Tag Archives: Northern Virginia

Fallen Leaves: A Valuable Resource, Not a Waste Product

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Fallen Leaves: A Valuable Resource, Not a Waste Product
©2013  Danylo Kosovych and Organic Edible Gardens LLC

One of the first practices that struck me as odd when I began landscaping is the collection and disposal of the season’s fallen leaves. Leaves are a good source of organic matter and plant nutrients. You can reduce your mulch and fertilizer inputs by using what nature provided, rather than paying money or expending energy to get rid of them.  If you live in a forest you can simply let them lie but like most people who have a combination of lawn, garden beds and paved surfaces the leaves will need to be processed in one of three ways.

Deciduous trees drop their leaves each fall storing all their energy within their roots. In mature forests the leaves fall onto the ground and whatever nutrients remain are cycled back into the system. Trees need leaf litter; it keeps the soil warm in the winter and prevents evaporation in the summer. Just as we put on more clothes in the winter to keep ourselves warm. Leaves create a warm blanket on the ground, their active decomposition creates heat. The litter of fallen leaves under the tree creates an ideal substrate for beneficial soil fungi and bacteria to grow in. The metabolic activity from these microorganisms can keep the temperature higher than in the surrounding area. The increased warmth supports microorganism activity and root growth as well as providing a habitat for insects and small animals.

The large area and number of trees in the forest keep the leaves on the forest floor. Landscape beds are much smaller and many times slightly raised in comparison to walkways and lawns. As a result, fallen leaves tend to blow off of landscape beds and collect in lower areas of the property. Shredding the leaves reduces the surface area that catches the wind, keeping them in place. They also tend to mat less, preventing the smothering of groundcovers. Shredded leaves have a more uniform color than whole leaves. Leaf mulch is an attractive dark brown and slowly decomposes, releasing nutrients to the plants, and preventing winter damage by keeping roots warm.

Shredded leaves in garden beds:

Fallen Leaves: A Valuable Resource, Not a Waste Product 01

Fallen Leaves: A Valuable Resource, Not a Waste Product 02

An even easier way to utilize fallen leaves is to shred them into your lawn. This takes only slightly more work than mowing your lawn. You will have to mow your lawn 2-3 times over to get all of the last leaves. All it requires is a mulching blade and closing the discharge chute. A study by Michigan State University, found that mulched oak and maple leaves reduced the amount of dandelions and increased spring green up in lawns.  They reduce the prevalence of dandelions by reducing dandelion seed germination.  Shredded leaves provide nutrients and organic matter to the lawn producing a thicker, greener more drought tolerant lawn.

Fallen leaves contain a small percentage of nutrients, ranging from 1-3% nitrogen, (the higher being from leguminous trees) and small amounts of phosphorous and potassium.  While the percentages might be small, the sheer volume of leaves dropped by large deciduous trees creates an ample amount of nutrients. A low input lawn requires 1 pound per 1000 square feet of nitrogen per year. A heavily wooded lot can produce 100 pounds of leaves per 1000 square feet providing enough nitrogen for the year.

Leaves in the lawn before shredding:

Fallen Leaves: A Valuable Resource, Not a Waste Product 03

 

After Shredding:

Fallen Leaves: A Valuable Resource, Not a Waste Product 04

 

If you do not have much lawn but have vegetable gardens, then you might want to save the leaves for the compost bin. Compost improves soil porosity by loosening heavy clay soils and retaining moisture in sandy soils. It also adds beneficial microbes that support root growth and break down the organic matter into soluble plant nutrients.

A balanced compost has an equal ratio of brown (dry) and green (wet) or carbonic and nitrogenous material.  An over proportionate amount of either one will result in unhealthy microbial activity. Too much carbonic material will be too dry and take too long to break down. Too much nitrogenous material will become sludgy and anaerobic producing a bad smell. Leaves and wood are good examples of brown or carbon rich materials while grass clippings, herbaceous plants and food scraps are good sources of nitrogen rich materials.

There are many beneficial uses for your fallen leaves that can save you time and money in the landscape, not to mention the fossil fuel saved by eliminating the transportation of material. Even if you use machinery to process the leaves you will not use nearly as much fuel as transportation requires. Which method you choose to process your leaves or whether you simply decide to let them be is determined by the makeup of your property.

Rainwater-Harvesting Earthworks

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©2013 Jonathan Storvick and Organic Edible Gardens LLC

“Swales” and other rainwater-harvesting earthworks are an integral part of the sustainable landscape.  Harvesting rainwater is by no means a new concept – humans have been capturing and storing rainwater for at least 6000 years, probably longer.  From the cisterns of ancient Rome to today’s ubiquitous 55-gallon rain barrels, people have utilized the free and precious resource of rainwater for every water need from irrigation to bathing and drinking.  Yet the use of tanks, cisterns and barrels can only be a small part of any sustainable water strategy.

