Some of our best landscaping practices can be learned from Mother
Nature. Every autumn, leaves fall to the ground, sheltering the soil and beneficial
organisms, returning organic matter back to the ground, and perpetuating the nutrient
cycling essential for good plant health. This year we want you to think about leaving
those leaves in your garden. When we allow leaves to follow their natural life cycle,
we can enjoy a colorful tapestry on our landscape as well as all the benefits provided
by an organic mulch.
With these tips, you can spend less time raking leaves into plastic
bags and enjoy more fall fun:
When designing your landscape, make your pathways
and hardscapes above the level of your planting areas. The wind will naturally blow
leaves into the low spots where they will support soil and plant health. This also
happens to be a great water harvesting strategy.
Use organic mulches instead of gravel. Organic mulches
such as wood mulch are visually accommodating to leaf litter (meaning you won’t
notice them as much), allow for the leaves to decompose into the porous spaces and
build soil. Leaves break down to virtually nothing in this environment. If you prefer
a tidy look, follow up with a light topdressing of mulch for a finished appearance.
If the leaf load is too much to manage directly under
your trees, rake the leaves a little off the top and distribute them throughout
your yard – ideally to a compost heap where the leaf litter will become an excellent
soil amendment for your spring garden. Note: if you have chickens, they will turn
your leaves into next to nothing in a matter of days.
If you have a lawn, run your lawn mower over the
leaves and let the crumbled litter work its way back into the soil. The addition
of organic material to your lawn in the fall will give a boost to your lawn when
it wakes up in the spring.
There are a few instances when you should remove fall
leaf litter. Leaves from diseased plants – particularly fruit trees and roses -
should be taken to a compost facility to be recycled. While you can try to compost
them yourself, be advised that most backyard compost piles do not reach a high enough
temperature to kill pathogens. Also, xeric plants that grow naturally in rocky terrain
will be susceptible to crown rot if organic material is piled up around their bases.
Leaving fall leaves has another great benefit – it is carbon neutral. Carbon is sequestered in the soil, leaf blowers and plastic bags are removed from the equation, leaves don’t end up in a landfill or produce methane gas, and no transport to the landfill is required. It’s a win-win when we let Mother Nature be our guide.
Author: Paulina Aguilera-Eaton, Water Conservation Specialist with Albuquerque Bernalillo Water Utility Authority
November is when we recommend you turn off your irrigation controller due to freezing temperatures. For trees that still need water this month, hand water per the Fall Season Watering Recommendations. If you have turf, water for only one day per week. Remember that if it rains or snows more than ½ inch, count that day as one of your watering days and cut back on supplemental irrigation.
Lower temperatures and shorter days in the months of October and November mean less evaporation. Thus, less irrigation is required. Adjust your irrigation controller following the Fall Season Watering Recommendations below to keep your landscape healthy. If you have turf, water only one or two days per week, and two to four days a month for trees. For other type of plants see below for watering recommendations. Remember that if it rains more than half an inch, count that day as one of your watering days and cut back on supplemental irrigation. So far, customers’ water demand is 800 million gallons less compare to last year!
Japanese Scholar tree is also known as the
pagoda tree because it is planted in shrine gardens in Asia. It is a very arid
adaptive shade tree with small compound glossy dark green leaves and honey-scented
white flowers that bloom in summertime. A perfect sized tree for small patios
and outdoor living spaces, it provides dappled shade, making these spaces
comfortable during the summer.
However, this tree can be messy as it
drops flowers, seed pods and leaves in late summer through the fall. The debris
is easy to sweep away on smooth concrete surfaces, more difficult with
flagstone patios. Try the cultivar ‘Regent’ for earlier blooming and a narrower
canopy. Water weekly for the first few years of establishment during the hot
summers. Once established, water once or twice a month to keep it healthy.
505Outside sat down with local landscape expert Wes Brittenham, Farm and
Landscape Manager at Los Poblanos Historic
Inn & Organic Farm, to chat about Fall
maintenance tasks for Albuquerque gardens. At Los Poblanos, Wes oversees
all growing things on their 25 acres, from the historic gardens to the newer
more xeric and multi-functional landscapes, as well as the kitchen garden and the
fields of lavender.
Wes has noticed many homeowners with traditional landscaped yards
keep them highly pruned with perfectly trimmed rounded plants free and clear of
leaf litter and debris. Over the last 15 years, as homeowners have made the
shift to xeriscape landscapes (aka desert friendly) he’s noticed they haven’t
shifted their maintenance regimens. They should.
Xeriscape landscapes don’t require the rigorous maintenance that
traditional landscapes do, so he’s been teaching homeowners to “get over the
tidiness!” He wants homeowners to embrace the shape of native plants and, in
general, do less yard work. Especially in the Fall.
When asked what homeowners can do to prepare their landscapes
for winter, he gave us a short list of surprisingly simple to-dos:
Leave it natural. There is no need to prune! So leave stems with seed heads in
place. This includes grasses, perennials and shrubs. The dead stems, leaves and
seed heads provide natural habitats for wildlife all winter. They also give the
garden good structure over the winter. When Albuquerque gets a blanket of snow,
the wispy seed heads of the grasses create a beautiful silhouette. Leaving dead
foliage insulates the plants from winter freeze damage, too.
Do clean up fruit and
vegetable debris from gardens. This helps reduce bug
populations and prevents fungus problems.
Leave the leaves. When the trees start losing their leaves, rake them around
the base of plants to provide habitat, retain moisture, and create natural
mulch under the plant.
With over four decades of experience, Wes’s advice is extremely useful for local homeowners. Efficiency is key, so use his three simple tips for a great fall and winter landscape and minimal yard work this Fall.
