- or plan to run back and forth over the leaves several times. And do not worry if your model is not a dedicated mulching mower, any type of mower will do.

Start your do-it-yourself "mulchinator" by setting the mower to a normal three-inch height. Remove bagging attachments and block off the discharge chute on a rear-discharge machine. Then run your mower over the lawn while walking slowly, giving the mower blades plenty of time to shred up the leaves.

If your mower has a side discharge chute, you will probably want to start on the outside perimeter of your lawn and start mowing inward. This will keep the leaf-bits on the lawn, and even allow you to mow over them a few more times. Of course, some folks like to "blow" shredded leaves into ground cover areas, under foundation plantings, or into wooded areas, adding to the organic content of soils there, which is another option.

If your first pass over the lawn has left a significant quantity of whole leaves, go back over the leaves while mowing at a right angle to the first cut, perhaps walking even more slowly. Leaves take more work than grass, especially if they are somewhat damp.

Stay out of the gutter!
It is important not to blow whole or shredded leaves into streets, storm drains, or nearby streams. Those innocent-looking particles can create problems for sensitive aquatic life by suffocating plants, fish eggs, and insect larvae, clouding the water, tying up oxygen, and altering the stream's pH (increasing toxic acidity). And that is also why you should never rake leaves into the street or gutter: leaf leachate always ends up in your neighborhood stream.

Too many leaves?
The swirling mass of leaves may seem daunting at first, but the final particle size will be one-tenth of the original leaf. This will make it easily digestible by worms and bacteria. Skeptics often voice a concern that shredding leaves into turf areas will overwhelm and kill their lawn. Not at all! In fact, research at the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania found that earthworms will actually drag a one-inch deep layer of organic matter into their burrows in just a few months, loosening and enriching your soil, and feeding the roots of your lawn for free.

Numerically, while you may imagine that all of those leaves will add up to far too much organic matter for your lawn, the fact is that 30 tall paper bags full of leaves, once shredded, will break down within a season to about one cubic yard of leaf mold or compost. Applied to your lawn as a topdressing, you would only be able to cover about 48 square feet (a six foot by eight foot patch). In fact, to topdress a lawn properly, most savvy gardeners have to import tons of commercial compost above and beyond the compost they make at home! Fear not: you will never have too many leaves or too much organic matter!

Your lawn needs leaves.
For decades, homeowners have bagged their grass clippings and leaves and sent them off to a landfill. And lawn chemical salespeople successfully and profitably sold the idea that healthy lawns needed bimonthly fertilizer and pesticide applications. Times have fortunately changed. The fact is that lawns and gardens can be maintained organically, for the most part, and without toxic inputs, just by recycling the natural materials already in place. When you bag up your clippings and leaves, you are short-circuiting the natural recycling process.

Think of the cycle this way: tree roots absorb water, minerals, and a host of nutrients from the soil. These materials are used to add girth to the tree trunk and boughs, set forth new branches, grow more roots, and grow leaves, flowers, and fruits or seeds. In a natural setting, such as a forest or woodlot, leaves, small twigs, blossoms, and fruits drop to the ground and slowly decompose, returning all of the original organic building blocks to the soil for future use.

What happens when you bag up leaves? How is that organic matter going to get back to the soil for the tree to use in coming years? You may think that by fertilizing your lawn you are returning everything the tree needs. Wrong! Of the more than one dozen major and minor nutrients that plants need to grow, how many are in your bag of fertilizer? And what about the organic matter that creates humus, the very soul of soil itself?

Bagging leaves and grass is equivalent to strip mining. The minerals, nutrients, and organic matter are continually stripped away year after year. Eventually, without those vital materials, your trees, your garden, and your lawn will start to suffer. It is time to undo this damage by getting that organic matter back into the soil. And you can easily start just by mowing your leaves into your lawn.

