whos been collecting leaves?

What do you do with the soil you pull?

Even my bad soil seems too precious to discard. I need it for topping leaf piles, filling holes...

I still have 6-8 big bags of leaves plus a 3 ft across bin. And all the leaves stuck under the shrubbery and all over the flower beds. I'd like to pull them all out when its time to mow the grass. That is not another month or two still..?

I stood up several leaf bags, poked holes at the bottom, worked a hole down the middle, and stuck one or two sprouted potatoes in each. We'll see...

I picked up and moved the Earth Machine bin today. Clouds of gnats, tons of worms, how lovely. Put the top half back along with more leaves and three buckets of kitchen waste, I was keeping that away from the voles until warmer weather, hoping that now it rots quickly, instead of being vole buffet all winter.

sallyg - Did I understand you correctly? Voles eat compost?

All I know is something eats my sweet potatoes and white potatos while they are still growing, so I thought, if I throw potato peels and vegetable scraps in my cold, unmanaged compost bin, and it sat refrigerated and fresh for couple months, that the same somethings would feast on it all winter, and make babies. so i put my scraps into a lidded bucket.

thinking voles would eat my veg scraps, not thinking voles bother finished compost or dry leaves or grass clippings.

.I have collected leaves all fall and winter. I shredded up the majority, used some in compost, some just to form leaf mold piles and others to absorb water down in my bog area. I also picked up several truckloads of dried grass clippings over the winter and mixed it in with some of the shredded leaves. Not sure you could call that a compost pile being it was nearly all browns, and no greens. I left the piles all uncovered so they would absorb the moisture and watered the piles every time they looked dry. Today I picked up another truckload of leaves and a truckload of Liriope cuttings. It is unusual to pick up Liriope cuttings, but some people trim it all the way back at this time of year so all the new growth will sprout out and not have that tattered winter look, but be fresh and green.
The best compost I have ever had came form a couple of bags of Liriope cuttings that I placed in the bottom of my cold frame. The earthworms attacked it and make the most wonderful compost ever. So today, I started a new compost pile right next to the dried grass clipping and shredded leaf pile. The idea was to put down a layer of Liriope cuttings, then rake the contents of the grass clipping and shredded leaf pile on top. I was surprised to find hundreds of small earthworms and many large ones had already invaded the pile. This was the most earthworms I had ever seen in one of my piles.
So not only did I create a new pile, I turned about half of the other pile when mixing the layers. The Liriope cuttings had just been cut this weekend so they were very fresh and were already smoking with heat. Looking forward to a super batch of compost.
The leaves are almost gone from around here for the year, so I may go back and get one more load after lunch. I spotted a large pile on the way home but my truck was already full

This message was edited Mar 11, 2013 1:04 PM

sallyg - thanks for your input. I never thought I might be feeding the very voles I'm trying to get of!

Yes, they do eat sweet potatoes as they grow.They even took a few bites out of the onions! Our parsley has been a source of food for them this winter.

Darn critters, wish they would leave!

Gosh, yes they did the classic number on my parsley. I'm going to try the parsley in a pot this year.

I collect leaves year round, mulch any and all things into my compost piles be it leftovers, scraps and even grease. Been using organic fertilizer for seven plus years, now I have 4-8 inch worms that eat it all for breakfast, then ask what's for lunch!!! Every fall and spring I have to continually add more organic matter to keep up with their demand........if not the dirt gets barren of humus, then hard and packed.

I turn chopped leaves, etc back into the beds, and usually lay down 8-10 yards of composted mulch in the spring. For your compost piles, regularly throw a pound or so of plain white sugar on them to feed the bacteria.

sallyg - I've never had luck growing parsley in pots. I think I overwater it. :(

chuck - good for you! I've been gardening organically for 60 years. Feed the soil and the soil will feed you.

Chuck,

You prove the theiory: c ompost cures all ills.

>> Every fall and spring I have to continually add more organic matter to keep up with their demand...if not the dirt gets barren of humus, then hard and packed.

I have the same problem: my soil reverts to clay when the OM is consumed. In my case, mostly by microbes since I don't have many worms. I also don't have a lot of compost of feedstuff for the compost.

I found that coarse sand and crushed rock and bark fines (grit-size, like 1/10 inch or 2-3 mm) "stretch out" the lightening effect of compost. Less compost goes a longer way, and the grit never breaks down. The bark lasts around 3 years for me. From digging up plants, it seems to me that rootlets and grit lean on each other to support the soil and maintain air voids.

