Organic matter needed
The majority of Waushara County has sandy soils that are inherently low in organic matter with less than one percent actual organic matter content compared to dark colored silt loam soils that will normally have an organic matter content of four percent or more.
Organic matter is an exceptionally important part of soil. It serves as a storehouse of plant nutrients and improves the water holding capacity of the soil. It improves soils for the growth of plants by promoting soil aggregations and improving soil structure and tilth.
There are millions of microscopic plants, animals and fungi that feed on organic matter. Frequent additions of organic matter provides a food source for soil bacteria, earthworms and other soil organisms.
Organic matter is especially beneficial to sandy soils. Organic matter in the soil is being constantly broken down by soil organisms. A full 90 percent of the organic matter that is added to soil each year is broken down by soil microbes and either returned to the air as carbon dioxide or is reduced to simple chemical salts and water.
Tree leaves, pine needles and grass clippings can be mulched sufficiently even with a regular mower which will allow them to settle in through the grass. Tree leaves in our yards appear to be an enormous amount of material. These leaves can be chopped up with a mower on a warm dry day in the fall and they can be very easily reduced to small pieces of material that do not need to be removed from our lawns.
Grass clippings during the summer should be left on your lawn and allowed to settle in through the grass. This may make it necessary for a homeowner to mow their lawn more frequently so that the amount of lawn clippings with each mowing are reduced. This organic matter on the soil surface serves as mulch, shading the soil and reducing soil erosion by reducing the harmful effect of raindrop impact on the soil structure.
Pine needles accumulate under evergreen trees due to the fact that each year a certain percentage of the needles drop off. There is no need to rake the needles up each year. Rather it would be better to leave them in place where they may serve as a mulch and be decomposed to provide additional humus and nutrients to the soil.
Much of what we do is based on long held beliefs that are many times hard to change. Many longstanding practices are based on old ideas or theories that often times are found to be flawed or out of date.
All of the material that we rake out of our yards is organic matter that could be put to a much better use by working to recycle it into our gardens and lawns. Grass clippings, mulched leaves and pine needles left on a yard or lawn can be far more beneficial than having them hauled to a landfill.
With the sandy soils here in Waushara County organic matter is a key ingredient to building up the soil whether it is in a lawn, vegetable garden or a farm field. The first thing to do to improve your soil is to add organic matter.
Leaves that are raked into the gutter wash into our rivers and streams add to the phosphorus levels in river and lake sediment. Cities, perhaps should encourage leaf recycling on each homeowners lawn rather than encouraging leaf removal by doing leaf pick up in the fall.
