The Frugal Woodworker's Journal - Let's REALLY Leave the Leaves!

By Jerry Buerge

Well, most everything has now been put away for the winter and we have had our first snowfall. It was even enough to crank up the snow blower and toss it halfway across the yard. I Hope that you have been able to finish all your chores well in advance of the arrival of your winter too.

My last newsletter talked about a way to help compact the leaves for more efficient handling and to then find a reasonable way to extract the valuable nourishment they contain. This, to reduce or avoid the need to purchase fertilizer for addition to your selected garden area. The act of making and using compost is in consort with our idea of using, rather than wasting, the value of the so-called trash wood so many folks dispose of.

I've since read several articles on the benefit of adding compost to those lawn areas in need of rehabilitation. The latest one suggested that the best way to add the compost is to simply process those leaves with your mulching lawnmower and let nature take its course. If chopped finely enough and simply left to self-compost as they lay between the leaves of grass, they should "produce an excellent stand of turf within the next three years." While nothing was said about what the lawn might look like during that three-year period, I suspect that the worst that could happen might be a two-tone shade of brown. Something like my neighbor created when he tore up his turf and planted new seed a year or so ago.

I've already decided to add a bit of compost to my lawn next year. The instructions I read call for this addition to be made in the fall of the year. So, I will experiment a bit by trying the processed leaf treatment on either the front or rear lawn and use compost on the other one. This will be in addition to cutting the grass no more than one-third its grown height and leaving the cuttings to also self-compost.

We actually followed this cutting technique during the latter half of this past summer and found that the lawn looked fine. We also did not create any accumulation of thatch that impeded water entry to the soil.

So, folks, this message outlines another way that I am still trying to learn how to be as frugal with my time as with the materials I use. This based on an old German saying that went something like; "We get too soon old, and too late smart." Since it is never too late to learn, here I am.

I would also like to add a fresh suggestion to all those planning to send Holiday Cards to their family and friends this year.

In view of the recent use of the USPS to spread anthrax, I have decided that it will be appropriate to make use of this computer and the Internet to satisfy as much of my list as possible. This way, I know that what I send will have no chance of infecting anyone with anything other than an electronic virus and certainly not even that unless someone has found a way to add one en route. So, while I am sure the USPS may not appreciate my action on this, I invite you to do the same and ask them to try and understand our concern at this time.

Since there will certainly be a cost saving to those of us who adopt this plan, may I also suggest that you consider contributing a sum equal to your saving, or even a bit more, to your local food shelf. There are more folks who can use our help this year than ever before.

Jerry