24 - Wednesday, October 15, 1997 — North Shore News IT’S mid October and once again the leaves are a foot deep on your lawn— brown, crunchy or, as is more often the case on the North Shore, soggy. The streets of your neigh- borhood are lined with orange garbage bags amounting to a community’s worth of fall cieanup heading for the land- W Before you add yours to the pile, the North Shore Recycling Program's Compost Education Cornmiittee asks you to consider another option: mulching. Much maligned and often misunderstood, mulching is a wonderful way to not only protect plants through the winter, but to enhance garden soil as well, Leaves are high i in nutrients, minerals and fibre, making them an excellent soil amendment. To prepare fall leaves for mulching, just set your lawn mower on its highest setting and drive over you leaf piles. . Or, place the leaves in a garbage container and use a weed trimmer to chop them up. Want less fuss? Just leave them whole. Then place a layer approximately 10 cm deep .around your perennials and on any exposed soil. This will not oniy protect and ay FJOME & (JARDEN ching makes garden marvellous north shore news NEWS photo Terry Peters PEGGY Keene has much mulch to work with in her West Vancouver garden this time of the year. enhance the soil, but will save you time next ycar as a garden covered with muiched leaves is iess likely to be inundated with weeds come spring. Another bonus of mulching to the gardener is its water conservation properties. NEWS photo Brad Ledwidge Niaster gardener MASTER gardener Ann Roberts (left) shares some of her wisdom with Hein and Gretel Driehuyzen at a gardening clinic held recently at Dykhof Nurseries in North Vancouver. With rising taxes and the pos: sibility of water bill increases in coming years, the less water We use on our lawns and gar- dens, the better. If your vard is dominated by large evergreen trees, deal ing with the large boughs biown down by fall and winter storms can present more of a challenge. Instead of bagging, them for the garbage collec- tors, use these boughs to cover tender perennials to protect them from frost damage. You can also take up to 100 kilograms cach day of excess green waste free of charge to the chipping yard at the North Shore Transfer Station where it will be turned into mulch or compost. Some gardeners fear that mulching will encourage dis- case and pests. While garden- ing without the use of synthet- ic pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides does take a Jittle more effort, the rewards are well worth it. Your soit will be healthier and anything grown in your garden will be better doth for you and the environment, not to mention saving you money on waste disposal, expensive fertilizers and water. West Vancouver resident Peggy Keene is an avid gar- derer who cautions residents against relying on commercial bark mulches which may be treated with chemicals that can leach into the soil and ground water, “Look to nature for your mulch,” said Keene. Se, as you rake up the leaves and place them in your garden rather than on the curb tor pickup, know that you are benefiting nor only yourself, but the entire community. ese Are you wondering if the § compost you add to your gar- den soil this fall will be washed away with the winter rain? Consider that compost helps to condition the sail allowing it to retain moisture and nutri- ents. Call the compost hotline at. 736-2250 for more informa- tion on composting. —~ submitted by the North Shore Reeveling Program's Compost Fducation Committee Have your single glazed windows converted to. DOUBLE G WINDOWS | * Save energy costs ® Diminish condensation ¢ Reduces heating and air conditioning costs, * Quieter & more enjoyable home “A little heat will go a long way... if you can keep it in the house!" SUPPLIED AND INSTALLED BY EXPERTS * We also supply screens and mirrors Available at participating dealers YVR EEMTY ALS TO aw 7/// & WINDOW GLAZS at SPEEDY we care 110-340 Brooksbank Ave, North Van, 8.C. V7T 2Ci 903-4185 immunize your Kids Boost their chances for health aI if you want your children to be healthy, protect them from disease. Immunization can keep thern safe from many serious illnesses. A But remember: Children need to complete their full schedule of shots to be protected. So boost their chances for health. Immunize your chidren, On time, every time. If you have questions about shots or immunization m schedules, contact your doctor or public health unit. SHARON. Los &@ BRAM Canavan Publec, Heath Association Canachan Prediatric Socety Canadian Medical Heaids iv By Canada —__-.._4