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z + q g g & a 3 g 5 8 3 2 i $ 2 g Zz 3 g é 2 z ‘ad 6 insidehalton.com DY=\TAV/=) 9 Janta! maa) a” im From city centres to rural communities, we have you covered with Best In Class Next Day Delivery Decades of experience Competitive Pricing Limitless volume capacity Join some of Canada’s largest companies who rely on us for their ecommerce delivery. Get a quote today: metrolandparcelservices.ca SCAN FOR M PARCEL SERVICES ESRMATOn IBNEWS TO RAKE OR NOT TO RAKE - THAT IS THE QUESTION SCATTERING OF LEAF MULCH WILL DECOMPOSE AND FEED THE SOIL GAIL POWELL gpowell@metroland.com It's that time of year in hen, residents rake the: eaves iro fom their back- breaking work “ raking, , bagging every last — "tiny leaf from that honey locust tree can be tiresome. What would | happen. to i u just left the leaves put? Wo ld it kill the grass? Is it beneficial to the Jawn leave the leaves? According to two Or- angeville-area landscaping experts, a small number of leaves laying on your lawn, or in your gardens, can ac- tually be horticulturally beneficial over the winter. "Leaves that fall on your lawn can be mulched into smaller pieces by running over them with the lawn mower. A light scattering of leaf mulch on the lawn is beneficial — with the help of soil organisms, these leaf pieces will decompose and naturally feed your lawn and soil," said Sara Maodel, technician, sus- home landscapes we he Credit Valley Con- servation (CVC) Authority. “Excess leaves can then the garden soil and provide valuable habitat for overwintering beneficial insects — which in turn support the birds, amphibians, etc. that rely on insects for food." Richard Reed, owner of Mono-based Dufferin Lawn Life landscaping since 1979, agreed that to some degree, pang a few leaves or us- mulch mower to shred the {eaves over a lawn can be Lara pat "Instead of raking agging the eaves that al off the trees, try running over the leaves with a lawn mower to mulch them in- stead. This way you will be organic matter to ane lawn, and this is a good thing," he said. "However, if you leave all the leave: your lawn for the winter, it's going to be too heavy, and this will smother and kill the grass underneath." In newer neighbour- hoods where sod has been freshly laid by developers, Reed said leaving some leaf matter down is a very good “The construction com- panies typically scrape all the good topsoil off ane property, and they put a very little amount of ne soil down before they lay the sod for the new lawn," Reed said. "The lawn may Gail Powell/Metroland Don't leave too many layers of leaves on the green spaces around your home as this could lead to the lawn getting smothered and kill the grass. look great for a couple years, but then it starts to deteriorate and struggle to grow, so the more organic matter — such as mulched leaves _— can n keep on your lawn, we “ao “Tike to put ‘ing as a top dressing “to help further breakdown the organi matter, that way we get good diversity in the soil. “It will still need a bit of water and fertilizer now and then, but we also have to remember the lawn is a living and bre: thing. The average home lawn ac- tually produces enough ox- ygen for a family of four — if the lawn is healthy." As a final tip, edel added that “leaf mould" can be made by raking leaves into a big pile or into a wire or wood frame. “After one to three years — shredded leaves will oe compose faster — will have broken the! leaves down into dark, rich com- post that is great for flower or vegetable gardens."