Green Leaf Disposal!
San Antonio is quickly moving into its winter weather pattern and along with that come the falling leaves. As I am out and about I already see bags of leaves piled up on the curb for trash pickup. I can understand not everyone is into recycling and composting vegetation waste. However, your choice of bags can make a huge difference in if the leaves decompose in the landfill. Most plastic bags will take years to break down in the landfill and the leaves inside will not be returned to the earth enriching the soil. You can now get large paper bags to use to dispose of leaves and grass clippings these bags breakdown rapidly in the presence of moisture in the earth. Some earthworms will eat paper so they too can add to the decomposition of the paper bag along with the contents inside. So checkout your local home improvement store and switch to paper bags it will help with the decomposition of leaves in the landfill.
While your raking the leaves do not forget to clear the ones on the curb and do not be tempted to just blow them into the street. The leaves in the street may be ground down by the action of cars driving over them, they may end up in your neighbors yard or they could end up in the storm drain. Leaves in the storm drain can delay rainwater runoff causing localized flooding in the immediate area.
You can also use the leaves to mulch around your sensitive plants that can’t tolerate colder temperatures. Next spring you can just turn the leaves into the ground around the plants.
If you have a vegetable garden just spread the leaves across the top of the soil. If will prevent erosion during the winter when you are not growing anything. The leaves will keep the wind from blowing the topsoil away. Wet the leaves down from time to time to add in their decomposition. Next spring just turn the leaves into the soil.
Just a few ideas on how to dispose of leaves in an environmentally friendly manner!