leaves for grass

LEAVES FOR GRASS
by william nash

i am told by several folks that i am a writer
which by the way i dont feel like i am
i just think stuff up like this blog and put what
is in my brain into my fingers and tap it on my
computer

i do a free flow of thoughts
then go back and do corrections
sometimes i follow those autocorrect recommendations
but
they dont quite understand how i like to write

now today i am going to write this blog
will some hesitation
well a lot of hesitation

what i am going to tell you to do
at your house may greatly affect
my ability to garden as i like to garden
and
probably cost me money as i will have to
buy more of this stuff
compost

first i have a confession to make
i have 15 trees on the one acre that is fenced in around
our house
plus even more in my pastures

each year in the fall after the weather turns cold
the leaves all turn brown
then slowly they all are let loose to fall gently
to the ground
so for that many trees thats a lot of leaves

now confession time
i dont ever rake those leaves
i just let nature blow them around all winter long
looks good in my landscape
not really sure where they all go
but i dont see much evidence of them in the spring

                                                        thisoldhouse.com

yesterday in my barn i found my old leaf rake that
is covered with layers and layers of dust
forgotten and shoved into a far corner of our barn

now there are several of you and your friends
who painfully rake your leaves
bag them up
sometimes paying your kids or
sometimes forcing them to do the work for you

then thank goodness
you call me the ogd to come get your bagged up leaves
if im lucky they are in those paper bags
i just chuck them over the fence into my big chicken
run compost pile
nature breaks down the bag
the country n chickens then act as my shredder
and fine shreds them to smithereens
then they dig out the seeds
poop all over it
then
after months of waiting i have the best compost you can use
the one that you make your self
or should i say
the country n hens make themselves

jerry the rooster just seems to stand around
and supervises
like
i guess you do when your kids rake the leaves in the yard


now for the part im hesitant to tell you
you dont have to rake those leaves and bag them
just as you dont have to bag your grass clippings
just mow over the leaves several times
they get shredded to smithereens like the country n chickens
do
and
you now have mulch and eventually compost in your yard

its almost free to do it this way
they tend to be acid which around here is needed in our soil
since its so alkaline
plus
that composted lawnmowered leaves add nitrogen to your
soil
so you almost dont need to add fertilizer each year
especially
if you leave those grass clippings on your yard

now
if you dont want to do all this
its ok with me
cause ill still continue to take your leaves

what nature giveth
dont giveth away
unless
they are headed my way

the end

the organicgreen doctor