你為什么要用覆蓋物覆蓋樹(shù)葉，而不是用耙子耙呢

你為什么要用覆蓋物覆蓋樹(shù)葉，而不是用耙子耙呢

It’s the annual fall dilemma. The leaves that have fallen on the lawn need to be removed, but there are more on the trees. Should you rake them up now or wait until the limbs are bare?

這是一年一度的秋季困境。草坪上掉下來(lái)的葉子需要清除，但樹(shù)上的葉子更多。你是現(xiàn)在就把它們耙起來(lái)，還是等到它們的四肢都光禿禿的?

Leaves can be good for your grass — as long as you mulch them. (Photo: renee_mcgurk [CC BY 2.0]/Flickr)

Instead of raking leaves, stuffing them into lawn bags and hauling the bags to the curb, mow them with a mulching mower — a lawnmower with a specially designed high deck and a mulching blade that chops leaves into fragments as tiny as confetti. As the shredded leaves decompose, they will act as a natural fertilizer and weed control agent.

不用耙樹(shù)葉，把它們?nèi)M(jìn)草坪袋里，然后把袋子拖到路邊，而是用一種帶護(hù)根的割草機(jī)把它們割下來(lái)——這種割草機(jī)有一個(gè)特別設(shè)計(jì)的高平臺(tái)，還有一種護(hù)根刀片，可以把樹(shù)葉切成像五彩紙屑一樣小的碎片。隨著葉子的分解，它們將成為天然的肥料和雜草控制劑。

The answer

這個(gè)問(wèn)題的答案

Mulching with a mower, instead of bagging, cleans up and feeds your lawn at the same time. (Photo: /Shutterstock)

Homeowners can easily solve this problem with a mulching mower. “Mulching mowers are designed with a high deck and are shaped so that the mulching blade spins leaves and grass more than once as it cuts them into small pieces,” said Kevin Morris, president of the National Turfgrass Federation.

業(yè)主可以用覆蓋割草機(jī)很容易地解決這個(gè)問(wèn)題。美國(guó)草坪草業(yè)聯(lián)合會(huì)主席凱文·莫里斯說(shuō):“這種割草機(jī)有一個(gè)很高的平臺(tái)，它的形狀可以讓割草機(jī)在將葉子和草切成小塊的時(shí)候，讓葉子和草旋轉(zhuǎn)不止一次。”

What not to do

什么是不該做的

Don’t wait until spring to mulch leaves and spread them on landscaped beds. If you place leaves on garden beds in the fall, they will biodegrade almost completely, if not completely, by spring. If, on the other hand, leaves are not placed on garden beds until spring, the decomposition process will compete with plants for nutrients just when the plants need it most, to make energy to produce the flowers you’ve waited all winter to enjoy!

不要等到春天才把樹(shù)葉覆蓋起來(lái)，鋪在景觀床上。如果你在秋天把葉子放在花園的床上，到春天它們幾乎完全生物降解。另一方面，如果葉子要到春天才放在花園的床上，那么在植物最需要營(yíng)養(yǎng)的時(shí)候，葉子的分解過(guò)程就會(huì)和植物競(jìng)爭(zhēng)營(yíng)養(yǎng)，從而產(chǎn)生能量，生產(chǎn)出你整個(gè)冬天都在等待的花朵!

Benefits

好處

Leaves have to come up for a healthy lawn. But raking and bagging isn't the best way, either for you or your lawn. (Photo: /Shutterstock)

Shredding leaves with a mulching mower will save homeowners time and money. Mulching is faster and far easier than raking.The decomposing leaves and grass cover the soil between the individual grass plants where weeds can germinate. MSU studies found that homeowners can attain a nearly 100% decrease in dandelions and crabgrass after mulching fall leaves for just three years. In addition to reducing the occurrence of weeds and the need to spend money on weed control products, mulched leaves keep the soil warmer in winter and cooler in summer and the nutrients provided by mulching reduce the amount and expense of fertilizer need to achieve green-up in the spring.

用割草機(jī)粉碎樹(shù)葉可以節(jié)省房主的時(shí)間和金錢(qián)。覆蓋的速度更快，而且比耙容易得多。腐爛的葉子和草覆蓋了單獨(dú)的草植物之間的土壤，雜草可以在那里發(fā)芽。密歇根州立大學(xué)的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，房主只需覆蓋落葉3年，蒲公英和雜草的數(shù)量就能減少近100%。除了減少雜草的生長(zhǎng)和花在雜草控制產(chǎn)品上的錢(qián)，覆蓋的葉子在冬天保持土壤溫暖，在夏天保持土壤涼爽，覆蓋提供的養(yǎng)分減少了在春天實(shí)現(xiàn)綠化所需的肥料的數(shù)量和費(fèi)用。

Bonus tip

小貼士

If you are using a side-discharge mower, begin mowing on the outside edge of your lawn, making sure that you shoot the leaves toward the middle of the yard. Mowing in this pattern also allows you to mow over the leaves more than once and keeps them from ending up on sidewalks, driveways and the road. If the leaves are still in fairly large pieces after your first pass, go back over the lawn at a right angle to your first cut.

如果你使用的是側(cè)卸式割草機(jī)，那就從草坪的外緣開(kāi)始割草吧，確保你把葉子朝院子中間的方向割。這種修剪方式還可以讓你不止一次地修剪樹(shù)葉，防止它們落在人行道、車(chē)道和道路上。如果第一次修剪后，葉子仍然是相當(dāng)大的一片，那么就以正確的角度重新修剪草坪。