It's in the bagger!
There are other options and uses for some of your shredded leaves. For example, if your mower does have a bagging attachment, you might want to take the shredded material and start using it to mulch some of your trees and shrubs. This is also true for gardeners with some of the fancier shredding equipment. Apply up to four inches deep, and your mulch layer will also act as a blanket to prevent frost upheaval in planting beds, which is especially damaging to bulbs, tuberous flowers, and some half-hardy perennials. You will also be feeding and protecting your plants and preventing weed growth for almost a full year.

A compost pile or bin is another excellent half-way point for shredded leaves. Those smaller leaf particles break down in less than half the time of whole leaves, and you can fit a prodigious quantity of shredded leaves into your bin. Also, if you find that you are cutting some grass while shredding leaves, you are probably creating the perfect blend of carbon and nitrogen-rich materials to ensure a hot, fast-working compost pile.

Recommended chores.
Mulching leaves into lawns is just the first step toward a naturally healthy lawn and environment. You should also consider aerating your lawn by either renting a core-aerating machine (about $70) or hiring a lawn care firm ($75 and up depending on overall lawn size). Aerating breathes life into compacted soils and helps organic matter filter deeper into subsoils and root zones. You should also test your soil with a kit from your county or municipality's local Cooperative Extension Service (costs are about ten dollars) to determine proper nutrient application rates. Your soil test will also indicate the type and quantity of lime your lawn needs; local soils are naturally acidic. And don't forget: fall is the only beneficial time to consider feeding your lawn -- only use a slow-release or organic nutrient source to feed the soil and your lawn's roots all winter long.

Copyright 2010, Joseph M. Keyser

A Clean Sweep for the Spring Garden

With warmer days at hand, many of us are heading outdoors to spruce up our yards. These spring chores offer an excellent opportunity to significantly improve the health of our lawns and gardens, which will later save time, energy, and resources.

To begin, start cleaning up fallen leaves, broken branches, twigs, and dead foliage lying under shrubs, trees, and in planting beds. Sanitation is important in maintaining a healthy garden for a number of reasons: fallen leaves can clump together, inhibiting the passage of air and water to the root systems of your plant. Don't use or plan to use whole leaves as a mulch. Also, there are a number of pests and disease organisms which can winter-over in garden debris. Removing these havens removes the pests.

But don't throw those leaves and other trimmings away! All of them can be easily composted, breaking down into a wonderful mulch or soil conditioner for use this coming fall. Branches and larger twigs can be placed on the ground or inside the bottom of a compost bin to facilitate drainage and aeration. Leaves and other materials -- including some of those weeds which are now popping up -- can then be added to the pile. Gradually moisten materials as you put them in. Avoid adding twigs larger than your thumb in diameter -- and no more than 6-10 inches long.

After your "clean sweep," it's time to consider mulching. There are numerous organic and inorganic mulches from which to choose. Most are helpful in suppressing or eliminating weeds (no weeding! no toxic chemicals!), conserving soil moisture and moderating soil temperatures -- which is critical during droughts and heat waves -- and most can improve the appearance of your yard. However, by using materials like shredded leaves, leaf mold, compost, or wood mulch, you are restoring vital nutrients and organic matter and improving soil health. Remember that healthy soil produces healthy plants.

Mulches can be purchased, made, or picked up free. Many municipalities have wisely elected to make chipped or ground-up leaves and woody debris available for free to residents -- either to be picked up from a central location, or even delivered for a nominal fee in some really progressive communities. Bear in mind that this shredded mulch -- like mulch from tree care companies -- is unaged and only suitable for application around established plantings, or used for pathways or play areas. Fresh-shredded wood mulch should be aged or composted for at least six months before using around tender plants like ground covers, flower beds, or vegetable gardens.

Many gardeners and professional horticulturists prefer using leaf mold or leaf mulch. This material breaks down more rapidly than wood mulch and is easily turned into the soil as an organic conditioner. Leaves which have been shredded by a lawn mower or chipper-shredder can be used immediately as a mulch -- or aged for several months to achieve a finer texture and darker color. Whole leaves which have been composting for six to twelve months can also be used, provided they have decomposed and fall apart while handling. And rich, crumbly black compost naturally makes an excellent mulch.

