Kakahead

Here in West Michigan everyone seems to wonder what happened to summer this year.  Didn’t have much… it was cold in June and July, started warming up in August, then cold again.  For added enjoyment we had lots of cloudy days and rain, and here it is October already and it’s been “unseasonably cold” as the weather man says.  Now we all get to partake in the massive seasonal leaf gathering festival we call “fall.”

The colors are finally coming though… and I must admit it’s a beautiful thing.  Mom Nature is busy painting the landscape with the beautiful autumn hues we’ve grown to know and love. Yup, the leaves are busy sninkling (huh?) down from the trees and chasing each other to and fro all over the ground. In fact, you could even say they’re in full-sninkle!

Or maybe I’ll just say that…

Anyway, the garden is pretty much done and waiting for me to get my hiney out there to clean up the stalks and dead vines.  Lots of green pumpkins out there too… I planted them rather late and they didn’t quite make it.   For the first time ever, almost every tomato plant at our place died of  blight.  That’s been a rather strange experience for me, because I feel pretty good about gardening organically and having pretty healthy soil.   Small comfort came in the form of some articles about lots of people losing tomatoes to blight; and the wet, cool weather was perfect for airborne fungi spores to have their way with us.  Not much you can do about airborne stuff.

Before I saw these articles I did some backtracking in my feeble brain; searching for a possible cause for such a miserable tomato crop.  Did I do anything different?  What went into the soil last year that I haven’t used before?  Hmmm… HAY!  (And no, I am not misspelling the exclamatory interjection, “hey!”) (How’s that fer fancy talk?)  I used hay!  I switched from my tried and true practice of using leaves for mulch and switched to hay!  Hey… maybe that’s what made the tomatoes sick!!    But nope, that turned out to be false.

Back in May I did use what little hay I had left from last year.  When I ran out, I debated over whether to get more or go leaf hunting.  Hay is definitely more expensive.  I got mine from the Tri-County feed store in Montague at $5 per bale.  Last year I think I spent about $120 on hay.   Maybe more.  Leaves are free, but people tend to include “surprises” in the leaf bags.  Soda cans, fake flowers, toys, even smashed cell phones have appeared when I dump out the bags.  So, hay is garbage free but expensive.

When I first started leaf hunting, my beautiful wife did not find it amusing that I would bring leaves from other people’s yards to our house.  She never complained about the nice organic veggies though.  Over the years I’ve learned that I just need to make really sure our leaves make it to the garden too.  You see, I kinda like being married; and I’m not as dumb as I look…

I take everything:  maple, pine needles, and yes… oak.    The statement that oak leaves make your soil too acidic is an old wives tale.  Actually they build up the soil much faster than maple; and because of their high calcium content, any acid they contain is neutralized quickly.

A typical leaf hunting expedition involves me scoping out the neighborhood a few days in advance.  We have a few subdivisions down the road from us, and those poor souls actually bag their leaves up and put them out by the street for the trash man.  I usually don’t have to travel far, and everyone is very happy to be rid of them.  Well, most everyone…

I sometimes meet the owners of the leaves when I stop in front of their yard.  When that happens, I smile politely and ask, “you mind if I take your leaves?”   A rhetorical question really, because I’ve never been told, “heck NO you can’t take those leaves!!”   They just want the bags off the lawn.  Some folks even offer 17 more bags that are behind the house.

This was a memorable year though, because for the first time ever I was actually scolded.  I pulled up to a house and nobody was stirring so I commenced to loading up the leaves.  Suddenly I hear a gruff voice:  “WHAT’S GOING ON?!?!?!?”  I jumped back nervously at first, but then I smiled and said sheepishly, “I’m stealing your leaves…”  “WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO WITH THEM???”  He bellowed while giving me the stink eye.  “I’m gonna put them in my garden… is that OK?”  “Oh, OK,” he snorted.  “Well if you don’t want them gone I can go somewhere else,” I offered.  “No, take all you want,” he huffed, and went back in the house.

Now, I had to chuckle (quietly of course) after he left.  My mind quickly zoomed into silly mode, and I began to wonder what kind of mischief a person would get into with “stolen” leaves.  Maybe he figured I was going to empty the bags all over the road while I drove somehow.  Or perhaps I’d secretly take them from HIS house and bring them to his neighbors across the street.   Boy that would be a hoot!

On a more serious note, 26 years of dumping leaves into what was originally sand has transformed my garden soil into rich black dirt.  I do love the convenience of hay but what can I say?  I’m a cheapskate.

Looks like I’m back in the leaf hunting game.  However, I hereby promise not to wear camouflage and come to your yard for a “leaf run” in the middle of the night.