Dead leaves will improve your soil, and they're free

Raking dead leaves and throwing them away interferes with the natural growth process and stresses plants, which now have no natural source of nutrition or natural protection. Left in place, however, fallen leaves slowly decompose into an excellent soil ingredient; leaves mixed with your soil will immediately start decomposing to nourish and loosen the soil and noticeably improve plant growth. 

I shred them with a lawn mower to greatly hasten the decomposition process, and allow sunlight to reach the lawn.

Biology is certainly not my strong suit. However, I'm told that fallen leaves contain carbon and nitrogen compounds, which all plants crave. What's more, some organic compounds (such as amino acids) resulting from leaf decomposition can be absorbed directly by plants, for more vigorous growth.

The only drawback that I know of is that sometimes too many leaves can form a mat and smother plants, cutting them off from sunlight, air or water. Of course, if you shred your leaves into little pieces with your mower, this isn’t a problem. Your lawn will green up earlier in the spring and will resist browning in the heat.

You’ll be amazed by the way your leaves nearly disappear when you shred them with an ordinary lawnmower. They’ll take up around ten percent of the space that unshredded leaves do. Pieces will simply filter down between the grass blades and start decomposing and releasing nutrients. This lets you skip one of your yearly fertilizer applications.

When they fall on soil (including your lawn), look at them as a free gift from nature, chock-full of nutrition for your plants, not as a future chore. Those dead leaves should be used as nature intended, not thrown away, burned or sent to the landfill.

  

How do the binoculars feel?

When shopping for binoculars, there are two important "feel" considerations. Consider these after you’ve narrowed your choices to only binoculars with the optics you want.

First;  how do they feel when you hold them? You want to make sure you've got binoculars that will feel good when you use them or hang them from your neck. They shouldn’t be too heavy, nor feel like a toy. And they need to fit comfortably against your face, and in your hands.

The second aspect is how you feel about actually buying them. If you're at all hesitant about the retailer, the manufacturer, the warranty, or anything else, keep looking. Price shouldn’t be your only guide. A good warranty from a real person is worth paying a little extra for. If the whole deal doesn't feel comfortable now it won't feel any better when it appears on your credit card.

        By the way, if you’re buying them for a child, for heaven’s sake don’t just get a “toy”. Toy binoculars almost always have inferior (“cheap“) optics, and will quickly discourage a child! Most important is that they adjust easily to fit a child’s smaller features.

Owen Yost, in addition to blogging, is a Landscape Architect emeritus from here, who‘s worked in north Texas for over 30 years.  He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Society of Landscape Architects, the National BirdFeeding Society, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award by the Native Plant Society of Texas. His design office is at birdpoop@charter.net