To ensure weed suppression, it often helps to first lay several sheets of newspaper (not this column) or cardboard on the ground around and under trees and shrubs -- or in garden beds. Dampen the newspaper with your hose to keep it in place, and then pile the mulch on. Never apply a layer of mulch over four inches deep, and never place it directly against the trunks of trees and shrubs.

And now you can enjoy the warmer weather -- and the rest of the year. By cleaning, composting, and mulching, you've established a yard which will stay healthy year-round. Back-breaking weeding can be avoided, many plant diseases have been physically eliminated, climate-related stresses have been headed-off, and your organically-enriched soil will grow healthy, beautiful plants naturally. The way Mother Nature intended.

Growing Fun With Your Compost Bin

You can start to enjoy your compost long before it's ready to use. Since many of us set up compost bins in our vegetable garden, it's time to use those bins to their best advantage. Here's how:

Compost cages can be made from sturdy 10 to 13 foot lengths of wire mesh. Make your cage, fill it with compost-ables (leaves and other trimmings), and plant four to six tomato plants (or veggie of your choice) around the base. As the vines grow, tie them to the cage and guide them up and over the top of the pile. Your compost bin now doubles as a tomato cage -- so you're not wasting space, the materials in the bin serve as a mulch to keep plant roots cool and moist during the hottest weather, and -- best of all -- as the materials decompose, nutrients and micro-nutrients are fed directly into the root systems. No fertilizing, no fuss -- just fruit!

In any sunny location, you can grow pounds and pounds of wonderful sweet potatoes in almost any sort of compost bin using leaves alone. Place moistened leaves in a bin, packing them down, and filling to the top. One full month after the last frost, plant six sweet potato slips (root sprouts -- available at many nurseries and garden centers) into the top of the leaf pile. YOU MUST KEEP THE PILE MOIST AT ALL TIMES. After several weeks the vines will take off, soon cascading over the sides and covering the entire bin. It's compost camouflage! After leaves begin to yellow in the fall, harvest your tubers, use the composted leaves in your garden, and add the vines themselves to next year's compost pile.

Copyright 2010, Joseph M. Keyser

Turning Over a New Leaf

Glorious Autumn! Keat's season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. It is also (alas) the season of the rake. It seems that you spend the better part of your precious weekends just raking up leaves. And just when you have gotten them under control, along comes a brisk gust of wind, a sprinkling of rain, and your lawn is covered all over again. Groan! Time to drag out the rake once more.

Here is a solution to simplify your fall and improve the long-term health and vigor of your lawn, trees, and garden beds:

Mulch ado about leaves.
There are a large number of expensive, awkward, and sometimes useful products being hawked to suck up your leaves and turn them into mulch. There are blower-vacs which blow leaves into a pile which you can then suck up and shred. There are chipper-shredders with elephant trunks that also allow you to suck up and shred leaves, although you have to rake them into piles first. And lawn jockeys with disposable incomes can check out the over $1,200 self-propelled machines which act like gas-powered vacuum cleaners on your lawn (watch out for small pets).

Mower for less.
These contraptions may not be the solution for you. However, if you are like most homeowners, you may not have realized that your lawn mower is already a deluxe leaf mulcher in its own right. And perhaps the easiest way to deal with leaves is to mow them right back into the lawn itself. Forget back-breaking raking and bagging!

Please note that mower-mulching works best when leaves are relatively dry and are no more than one inch deep. Deeper "drifts" might need to be partially raked first -- or plan to run back and forth over the leaves several times. And do not worry if your model is not a dedicated mulching mower, any type of mower will do.

Start your do-it-yourself "mulchinator" by setting the mower to a normal three-inch height. Remove bagging attachments and block off the discharge chute on a rear-discharge machine. Then run your mower over the lawn while walking slowly, giving the mower blades plenty of time to shred up the leaves.