Partly composted woody shreds would break down almost as slowly as bark shreds of the same thickness, but probably consume more N than bark.

This way, even when the compost is mostly consumed, the clay+grit+rootlet soil still has enough "loft" to stay aerobic .

But if I had as much organic matter available to feed my compost heap and my soil, I would do exactly what you do!

I've read that it is hard to maintain more than around 5% OM in any aerobic, warm soil. Feed more, they eat more. But your method of feeding every fall AN every spring keeps it as high as possible. Top-dressing with compost in the summer and mulching heavily with soft mulch in winter might push you closer to 10% than 5%!

I use the leaves from my large chinese elms to mulch my berry roots in the fall, then once spring arrives, i rake them off and into the compost pile they go, or are used for mulch around other things thru the summer. They are all shredded to some degree since I pick them up with the lawn mower/bagger.

when I add them to the compost pile, I generally layer them, leaves, green grass,straw, manure, dirt, leaves etc

Yeah, and my single most important gardening purchase was a good mulching lawn mower years ago. I plant my yard for summer magic, not year round, so first freeze or right before I am tearing and cutting everything down, then mulching it through the lawnmower. The yard looks pretty bare in winter.

Had a good Craftsman gas blower/vac that did a great job reducing the volume of leaves, especially mincing/chopping the barrels of acorns that drop in the fall. I have not replaced it yet. It had metal blades on the vacuum, every thing I've looked at recently that get's good operating reviews has one weakness - plastic blades. I'm not sure they would last long with the more than occasional errant wood chips from my left old mulch.

Chuck - I am in need of a good "mulching mower" what do you use?

The mower I have is six years old and the blade is very worn and needs replacing. But I would rather have a mower that would finely mulch leaves than cut grass!

I have a Craftsman 6.5 HP Mulching rear bagging mower. It will aslo be in the description if it is a mulching type or not. You can usually tell the difference as the blade is not a straight blade, but has curves about 6 inches from the tip with additional sharp edges for the double cutting. I bought it about 7-8 years ago for about $300 +/-, and have not had a problem with it. Change out blades or sharpen old ones, change oil and clean air filter regularly. Has the gas priming and is very easy to start.

Love my Craftsman mulching lawn mower, love the one lever used to set the height of all four wheels at one time, and it will adjust up higher than most lawn mowers. However, it does not like gas with ethanol, the carb lasted just over a year. Sears suggested just filling the tank half full to make sure all the fuel would be used out of the tank every time, buying only a gallon of fuel everytime I bought fuel, and never to use fuel over two weeks old. My old Murry lawn mower does not seem to realize there is a problem with ethanol in gas.

Uh,
Could ya'll post your Craftsman mulching mower model numbers here, please?

I'm in desperate need of a mower to begin doing my own lawn. It will pay for itself the first year I don't have to argue with the lawn guy about wanting my grass cut HIGH!

Thanks!

Linda

Do you think that just replacing a blade with a different blade would give better mulching or chipping action ? My blade is just a simple straight, flat bar with a very slight twist.

My little electric putt-putt advertised itself as "mulching" but that means about as much as most advertising slogans. I use it to run over small, chopped juniper branches but it only reduces their size a little. Mostly it blows them around the driveway and I have to make a dozen passes while screening out the biggest chips for even more passes.

And I just learned that I have to shred waxy Rhododendron leaves. They seem to last forever in my compost heap,. and the glossy wax isn't even dimmed.

I've thought of setting the electric mower upside-down and positioning some kind of cone above it to hold the chips in until they shred. But I'm not eager to trip and be chipped myself.

I don't think model numbers would help much, they change them too often. Maybe we could all post the features we like and don't like in a mulching lawn mower.
1. High height adjustment-Like
2. Easy one lever hight adjustment-Like
3. Large fuel capacity-Like
4. Also able to use a rear mounted bag-Like (when cutting things with seeds already formed).
5.Easy to start-Like
6. Check and make sure the safety flap does not catch when backing up(I have had to rig mine to make it work)
7. Width-21 or 22 inch seems to be the only choices mostly-I like the 22 inch but it makes it a little heavier.
8.Weight-That might be important for some people
9. Performance-how well does a mower actually perform the cutting and mulching tasks.
to me it seems a mulching lawn mower does not cut the lawn as smooth as a regular mower, but I am not too picky about that, some people would be.
10.Warranty is the most important, ask about the coverage of fuel problems no matter what they tell you make sure you get it in writing.
11. One thing to is check to see who in your area will service the mower, do this ahead of time. My local repair shop does not work on Craftsman mowers, I have to send it off.
That is all I can think of off hand but I am sure others will have many more suggestions.




