October Gardening Tasks

As autumn begins, the Times online gardening section has some terrific advice for those of us pushed for time to get out and about in the garden. It suggests of course raking in fallen leaves round about now, but if you are just too busy, enlist the help of a young relative to do it for you in return for some pocket money. What a lovely idea, a great way to allow children to connect with the natural world, and see the wonderful colours of the leaves gradually changing throughout the month. Its an essential task, apart from wet leaves making paths and patios unsafe under everyone’s feet, its also important to make sure your lawn and beds are free from a ‘leaf mat’. Fallen leaves quickly ‘mesh’ together, trapping moisture on top of the grass or soil. The ‘mat’ prevents sunlight reaching the plants and unfortunately creates the perfect environment for both garden pests and plant disease.

In case you are tempted to have someone come around with a leaf blower, maybe take the advice of one gardener who likes to mow her fallen leaves into a fine mulch then collects them. Without even beginning to mention the appalling noise the blowers make, she points out leaf blowing is essentially throwing money down the drain. Fallen leaves can easily be collected and composted, producing organic compost containing excellent nutrients for plants. This is the ultimate in organic gardening - it is exactly what happens ‘in the wild’. Over here in the UK, you can make the task even easier by using a biodegradable leaf sack. These are jute sacks which let you (or your young helper) pop all the fallen leaves inside, then sling them in a corner and literally forget about the whole thing until spring. When the winter recedes, you’ll have your perfect supply of compost for all your gardening needs. The bag itself gently breaks down, leaving you with no polluting plastic to contend with, only your new fresh rich compost.