Go Green with the Library: Autumn Landscape & Harvest

October 20, 2016

We usually associate Autumn with dying leaves and a big harvest. But if you grow your own food or like to keep a healthy yard, you may want to rethink raking leaves and packing them in garbage bags.

Tree Hugger provides many beneficial reasons to keep your fallen leaves in your yard. Firs tee-1698275_1920 t off, leaves provide nutrients for your grass, plants, and food. You can make your own nutrient-rich mulch just by mowing your leaves to cut them up into smaller pieces. You will find that your trips to the gardening store for fertilizer and soil become less and less.

Here are more benefits of fallen leaves provided by Tree Hugger:

Leaves also provide food, shelter, and bedding for plants, insects and wildlife in the winter.
Mulched leaves help suppress weeds and fertilize the soil as they break down.
If you don’t want leaves all over your yard, rake them into a pile and place them in a gardening or flower bed. This will help build the soil’s fertility.
Use mulched leaves for your compost during the winter. The leaves will cover any food you add to the compost.

Now that you have rich soil for your yard and garden, it’s time to create your Autumn harvest. Think local for your meals-big and small. What fruits and vegetables are in season where you live? Many areas have local farmers markets throughout the summer and fall. Stop by a farmers market near you to see the selection and ask the farmers what fruits and vegetables are in season. In season produce for our area includes:

Summer & Winter squash
Broccoli
Cabbage
Sweet Corn
Eggplant
Pears
Peppers
Pumpkins
Turnips
Tomatoes

See the full list of what produce is in season at PA Preferred.

Find books at the Library about composting, gardening, and harvest recipes.

To read more articles about going green with the Library, search for “Go Green” in the search box at the top of the page.