This message was edited Mar 14, 2013 5:47 PM

Thank you, Seedfork!

1. Best feature for me is - rear bagging since it makes it easier to mow along borders in either direction.
2. Gas primer and easy start feature. I have not had a problem with ethanol gas.
3. Aluminum housing - no rust...........
4. Push mower - I don't like the self propelled mowers. They are heavier and you can't control the speed. More things are prone to breakage.

Craftsmen and Toro are both good brands - last a long time - not the cheapest, but anything good will be worth it in the long run.

As long as the blade is sharp, it cuts grass well. The sign of a dull blade is torn or shredded edges on the grass. A sharp blade will leave a clean cut. I have two blades - one for rough stuff like limbs or empty lots, etc. Swap out for the grass in my yard. Easy to do.

With oak leaves, I usually mulch the first time, then dump them and mulch again to get a finer chop to turn directly into the dirt w/out composting.

Thanks, chuck!

I need self propelled, if you have a level lawn you may not need it. I have a steep grade about 150 feet long in the back. Self-propelled is the way to go if you have that kind of yard. My Craftsman has no gas primer bulb, don't know if many of the newer lawn mowers even use that any more(also there are no carb. adjustments). My Craftsman is very easy to start, when it will start. If it does not start by the second pull usually it is not going to and it's back to the shop. Chuck likes to leave the bag on when he shreds leaves, I like to take the bag off. I make a huge pile of leaves set the mower on the highest setting and run over the pile two or three times, then I lower the setting to about three inches and run over them again about three more times. I shred far too many to fool with dumping the bag out every time it gets full. Also I think you get a much better shredding action because the leaves fall back down on the blades. That is the reason a discussion like this is important, to see there are different options, it's just according to how you personally will use your mower.
One other feature you might want to look at is a blade clutch, it allows you to stop the blade, yet leave the mower running. This is great if you need to move a hose, or anything out of the way without stopping the mower.
I have always liked a throttle speed control, my lawn mower does not have that, you crank it and the motor runs full throttle from then on. You can change the speed the mower progresses at, but not the motor speed.
Also, if you have rough uneven terrain to cut get a mower with large rear wheels. No need most of the time if you have a smooth lawn.

Great info, everyone.

I couldn't find a "mulching mower" on Sear's web site, although some said they were "mulching ready" whatever that means. There were mulching blades available separately.

When I mulch leaves, I run over them several times, and then either add them at the edge of each raised bed, or down the middle depending on what I am growing. I dig a trench, and put in the mulched leaves. By the next growing season, they have turned into wonderful black soil.

I hold some back in large pots, which I "park" at the end of each bed. These are used during the growing season on top of the soil, around the plants. Mulched leaves allow rain to penetrate, whereas leaves that have not been mulched seem to let the rain run off.

By the time I'm done, there's a cloud of dust!

I am soooooooooooooo Sorry. I did NOT mean to hijack the "leaf collection" discussion.

Please forgive me!

Linda

I'm following the drift with great interest.

I am not offended. Nice of you to ask though!

Turned my pile, so glad I did. Found it very moist and warm, but parts stinky in the bottom half. Lots of worms too though.There's really no way to know what's going on inside there without turning or digging into it.

I'm holding onto bags of mulched leaves when I need summer mulch on the garden.

if we have continued nice weather..as were "suppose to"
i will finish off leaves i didnt get to last fall..about 12 or so bags..
checked my leaf compost (shredded leaves and some alfalfa meal)
it is rotting very nicely ..yea !!!
there were so many little worms at base ..:) sigh..ahhhhh...
lol
yrs ago..and i know im telling how nuts i am.. lol.. i use to go out
after good rain (in summer) take a bucket..and collect worms in street
gutters.. yea. im a freak..:)
please..someone.. anyone..say youve done the same !!!????
i used some of the leaf compost,and what is left from regular compost
and dug in to bed where cold frame is..
the mesclun mix is ..and its up now !!!
its hard to beat leaf compost/mulch/mold.. whatever ya wanna call it !!

>> parts stinky in the bottom half.

