As I travel around Outside giving talks, I am constantly amazed at the lengths people will go to -- indeed, whole towns and even cities -- in order to ensure the ground is completely devoid of fallen leaves. You would think these things harbor the Ebola virus. They are whisked away, out of sight, almost as soon as they hit the ground.
There are very few places that do what we do here in Alaska: mow leaves in place so that they will decay during the winter and provide food for the microbes that feed our plants. And, I might add, avoid a huge waste of time and a tremendous expenditure of effort raking together and bagging up what turns out to be a real bounty from nature.
In Madison, Wisconsin, for example, I saw perfectly sane folks out at minus 3 degrees raking leaves. Our warm weather here was mirrored by a most unusual and disturbing pre-Thanksgiving deep freeze, which hit them well before all the leaves had fallen. I didn't ask, but I assume the only reason someone would be out raking at minus 3 was that their town imposed a very large fine for not cleaning up leaves, or something similarly drastic.
In White Plains, New York, I took a walk and saw entire neighborhoods where they blew their leaves out into the middle of the street. Presumably, these were all collected and dumped into the landfill, though I would like to think there is a town compost pile.
Who knows where they go in Portland, Oregon. They fill paper bags (hey, no plastic; this is Portland) especially designed for leaves and then leave them, all lined up in a row, next to refuse containers.
When I tell audiences Outside (and that now includes England, where I spoke last week) that they don't need to rake their leaves, indeed that they must not do so, they freak out just as many did here back in the day of high nitrogen fertilizers and Cygon-IIE applications.
They protest, "We have too many!" "It'll smother the lawn!" "It looks awful." The idea of a lawn going into the winter with leaves just seems unnatural to folks Outside. They don't see it on TV and their neighbors would go bonkers, so they rake, blow, bag and dump.
That is about to change as the mainstream press and environmental organizations finally take up the cry to let leaves be. The latest is the National Wildlife Federation. Leaves, they have discovered, are not only a good environment for my favorites, microbes, but they also provide safe haven for larger critters that are also part of the soil food web. Well, what do you know!
I mention this because the weather we have all experienced so far this winter around this country (and England, too!) should convince everyone that mulch is a must. There is no question our leaves are one of the best ways to deal with the rise in temperatures and the increase in the number of freeze-thaw cycles.
Oddly enough, here in Alaska leaves have traditionally served to protect plants on the upper level of the "almost hardy zone." As temperatures increase, they will become just as important to enable us to continue to grow things that require more cold than we are going to have. It's an unusual thought for an Alaska gardener -- having to protect a perennial from winter warmth.
If you did not mulch this fall (and you have had plenty of opportunity), use what snow you can. It is poor man's mulch. Shovel it off the lawn onto beds if necessary. This may even be the year you cut up your Christmas tree and wreaths and use the boughs as mulch. We really don't want things thawing again until sometime in March or even April.
Jeffs Alaska garden calendar for the week of Dec. 5
Alaska Botanical Garden Meet and Greet and Match Challenge: Alaska Heritage Museum at Wells Fargo, 301 W. Northern Lights Blvd. Join fellow gardeners Dec. 11 from 5 to 7 p.m. Meet Robin Dublin, the new executive director, enjoy beer, wine and hors d'oeuvres and shop and bid on great silent auction gifts and baskets. The Rasmuson Foundation will generously match all donations up to $5,000. Suggested minimum: $50. (alaskabg.org, 770-3692)
Houseplants: Check yours for water and for bugs
Snowshoe Walk and Winter Tree ID: Saturday, Dec. 6, 1 to 3 p.m. Alaska Botanical Garden; $7 adults, $5 children under 18, members free! Space limited, first come first served.