If your mower has a side discharge chute, you will probably want to start on the outside perimeter of your lawn and start mowing inward. This will keep the leaf-bits on the lawn, and even allow you to mow over them a few more times. Of course, some folks like to "blow" shredded leaves into ground cover areas, under foundation plantings, or into wooded areas, adding to the organic content of soils there, which is another option.

If your first pass over the lawn has left a significant quantity of whole leaves, go back over the leaves while mowing at a right angle to the first cut, perhaps walking even more slowly. Leaves take more work than grass, especially if they are somewhat damp.

Stay out of the gutter!
It is important not to blow whole or shredded leaves into streets, storm drains, or nearby streams. Those innocent-looking particles can create problems for sensitive aquatic life by suffocating plants, fish eggs, and insect larvae, clouding the water, tying up oxygen, and altering the stream's pH (increasing toxic acidity). And that is also why you should never rake leaves into the street or gutter: leaf leachate always ends up in your neighborhood stream.

Too many leaves?
The swirling mass of leaves may seem daunting at first, but the final particle size will be one-tenth of the original leaf. This will make it easily digestible by worms and bacteria. Skeptics often voice a concern that shredding leaves into turf areas will overwhelm and kill their lawn. Not at all! In fact, research at the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania found that earthworms will actually drag a one-inch deep layer of organic matter into their burrows in just a few months, loosening and enriching your soil, and feeding the roots of your lawn for free.

Numerically, while you may imagine that all of those leaves will add up to far too much organic matter for your lawn, the fact is that 30 tall paper bags full of leaves, once shredded, will break down within a season to about one cubic yard of leaf mold or compost. Applied to your lawn as a topdressing, you would only be able to cover about 48 square feet (a six foot by eight foot patch). In fact, to topdress a lawn properly, most savvy gardeners have to import tons of commercial compost above and beyond the compost they make at home! Fear not: you will never have too many leaves or too much organic matter!

Your lawn needs leaves.
For decades, homeowners have bagged their grass clippings and leaves and sent them off to a landfill. And lawn chemical salespeople successfully and profitably sold the idea that healthy lawns needed bimonthly fertilizer and pesticide applications. Times have fortunately changed. The fact is that lawns and gardens can be maintained organically, for the most part, and without toxic inputs, just by recycling the natural materials already in place. When you bag up your clippings and leaves, you are short-circuiting the natural recycling process.

Think of the cycle this way: tree roots absorb water, minerals, and a host of nutrients from the soil. These materials are used to add girth to the tree trunk and boughs, set forth new branches, grow more roots, and grow leaves, flowers, and fruits or seeds. In a natural setting, such as a forest or woodlot, leaves, small twigs, blossoms, and fruits drop to the ground and slowly decompose, returning all of the original organic building blocks to the soil for future use.

What happens when you bag up leaves? How is that organic matter going to get back to the soil for the tree to use in coming years? You may think that by fertilizing your lawn you are returning everything the tree needs. Wrong! Of the more than one dozen major and minor nutrients that plants need to grow, how many are in your bag of fertilizer? And what about the organic matter that creates humus, the very soul of soil itself?

Bagging leaves and grass is equivalent to strip mining. The minerals, nutrients, and organic matter are continually stripped away year after year. Eventually, without those vital materials, your trees, your garden, and your lawn will start to suffer. It is time to undo this damage by getting that organic matter back into the soil. And you can easily start just by mowing your leaves into your lawn.

It's in the bagger!
There are other options and uses for some of your shredded leaves. For example, if your mower does have a bagging attachment, you might want to take the shredded material and start using it to mulch some of your trees and shrubs. This is also true for gardeners with some of the fancier shredding equipment. Apply up to four inches deep, and your mulch layer will also act as a blanket to prevent frost upheaval in planting beds, which is especially damaging to bulbs, tuberous flowers, and some half-hardy perennials. You will also be feeding and protecting your plants and preventing weed growth for almost a full year.

