Leaves can be mowed, but pickup in Sylvania Township starts Oct. 15

A jogger runs through Wildwood Park in Sylvania as leaves begin to cover the ground. THE BLADE/ZACK CONKLE Enlarge | Buy This Photo

The annual spectacular autumn show of color is on display.

Enjoy it as it shimmers and glows in the sunlight on days which are cooling.

Soon enough and sad enough, those leaves are going to fall and property owners will head to the garage for rakes, vacuums or blowers to whisk them one way or another off the lawn and to the edge of the street for Sylvania Township crews to dispose of.

The crews will begin the annual collection on the third Monday of October.

The job could become a little less monumental if more property owners head to the garage and come out with the lawn mower to turn those leaves into mulch.

Barbara Northrup, of the local office of the Ohio State University Extension Service, said there are many studies which confirm that the practice of simply mowing leaves into the lawn provide nutrients to the soil and improve spring grasses.

She cautioned that the practice should not be followed with Oak leaves, which are toxic, or with leaves from diseased trees. Otherwise, she said, mowing leaves is a beneficial practice for lawns.

It can be done, she added, whether the lawn mower is designed as a mulching mower or not.

To determine if the job has been done properly, just look behind you as you mow.

Ms. Northrup said that a fair amount of green should be showing after you have mowed a swath. That will let you know that the leaves have been chopped finely enough to fall between the blades of grass.

If some of the leaves are obscuring the grass, another sweep of the lawn mower should shred them sufficiently.

If the leaf fall is too great she said, then property owners should rake or blow the rest to the side of the roadway for township crews to deal with.

This year, that begins Oct. 15 in the northwest quadrant of the township when crews begin their first sweep over the 173 miles of roadway in the township. Crews will work their way east and then south.

Once the crews reach the southern boundary of the township, they will head back west, then head north until all areas have been cleared. The process will be repeated until the last sweep, which will start on the Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend.

Greg Huffman, township public works manager, said that each sweep of the township takes an average of 17 days, although collections can be slowed by rainy weather or early snow.

The township prefers to use a method utilizing a large vacuum on the back of trucks to suck up leaf piles, but sometimes has to resort to front-end loaders, particularly for piles of leaves heavy with moisture.

Mr. Huffman said it is important to keep leaves free of other yard waste for the process to run smoothly. Leaves can’t be collected if they are mixed with brush. He added that the leaves should not be placed near solid objects such as fire hydrants, and also should be kept on the property and not piled into the street.

For more information go to the Road Department section of www.sylvaniatownship.com.

The site will also have leaf collection updates through the collection process and residents can call a special hot line for updates on leaf collection progress at 419-517-1620