This is because catchment itself is only part of the need. First, there is the simple matter of quantity – more water falls from the sky than we can possibly capture and use for our needs.  For example, a 1-inch rainstorm falling on a 1000 square-foot roof generates more than 600 gallons of water – enough to fill a 55-gallon rain barrel almost 11 times.  We could simply build a 600-gallon cistern to hold all of that water, but what if it rains 2 inches? Or 10 inches over a week-long storm?  Where is that water going?  And do we really need to hold on to 600 gallons?  For what use?  This also does not take into account the water that is falling on the rest of the yard.

Second, there is the issue of rainwater that flows over the landscape.  Professionals and organizations are fond of referring to this issue as “stormwater management” – this water is a nuisance that must be diverted and shunted out to the nearest river as quickly as possible.  We could not possibly disagree more with this stance.  Stormwater flow is indeed a serious issue, as Colorado residents could tell you after the recent devastating floods in that state.  However, a responsible stormwater management policy, combined with rainwater harvesting (viewing rainwater as a precious resource), would help to both collect and conserve water, as well as prevent flooding, erosion, and property damage.

Rainwater-harvesting earthworks are a key component of such a strategy.  These earthworks include “swales,” terraces, rain gardens, and check dams.  The term “swale” can be somewhat confusing – landscape and stormwater professionals use the term to denote a vegetated ditch that transports water.  Permaculturists and rainwater harvesters use the word to describe a ditch dug on contour (running along an equal point of elevation crossways along a slope) with a berm placed on the downhill side of the ditch.  When stormwater runs over the landscape, it is caught in these swales, and is allowed to slowly sink into the soil.  Rainwater harvesting expert Brad Lancaster uses the term berm n’ basin to avoid confusion.

The catchphrase for both rainwater harvesting and stormwater management is “Slow, Spread, and Sink.”  The idea is to slow the flow of water over the landscape, spread the water out evenly (instead of having it rush down one spot creating gullies), and sink it into the ground.  Swales are an incredibly useful technique to accomplish this.  The swale slows the flow of water by stopping it along a single point of elevation.  It spreads the water, since it is a long ditch – much like a bathtub, even though water flows in from one point, the entire tub is filled with water.  By stopping the water in one spot, it enables the water to sink into the ground.

Rainwater-Harvesting Earthworks - Swale Digging

Carving out swales for a recent project in Purcellville, VA

Permaculturists are often fond of saying that the cheapest place to store water is in the soil.  Indeed, it costs much less to dig a swale than it does to purchase and install a large-capacity water tank – plus with just a tank, you still have to deal with the problem of water runoff from the tank’s overflow.  In addition to capturing stormwater, swales serve many other important functions.  By planting the swale berm with trees and shrubs (preferably fruiting plants, but hey, we’re biased), you can increase the amount of available water in the soil to your plants.  This increased water supply boosts growth and fruit set.  Ben Falk of Whole Systems Design has discovered, over 10+ years of experimenting on his farm in Vermont, that trees and shrubs planted on swales often exhibit twice as much growth as the same species planted nearby on flat ground.  Over time, the increased amount of water infiltrated into the soil can also regenerate aquifers and revive springs downslope, creating even more of a water resource for people, plants, and wildlife.

Rainwater-Harvesting Earthworks - Swale Chickens

Even the chickens love swales.

Of course, swales are only one tool in the rainwater harvesting kit, and may not be useful for all yards or properties.  A detailed study of climate, soils, property size and other factors is the best way to determine which techniques are best for any particular situation.  Usually a combination of various techniques, appropriately sited, are the best way to go.  As seen in the pictures above, we recently installed a network of both diversion and infiltration swales as part of a permaculture landscape in Loudoun County.  We’re excited to see how these earthworks solve drainage and erosion problems and provide free irrigation to the gardens.  We’ll post more information over time as these systems develop and grow!

References:

Bane, P. (2012). The permaculture handbook: Garden farming for town and country.  Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.

Falk, B. (2013).  The resilient farm and homestead: An innovative permaculture and whole systems design approach.  White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing.

Kinkade-Levario, H. (2007). Design for water: Rainwater harvesting, stormwater catchment, and alternate water reuse.  Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.

Lancaster, B. (2009). Rainwater harvesting for drylands and beyond, volume 1: Guiding principles to welcome rain into your life and landscape.  Tucson, AZ: Rainsource Press.

Lancaster, B. (2008). Rainwater harvesting for drylands and beyond, volume 2: Water-harvesting earthworks.  Tucson, AZ: Rainsource Press.

Fall Lawn Renovation the Organic Way

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© 2013 by Danylo Kosovych and Organic Edible Gardens LLC

Fall, in general, is the best time of the year for planting. With temperatures slowly cooling down and an increase in precipitation, newly installed plants have a good opportunity to establish themselves. When it comes to the month of September specifically, this is a good time for planting cool weather annuals, whether they are petunias or pansies or vegetables like lettuces, arugula, spinach, beets and carrots. Perennials, trees and shrubs can be planted now but there is no hurry as they can be planted as late as December as long as the ground is not frozen. There is one family of plants that have a much smaller window of opportunity; their optimum period for establishment in the month of September. I am talking about our prized and sought after turf grasses. This is what we at Organic Edible Gardens are devoting our time to right now and I will explain a little about our process.

