Top 3 ways to handle fall leaves

Fall leaves are beautiful, until they pile up in the yard. Leaves, branches and other landscape materials can nourish the lawn, garden or community. It's as easy as 1 - 2 - 3:

1. Compost.

Composting leaves and food scraps is a great way to turn this waste into nutrients for the garden. A good compost mix needs both carbon (dead or dry leaves) and nitrogen (green materials like food scraps and grass clippings). Many types and sizes of compost containers are available. For tips on low-tech ways to compost, see the DNR composting tutorial.

2. Mulch.

The lawn will love chopped up leaves. Leaves are a free and natural fertilizer and they add organic matter to enrich the soil. Use the regular lawn mower. Or use a mulching lawn mower to shred and mix leaves and grass into the yard.

3. Bag it.

If one has too many leaves or branches to compost, check with the community to see if they collect yard waste or have a drop-off site. Sometimes there's a fee, but the upside is that anyone can pick up composted materials for their yards or gardens.

Burning leaves seems to capture the smell of autumn. But breathing leaf smoke pulls pollutants such as carbon monoxide, soot and toxic chemicals into your lungs. While it may smell good, smoke is especially harmful to children, the elderly and those with respiratory problems such as asthma. Turning leaves into nutrients is the healthy way to protect the neighborhood.