A compost pile or bin is another excellent half-way point for shredded leaves. Those smaller leaf particles break down in less than half the time of whole leaves, and you can fit a prodigious quantity of shredded leaves into your bin. Also, if you find that you are cutting some grass while shredding leaves, you are probably creating the perfect blend of carbon and nitrogen-rich materials to ensure a hot, fast-working compost pile.

Recommended chores.
Mulching leaves into lawns is just the first step toward a naturally healthy lawn and environment. You should also consider aerating your lawn by either renting a core-aerating machine (about $70) or hiring a lawn care firm ($75 and up depending on overall lawn size). Aerating breathes life into compacted soils and helps organic matter filter deeper into subsoils and root zones. You should also test your soil with a kit from your county or municipality's local Cooperative Extension Service (costs are about ten dollars) to determine proper nutrient application rates. Your soil test will also indicate the type and quantity of lime your lawn needs; local soils are naturally acidic. And don't forget: fall is the only beneficial time to consider feeding your lawn -- only use a slow-release or organic nutrient source to feed the soil and your lawn's roots all winter long.

Copyright 2009, Joseph M. Keyser

Helping Gardens Survive Drought

Periodically, severe droughts settle in across various regions of our nation, typically forcing gardeners and other landscapers to make some important decisions in their irrigation habits, especially as both voluntary and mandatory water use restrictions are put in place.

The first, and perhaps toughest, decision involves whether to begin any large planting projects at all. While mandatory water use restrictions will allow for some watering of garden beds, trees and shrubs, private well-owners and other groundwater users may not want to risk their vital and limited water resources on a newly planted butterfly garden, windbreak, or water garden. Moreover, it is never a good idea to plant trees and shrubs after the end of April. Consider putting off any significant planting chores until October, when most larger plants and perennials can get by with a minimum of watering.

With higher temperatures and drought warnings on the horizon, the best use of gardening time might be spent keeping existing plants alive and well. Trees and shrubs planted recently, or even last year, will probably need to be watered throughout the dry summer months, especially after such a dry autumn and winter. This watering can be done by hand with a hose and spray nozzle, although it can take a considerable amount of time to water deeply and properly. Simply spritzing a tree for a couple of minutes will never provide plants with an adequate drink.

A clever and much more water efficient method is to use a bucket with very small pin holes at the bottom which will allow water to drip out slowly, gradually moistening the plant’s root zone. Buckets can be quickly filled with a hose, while the irrigation process will stretch over several hours. Clean milk jugs and old bottled water containers can also be punctured with a pin, and will serve the same purpose, probably allocating several containers for larger trees and shrubs. Most newly planted trees will require between three and five gallons of water per week.

All plantings, whether large or small, new or established, will benefit from a moisture conserving blanket of mulch. Garden beds should receive a generous three or four inch layer. The mulch will keep soil temperatures cooler during hot spells, will conserve soil moisture, and eliminate weeds, which also effectively eliminates competition between weeds and desired plants for available water and nutrients.

Trees and shrubs should also receive a similar three-four inch layer of mulch, broadly applied between the drip-line, the outside perimeter of the tree, and the trunk, although not up against the trunk. It is seldom wise to encourage turf to grow beneath younger trees, as the grass will often out-compete the tree for water.

When using mulch, it is often beneficial to select organic mulches, whether aged, shredded wood mulch, grass clippings, or leaf mold. Leaf mulch is ideal for use around tender herbaceous plants, such as annuals and perennials. Wood mulch is more suited to trees and shrubs, and grass clippings are ideal for vegetables or other tender plants. Inorganic mulches, such as marble chips, can actually create a “heat sump” in hot, sunny areas, which will accelerate the drying of soil and spell doom for plants.

