leaves

[JJBean]

Do you rake your leaves out of your garden in the fall. I just raked all of mine but wasn't sure. Are they bad for a garden?

[Big Daddy]

Nope. I plow under any in the garden, and save all the leaves from the yard to mulch with or top dress with if they decompose that much before I get to them. They'll add organic matter.

[liznbeatle]

Leaves are great compost, especially if you shred them up they compost quickly.

[bluelacedredhead]

There's a wonderful article about the marvels of leaf mold in the Fall Issue of Heirloom Gardener magazine...I've always added leaves to a compost pile and dug them into flower beds and the herb garden, but this made me go the extra distance and build cage to house a leaf mold pile in.

[bhpigeon2]

One should not rake leaves OUT of a garden but rather INTO a garden. After years of watching my garden produce great results while using a maple leaf based compost, my neighbor now rakes all of her leaves into a pile in the middle of her garden and works them over with a mulching mower. What doesn't break down between now and spring gets tilled in.

Few, if any, could ever be considered bad for a garden. Even the juglone in walnut and butternut leaves quickly neutralizes as they break down.

bhp2

[ovenbird]

I definitely leave leaves on the garden. On the perennials I leave all the stalks on the plants. Many have interesting shapes and look good in the snow. Leaves under those help give protection. I mow rather than rake my leaves from the lawn. They come out of the catcher bag all mixed with the clippings and go right into the compost. I gave a couple of handfulls of leaves to the worms in the basement. They love the leaves. The worms in the garden love them as well, and what's good for the worms is good for the plants!

[morgansgardenofdoom]

Add all you can. I compost alot, and I till or hand spade the pumpkin patch with a generous amount of leaves too.

[bhpigeon2]

I should add one disclaimer. If the leaves are from some of the maples which have the huge leaves and fall flat, they must only be added sparingly or as shredded material. If they are turned into the ground and end up in large gobs, that's the way they'll remain for some time. Until they break down, they'll create anaerobic pockets devoid of any oxygen or nitrogen. That's not a problem if they are shredded first. Even then, no more than 4" of fine shredded leaves should be worked into the soil. Beyond that depth, one can run into the same problems as with wood chips; insufficient nitrogen.

bhp2

[Cliff Timmons]

I just drive around in circles on my lawn mower until they are little bity.

My Wife calls it lazy, I call in Eco-minded. <grin>

[redbrick]

I "import" them from my sister's yard every year. A friend of mine estimates that he "leaf theives" about 85 to 100 compostible paper bags a year for his dad's leaf mold pile!

[JJBean]

Well, now I have to go find some more leaves. Go figure!:p:p:p:p:p

[Blanesgarden]

I.....oh shoot...shes already going "leave" crazy.
I do what they said above!:D

[Mary]

I go into town and pick up sacks of leaves, put them on the garden, mow and till them in.The soil is loose, not packed so hard, last year the weeds were a lot easier to pull.I've got 40 bags so far,it will have to do.The weather has turned rainy and colder,so glad we had nice weather as long as we did.

[morgansgardenofdoom]

Im beginning to grow tired of leaves. The compost is overflowing and I have added a foot of chopped leaves to the pumpkin patch. Ive mulched the last round into the lawn, and I am still buried in leaves....I refuse to send any to the landfill. Maybe its time to try my hand at pit composting?????

[bhpigeon2]

Maybe its time to try my hand at pit composting?????
No, don't do that if it's pure leaves and you plan on planting over it. When not exposed to oxygen or sufficient green matter, too many leaves are a very little improvement over wood chips or sawdust. They'll just sit there in their anaerobic state and do nothing. Leaves by themselves break down to leaf mold and it is appropriately named since the breakdown is due to mold/fungi rather than bacterial action. But leaves are still great for their phosphorus and potassium content!

bhp2