For Everything There Is a Season

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FOR EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON

BY Deborah Kramarz

          The Shade Tree/Municipal Beautification Commission is taking a seasonal break.  By our last article you can tell we keep ourselves busy. We are not alone in our efforts for the city of Euclid. Did you know that our Euclid City Service Department hosted training groups in various tree steward training projects; planting and pruning trees.  Some visiting volunteers were from the Holden Forest and Garden Tree Core.

          Our city’s assistant arborist and Shade Tree Commissioner Andre Trapp helped deliver city donated mulch to the Euclid Creek Tree Planting at Community Christian Church project. This project was possible because of a 2017 WRLC-Dominion Mini-Grant Program which will benefit our city.  The project was organized by Elizabeth Hiser, the Euclid Creek Watershed Program Manager of the Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District. It was hosted by Pastor Banks and Kenyette Adrine-Robinson and The Friends of Euclid Creek. Twenty local volunteers showed up on a rainy day to do the planting, including me, the assistant chair of the Shade Tree Commission - Deb Kramarz.

            Now’s the time new trees take root and mature trees store up nutrients for next year’s healthy growth.  By the way, if you have newly planted trees in your tree lawn, street salt can be stressful on them.  To help keep them healthy, Chris Grant our city arborist says you’ll want to surround their roots with rich compost in the spring.

             Also, coming next season, save the date for next’s year’s Arbor Day Celebration on April 26th and the Pond & Garden Tour on July 13th and 14th. We look forward to seeing you in the new year.

Gardening Tips for Fall Leaves

How about the leaves you just raked?

Make use of them, advised Bob Rensel a professional gardener at the Cleveland Botanical Garden.  They are landscaping gold.

Use them to fertilize your grass by running over them with your lawn mower a few times or until they are ground fine Rensel suggested.  If your leaf carpet isn’t too thick you can just leave the leaf pieces on the lawn.  Over the winter they will decompose and work their way into the soil.  This adds composted material to the lawn thereby enriching it.

The excess leaves can be used for mulch in your various planting beds to moderate soil temperature in the winter as well as adding composted material for next year.  “It’s a great thermal blanket,” Rensel said.  

You don’t have to chop the leaves before putting them on the beds, he said.  But the smaller pieces decompose faster because there is more surface area for the bacteria and microbes to cover. (This is especially helpful if left to decompose in the lawn.)

In the spring you can pull the leaves away from the emerging plants if a thick mass remains he said or dig the leaves into the top layer of soil.  Don’t worry; they won’t rob the soil of nitrogen as they decompose the way grass clipping and fresh wood chips will Rensel said.

Composting your leaves is another good option, Rensel said.  A compost pile needs 95% brown matter, so all you need is to toss in some green material such as grass clipping of green kitchen scraps (no meat, dairy products or fat!!) and you will get the makings of a nutrient packed soil additive.

Making your own compost lets you control what goes into it, he noted.  Compost made from community collections of yard waste can contain road salt from leaves left at the curb or diseased plant material. 

Besides, Rensel said why give away the raw materials and pay for the same product in the spring.

When you’re done with your raking and composting duties, pat yourself on the back.  You’ve benefited your own health and the earth’s.

By Mary Beth Breckenridge of the Akron Beacon Journal and Bob Rensel of the Cleveland Botanical Garden and The Gardeners of Greater Cleveland.