Giving back to earth

This, however, is not the case for Parkhurst resident and project manager of Sibahle Community Centre, Rachel Prince who has shifted the mindset of many residents on the use of leaves.

A journalist from the Rosebank Killarney Gazette met up with the self-proclaimed garden geek.

From chillies, to rosemary and cape fruit, Prince has turned her small space into an urban farm or ‘grocery’ as she puts it. She even takes it a bit further by keeping a bag of earthworms in her garage.

But sticking to the subject of leaves, Prince showed this reporter what can be done with these organs of photosynthesis and transpiration.

According to Prince, leaves have so many uses and it’s sad that so many people are unaware of this. “I was quite dismayed to see so many bags of leaves pushed into the normal Pikitup garbage bins,” she said.

“[Firstly] leaves make excellent mulch and will keep any garden enriched and healthy. Instead of raking them up, have a gardener mow over the leaves and leave them on to protect your lawn.”

Secondly, leaves can be a soil substitute when potting.

Prince added that leaves could be added to compost or kept in a bag until summer and used to sprinkle over the lawn and flower beds. If all this is too much work, bagging the leaves and dropping them off at Pikitup would ensure that they were used appropriately by Pikitup.

“Pikitup uses the leaves in many public spaces and parks throughout Johannesburg,” Prince said.