Turn them into fantastic mulch for the springtime!
Fallen leaves are truly the mulch of the natural world and extremely beneficial for your own landscape. Leaf litter in the forest protects soils from erosion; regulates temperature; recycles nutrients back to the trees; retains soil moisture; and provides habitat for arthropods, earthworms, and a plethora of beneficial microorganisms. Rather than ridding your yard of this beneficial product (and then later pay in the spring for wood mulch to be delivered), keep your fallen leaves and develop them into Mother Nature’s mulch. While ground wood mulch provides all the same benefits as fallen leaves and is most often created from waste wood and brush, removing a perfectly good mulch from your home and then having a different mulch delivered may be an unnecessary effort and expense. If you have the luxury of a space to store leaves, you can reduce your carbon footprint by stockpiling them and using them as a spring mulch. Those leaves that fell from your trees contain essential plant nutrients the trees will need for their next generation of leaves. For best results turning your fallen leaves into mulch, shred the leaves prior to winter. Shredding can be as simple as chopping the leaves up with a lawnmower or using tools created specifically for this process. While shredding is not necessary, it will lead to a more consistent mulch that is darker in color. After shredding, pile the leaves into a mound and let them sit for the winter. The pile will decompose during the winter months while reducing in size by about 50 percent. As the leaves age through the winter, turn the pile with a pitchfork about once a month to create a more broken-down humus-rich product, sometimes referred to as leaf mold. If you do not have an area to store leaves and must have yard waste picked up by a service, check with your municipality to see if it offers a leaf processing service. Some municipalities process yard waste in large batches with a grinder and offer the finished ground product for free pick-up or delivery. Here at Longwood, we collect leaves from most of the formal gardens and areas where turf and trees grow together. These leaves are sent to our Soils and Composting Facility, where we process those leaves into mulch using the same steps as described above, but on a much larger scale. Last year we produced more than 1,500 cubic yards of finished leaf mulch. At our facility, we also take wood waste, brush, green plant material, and food waste from Longwood property and produce wood mulch and nutrient-rich compost. When spring arrives and mulching is in full swing at Longwood, leaf mulch is in high demand by our horticulturists … thanks to its high quality and composition that mimics what Mother Nature creates on her own. By Matt Taylor, Longwood Gardens
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IT services are not a simple matter.
With malware, ransomware, and other security and data issues more important now than ever to make sure that your IT systems are equipped for a rapidly changing landscape. Read on for an in-depth look at the IT services your business should be using right now. Data Storage and Backup One of the most important IT issues right now is security. Dangerous malware and ransomware attacks are on the rise. If you’re not prepared, your business could end up in a situation that costs you both time and money. Rather than simply hoping that you won’t be one of the few businesses to actually be attacked, prepare now with managed storage and data backups. One of the smartest things you can do for your business is to simply backup your data in a secure, offsite, managed location. Network Setup and Security Another area that is often susceptible to attacks or intrusion for many businesses is the local or WiFi network. Setting up a secure and functional network for a business of any size is no easy task. There are many layers in most networks with varying degrees of access and other factors to consider. While it’s certainly possible to set up your own local or WiFi network, this job can become very complex very quickly if you have more than a handful of employees. If you want a network that is secure and functional, setting up a network is often best left to the pros. Database Management If your business maintains a database of any size — both large and small — you know how complex it can be to maintain this level of information. Don’t leave your business exposed to internal or external vulnerabilities with a poorly managed or insecure database. VOIP Phone Services Voice over Internet Protocol, or VOIP, is one of the simplest and most efficient ways to manage a phone system at your business. If your business needs a phone system, VOIP calling is one of the cost-effective ways to do it. It’s no surprise that this technology continues to explode in popularity with businesses across the globe. Managed IT Services IT systems can be complex. Trying to manage many different IT systems can get difficult very quickly and requires specialized, experienced staff to be done properly. Rather than fragmenting your many IT needs, a managed IT service can consolidate your technical needs. Having one service provider manage everything from your network to security, to your database will ensure complete security coverage and continuity. What IT Services are You Using? IT services are easy to neglect. You’ve got customers, products, services, and other important aspects of your business to focus on, right? Rather than neglecting or outright ignoring the important technology needs of your business, work with an expert who understands these systems and how to make them work for you. Need help with one (or all) of your IT services? Get in touch with us today. Submitted by SCCCC Member: Erik Gudmundson Pegasus Technologies, LLC Phone: 610-444-8256 www.pegtec.com |
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