Agriculture Department

Chesapeake Master Gardener Tips

November 22, 1999

Virginia Cooperative Extension, Chesapeake Office

AUTUMN LEAVES

“The leaves of brown come tumbling down, remember…”

The song says “in September”, but we say “in November in Hampton Roads.” Just in case you have not addressed the problem of what to do with the leaves, let me give you a few thoughts on the subject.

You might cut down the trees around your house, and then next year you would not have a leaf problem. But this is NOT COOL, especially in the summer. Do you know that in summer, it is 10 degrees cooler under trees; one mature tree equals the output of 10 air conditioners running 20 hours a day. City planners recommend that a city have 40% tree canopy cover to reduce the average temperature of the whole city.

So Let’s Get Serious About Those Leaves …

You might get the resident couch potato, whatever age that person might be, to get out and enjoy the fresh air by raking those leaves. Raking leaves uses approximately the same number of calories per hour as walking at the rate of 3 miles per hour (145 calories per 30 minutes for a person weighing 150 pounds). AND YOU THOUGHT GARDENING WAS A PASSIVE ACTIVITY! It is good to change your workout from walking and raking exercises upper body muscles which walking does not. Just to be safe, if you are not used to exercise, speak to your doctor and don’t forget those stretching exercises before and after to help avoid sore muscles.

If your are raking leaves of an oak tree and bend your knees to pick up the acorns, you will be strengthening your legs as well. The Virginia Department of Forestry needs acorns to produce oak seedlings for the state’s Riparian Buffer Initiative, a conservation effort to plant trees alongside forest streams. Call the local state forester, Toni Sanderson in Chesapeake (465-6840) for more information.

If you have raked your leaves into a pile then you can bag the leaves in clear plastic bags and put them out for the city sanitation department to collect. The city will collect the leaves, mulch and compost them, and next spring you can buy back your leaves as compost and improve the soil for your landscape. Compost improves the soil and helps to make healthy plants. Or YOU COULD COMPOST THE LEAVES YOURSELF. If you have a compost bin or pile, leaves are an important element along with grass clippings and kitchen scraps such as eggshells, coffee grounds, and vegetable or fruit peelings. It might be helpful to shred the leaves to speed the composting of the mixture, but if you are the patient type, the leaves will compost eventually by themselves.

If you are interested in composting, adding compost to the soil, or want to know why you should compost contact the Chesapeake Office of Virginia Cooperative Extension at 382-6348 or e-mail us at gardener@cityofchesapeake.net.

Helpful Hints and Events

The Master Gardener Answerline has been busy with calls about winterizing plants, turf, and landscapes. Any cold sensitive houseplants need to be inside now. Give them routine maintenance and not much in the way of fertilizer. They just need to rest over the winter months until you can put them outside next summer. If you have a fescue lawn you should be fertilizing this time of the year. If your lawn is warm season, such as bermuda, centipede, or St. Augistine, then it is going dormant now and you can just sit back and relax. Most of our landscape plants are hardy for winter. Mulching helps to protect the root systems and give them a little buffer against the cold. If you have temperature sensitive landscape plants give the Master Gardener Answerline a call at 382-6348 or e-mail us at gardener@cityofchesapeake.net for specific recommendations. Winterization doesn’t have to be a lot of work. We can help put your mind at ease and give you un-biased research based information from Virginia Tech and Virginia State Universities.

November 22, 1999,
Lynnette J. Swanson, Associate Extension Agent for Environmental Horticulture and Jean Holton, Chesapeake Master Gardener