Save your lawn as leaves start falling earlier
September brings a change in season; as autumn approaches, leaves start to turn golden and the temperature starts to drop.
November is normally the time when you’re likely to get fed up collecting fallen leaves. But this year, quite a few trees have started to shed them early, and the result is the battle to save the lawn.
Some mowers will collect leaves fairly efficiently, chopping them up as they go along. If they are mixed with plenty of grass cuttings, they should rot down easily over the next few months when mixed with herbaceous matter on the compost heap.
But if you’re a boy with a toy and like to spend hours chasing leaves with a mechanical blower, you’re likely to have so many to get rid of that it pays to start thinking about making leafmould.
Wet the leaves and mix them well, then stick the whole lot into a black plastic compost bag. Seal it, pop a few holes in it so the leaves don’t turn into a slimy mess, and pop the bag outside, in a shady, sheltered spot, for a year or so.
If you’ve done the job right, when you next open the bag it will be filled with lovely, earthy leaf mould ideal for adding to compost or for mulching the soil.
Alternatively, make yourself a chicken wire container and store the fallen leaves in that. It may take 18 months for the magic to happen, but they, too, should eventually turn into leaf mould.
But while all that fermenting is going on, once the lawn is clear of fallen leaves a quick scarifying will help remove all the thatch which has accumulated.
If there are any hollows, lift the turf (cut on three sides and lift it like a flap) pop some well-riddled compost underneath until everything looks level, and put the turf back down. Tread it down gently.
And, finally, any soggy spots can be treated by aerating – use a hollow-tine tool or, more simple, a garden fork. You can then brush some more of that well-riddled compost into the holes to improve drainage.