Note: This is in response to Alison Mitchell’s ‘Between the Lines’ commentary from last week’s issue of U.S. 1, “Do Nature a Favor — Leave the Leaves!” on October 26.
Alison Mitchell is correct that there are many ways autumn leaves can be used on home landscapes. Nevertheless, fallen shade tree leaves are often raked, bagged, and picked up by communities across New Jersey. The good news is that in 1988, the state banned putting shade tree leaves in landfills. Rutgers, New Jersey Agriculture Experiment Station conducted decades of research and found many beneficial uses for shade tree leaves on farms.
Soil scientists at Rutgers determined the plant nutrient content of shade tree leaves and the effects of land applied leaves on soil fertility. A review and summary of the research findings were recently published in HortTechnology. To read the review article, web search this title: Community Shade Tree Leaves: Beneficial Uses for Agriculture.
In summary, using leaves as a mulch on the soil surface in orchards or for production of vine crops, such as pumpkin, provides excellent weed control without herbicides, conserves soil moisture, prevents soil splash onto fruit, and protects against soil erosion. Shade tree leaves are relatively slow to release nitrogen to crops but will boost soil fertility overtime. Leaves are rich in calcium and do not cause soil acidity.
People who choose to rake and bag leaves can feel good about the practice because they are helping local farmers build soil organic matter content and soil health. However, growers importing shade tree leaves for on-farm use want nothing in the bag except shade tree leaves. Thus, only leaves go in the paper bag – no trash, food wrappers, bottles, cans etc.
— Joseph R. Heckman, Extension Specialist – Soil Fertility, Cook Campus, Rutgers University
