I took this photo Nov 21st to show my chickens hard at work digging through the leaves for bugs to eat. The ground isn’t frozen yet but we do have a hard frost every morning. It’s a natural assumption that the cold night temps would have killed off the bugs by now but this picture tells another story. The bugs have tucked themselves into the leaves to hibernate for the winter.
The leaves serve as food and insulation for the bugs which eventually becomes compost for the soil. This natural process is the best source of fertilizer for your lawn. Using chemical fertilizers and pesticides may give you the appearance of a great lawn but in reality it’s killing off the bugs’ ecosystem. This in part is why we have a declining bee population.
It’s cheaper and easier to just let the leaves lie over winter. If you have an abundance rake them into your landscaped beds or garden or mulch them with your lawn mower to spread them around. This is a great natural mulch that will add nutrients to the soil, hold in moisture and attract healthy bugs like worms. Healthy soil equals a healthy lawn.
Liz Walker Real Estate 