Fall Lawn Renovation the Organic Way

As the name suggests we practice organic gardening methods. In reference to lawns, this means no herbicides or synthetic fertilizers. How do you manage weeds without selective herbicides? You might ask. We burn them, or technically put we heat-sterilize them. With a specially made tool designed for organic agriculture, we pass an extremely hot flame over the weed, heating the water inside the leaves to a degree that destroys the cell walls killing the plant tissues. Now most weeds have rhizomatous roots which store energy in case their leaves die, so multiple applications are necessary to kill weeds permanently. Following a sufficient weed suppression schedule we add any necessary nutrients and adjust the pH of the soil as advised by a simple chemical soil analysis. An organically fertile soil requires organic matter; it is the food that the microbes eat in order to produce nutrients for the plants. Most lawn soils, especially chemically treated ones have low percentages of organic matter. In order to improve this, we apply a top-dressing of well matured compost. We follow this with an aeration to improve soil porosity, work the compost into the soil and to provide a good seed bed for the grass seed. Seed selection is important as certain varieties are best adapted to our climate. We also include certain non- grass seeds in our mixes that work well in turf systems whether by fixing nitrogen or filling in niches that other weeds would otherwise fill without altering the look of the turf. With a little help from Mother Nature in the form of rain, a short time later you can have a more drought tolerant, lush green lawn for your children to play in without the health risks of synthetic pesticides or contamination of the watershed.

Danylo Kosovych
Owner
Organic Edible Gardens LLC

Permaculture Paradise

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Permaculture Paradise

 

This was a really fun project – edible forest gardens, mandala gardens, meditation area, plants for the chickens, and TONS of beautiful, pollinator-attracting flowers everywhere. These were really fun clients to work with, very committed to regenerating the land, being good stewards, and growing their own healthy food in abundance.  This will truly be a permaculture paradise!

Your Lawn Can Be Organic!

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©2013 by Jon Storvick and Organic Edible Gardens, LLC

Our previous article on ecological lawn care was an introduction to how the ubiquitous and toxic-chemical-addicted American lawn can be transformed in a safe, non-toxic, eco-friendly manner. Now we’re going to show you a little of what that actually looks like in practice.

We have been working with one of our clients in McLean for several years now, designing and maintaining various plantings organically. However, they retained their existing lawn service, which treated the lawn with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Despite all of the toxic chemicals, unsightly weeds still flourished in the lawn. They decided to try out our organic lawn maintenance service as an alternative. Here’s what we’ve been doing as part of the process of converting their lawn to an organic ecosystem.

First off, we needed a snapshot of exactly what the conditions were in the lawn ecosystem. We took several soil samples from the lawn areas, and sent them off to two different sources – one examined the chemical and nutrient levels, and the other analyzed the biological activity in the soil – bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, etc.

Your Lawn Can Be Organic

Your Lawn Can Be Organic
The chemical analysis indicated low levels of phosphorus, potassium and calcium, as well as a slightly lower pH than desirable. Organic matter was at 3.3%, where 6-8% would be more ideal.

Your Lawn Can Be Organic

Your Lawn Can Be Organic

The biological analysis indicated a much better microbial soil food web than we had anticipated – fungal and bacterial levels and diversity were good, but protozoa and beneficial nematodes were low. There were also higher levels of “pest” nematodes than were desirable.

We devised a strategy for increasing lawn health and converting to organic management based on these test results.

We arrived at the property in early April – we’ve had a belated Spring, so this was one of the first weeks where soil temperatures were high enough that we could proceed without harming the grass. Here’s a before shot of the lawn:

Your Lawn Can Be Organic

We began by organically removing much of the weeds in the lawn – hand removing taproot and bulb species like spring onions and dandelions, and flame weeding the rest (yes folks, this is safe, and we take all necessary precautions before using open flame in the landscape!).

Your Lawn Can Be Organic

We then gave the lawn its first mowing of the year, leaving the grass clippings in place. After mowing, we aerated the lawn to increase oxygen levels in the soil, decompact the hard clay, and allow for organic material to penetrate the soil surface.

Your Lawn Can Be Organic

After aeration, the next step is to topdress with lime and a good amount of compost.

Your Lawn Can Be Organic

We then spread the compost over the lawn.

Your Lawn Can Be Organic

After this is completed, we heavily overseed with our custom mixes (composed of various grasses, legumes for nitrogen fixation, and selected broadleaf species to fill open niches in the lawn ecosystem), and topdress with alfalfa meal, which slowly adds nitrogen and other nutrients through decomposition.

Your Lawn Can Be Organic

As we left, the lawn doesn’t look much different from when we started – but this will give it the initial start it needs to be healthy and organically maintained. In the future, we’ll be treating it with compost teas to feed the soil life, among other sustainable management techniques. We’ll keep you posted to show you how this new organic lawn turns out!

UPDATE 4/19/2013

After just 2 weeks, this is what the lawn looks like!  Amazing!

Your Lawn Can Be Organic

 

For more information on organic lawn care, please visit the NOFA Organic Landcare website, or call Organic Edible Gardens LLC at 571-282-1724 for a free consultation.