Relief for lawns and gardens might be a close as the nearest downspout. Too often runoff from roofs is directed by downspouts to driveways and streets. A water conscious gardener will want to redirect downspouts across lawns or into planting beds using inexpensive flexible drainpipes. Consider that a modest quarter-inch of rain will deposit 150 gallons of water on a typical 1,000 square foot roof. All of that water could find a welcome home feeding plants instead of asphalt.

Rain barrels are another innovative means for capturing and using seasonal rainfall. Garden catalogs and nurseries frequently provide a variety of styles and sizes of rain barrel, with capacities up to 75 gallons. Most feature mosquito- and child-proof designs, as well as handy spigots and hose attachments, which will allow homeowners to hook up drip irrigation systems. Local do-it-yourselfers can even find plans for building their own rain barrels on the Internet. Homestyle barrels can often be assembled in minutes for less than 20 dollars. Many designs also allow several rain barrels to be linked together to capture and store up to hundreds of gallons of rainfall. In areas more dependent upon groundwater supplies, rain barrel concepts can be expanded to cistern systems capable of harvesting anywhere from several hundred to several thousand gallons. With both rain barrels and cisterns, the cost is roughly equivalent to one dollar per gallon of water captured.

Drip irrigation is one of the most advanced techniques for conserving water and doing more with less. A variety of systems made up of pressure regulators and soaker hose, or drip emitters and micro tubing, are becoming much more readily available. Drip systems can reduce water use up to 75 percent. Simple soaker hoses can be placed around plants, covered with mulch, and will slowly ooze water through a porous membrane. Emitter systems are more costly and may require some additional planning, although a number of landscaping firms and mail-order catalog companies have divisions which specialize in developing these systems, even for free with the purchase of the tubing and other equipment. According to water conservation engineer Amy Vickers, at Amy Vickers and Associates, most home gardens will cost between 50 and 250 dollars in materials, depending on the individual system, although extensive landscapes can cost thousands.

When mandatory water restrictions are put in place, lawn watering will be prohibited and punishable by fines. However, lawns can be helped by grasscycling. Simply let clippings remain on the lawn when you mow, and cut your grass no lower than three inches. Clippings are almost 90 percent water, and, as they filter to the soil surface, they provide a temporary layer of mulch to conserve soil moisture. Keeping grass taller also shades the soil, reducing surface heat and evaporation. You can also assist your lawn by not fertilizing, which only encourages additional foliar growth and demand for water. Lastly, stop worrying. With the exception of bluegrass, most turf varieties will simply enter a dormant phase, snoozing through the heat and drought, and will “green up”with the return of cooler temperatures and, hopefully, rainfall.

Even without mandatory restrictions, it makes sense to adopt a proper watering strategy for landscaped areas. For example, when you must water, do so only in the early morning, never during the day or in the evening. Evening watering can lead to fungal diseases and midday watering can scald foliage. In addition, water applied at midday will evaporate before doing any good, as is also true of watering on windy days, when breezes will hasten evaporation.

When dealing with heavy clay soils, it is best to limit watering to short 15 to 30 minute cycles. Apply water, allow it to soak in, and then water for another cycle. Heavy soils have a lower infiltration rate, meaning that excess water will simply run off and be wasted. Generally speaking, you will only need to water once every five to seven days. Overwatering is a waste of valuable resources and will more readily lead to a host of plant diseases.

Probably within a short time, local media outlets will broadcast information about drought conditions and will issue several types of warning or advisory. The conservation message conveyed by various jurisdictions will vary widely from one location to another. Keep in mind that public water utilities are in the business of selling water, not preserving ecosystems. While well-owners have no water to spare, the majority of homeowners will be assured of adequate supplies by their respective utilities.

The supply issue, however, does not take into consideration the ecological impact of withdrawing water from rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and underground aquifers. In many cases, there will probably be sufficient water for drinking and bathing, even for gardening. However, by wasting water through washing cars or watering lawns during a drought, users are removing water needed to keep aquatic ecosystems healthy and alive. For fish and other aquatic organisms, water is not a convenience or a commodity, it is life itself.

Copyright 2009, Joseph M. Keyser