Originally posted on 08.22.16 by Genevieve Vander Velden, Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance

Cooler weather will be here before you know it!  Fall leaves provide beautiful color on trees, but in local waters they contribute to green algae blooms – not so pretty.

You have a number of options to care for the leaves in your yard.

Keep leaves out of our local waters by making small changes right at home!

  1. Keep your leaves on your property! Mulch leaves in place by making several passes over the leaves with a mulching mower.  This will keep the leaves on your lawn and provide it with nutrients it needs for healthy grass next spring.
  2. Composting!  Composting is recycling your lawn trimmings and turning them into a rich soil, known as compost – a valuable resource for your garden or houseplants.  Cold composting requires little maintenance but can take up to 2 years to complete. Hot composting requires regular maintenance such as turning and watering.  Typically, compost can be reached in 1-3 months.  To learn more about cold and hot composting, please visit renewourwaters.org!
  3. Raking and collecting your leaves!  If you decide to collect your leaves for removal from your yard, follow your community’s leaf collection policy and schedule.  Put a tarp over leaf piles in-between pick-up times to prevent them from blowing into the street.  Remove leaves and debris from your gutters and storm sewer outlets.

Untreated runoff is the biggest threat to our nation’s water quality– let’s make small, important changes that will reduce that threat and improve water quality!