I bet that mixing the stinky parts with the non-stinky parts improves both and kills the s mell. It will also help to get the stinky parts UP and into a drier, better ventilated part of the pile.

>> Lots of worms too though

The presence of worms is like a row of judges all holding up scores greater than 9 out of 10!

So nice to come here and feel the luv of fellow compost addicts
; ^)

I am slowly learning the importance of turning a compost pile. I have a habit of making them too large, then they get compacted and are very hard to chop though when turning. I just finished using a large compost pile, the edges were worked by the worms and were super, but the center was very compacted. When I dug though it with the potato hoe, the large chunks would break into lovely black compost. I think it was actually so compacted the worms could not get through it. I have another pile that is long and low and I have worked it many times, the texture of the two piles is totally different. I do need to make myself keep the piles lower and make them longer so they do not get so compacted and make them easier to keep turned.Then I have my shredded leaf piles, it is hard to decide which I like better the texture of the shredded leaf piles or the texture of the compost piles, anyhow its all good stuff. Does anyone else dig through their piles and see stuff that lovely golden brown color and then see the dark rich black color and wonder which is actually the prettiest?

This message was edited Mar 19, 2013 4:05 PM

Mine is so small that I don't have your "problem". Too BIG a com post pile? That's the part of heaven I want to go to when I die.

I fondle my com post pretty often, but it tends to go from "yard waste and garbage" to "black" in one step.

I read that worms like a lot of air, and tend to stay in the top few inches of vermicomposting piles, but that may be different from compost heaps.

Maybe you could use a rake handle or length of rebar to drill holes through your bigger heaps, to let air in .

Do you do anything to keep rain from leaching out the goodies? I keep my heap in a part of the yard that needs the nutrients. If I had the time and energy, I would spread out a mound of pure clay that I've excavated, screen out the rocks, and park my compost heap on top of the clay. Then the "drippings" would tend convert the clay to soil.

YEs Seedfork. I admire my compost. And my rotten leaves.

I don't spend much effort on rain control. I keep the compost in the vegetable garden vicinity and if the dirt just under the pile looks rich I use it too.

So, how do you keep all the nutrients from the compost pile from leaching out, before they get to benefit the veggie plants?

I don't cover my compost piles either. I just let what nutrients are leaching out go into the ground. I figure the worms are going to bring them back up when they come calling anyhow. Plus, compost is great because it holds nutrients for a long time I think, and for the few months the pile is turning into compost I don't think many nutrients are lost. Oh, that may be a difference, when my compost pile is finished, it is put in the garden and another pile is started in the same spot. So probably six months for fall started compost and three or four tops for spring and summer started compost piles.
Also I would like to ask how much rain do you other "composters" think it would take to actually penetrate your piles all the way to the bottom. After two inches of rain my piles are normally wet only down maybe an inch. I picked up a truck load of dried grass clippings after two days of hard rains and I don't think more than the top 1/2 inch was wet, down below was powder dry. I have read the advice to keep your piles covered and it maybe best, I just have not found it necessary. I also don't have a fence or railing enclosing the pile, it makes it way to hard to have access when turning the pile.

I agree with Seedfork- my view is that the compost IS the nutrients, so to speak, it is the bulk of the living and partially decomposed stuff thats all seething in there...

Mine is mostly brown tree leaves and it takes a LOT to get them wet through. And the piles dry out on the sides all the time. When I moved my Earthmachine, three foot tall bin, with lots of moist and even soggy stuff, there were STILL pockets of dry leaves underneath it all.

I seldom have heavy rain, but for 8-9 months we seldom have a clear sky or three days in a row with NO rain.

Once I DO get it wet all the way through, sometimes I see a little ooze out the bottom. Howev er, that look too long by hand, so I ran a 1/4" tube many feet from an irrigation mainline, and ran a little jet sprinkler on it every time I watered anything. THAT, plus some forking around, got it wet all the way through!

>> So, how do you keep all the nutrients from the compost pile from leaching out, before they get to benefit the veggie plants?

My ambition was to spread the compost, or turn it under, almost as soon as it was nearly finished. I don't mind running it through a coarse screen (1/2" or 1") before I wheelbarrow it away. But I got busy, and now I have4 a few wheelbarrows-full waiting for spring turning.

The people who spot-compost almost anything without any composting at all, eventually convinced me that I was waiting longer than necessary. Instead of letting my pile shrink 50% before using it, I could put some of that semi-digested stuff into the soil "early" and let it finish right there.

>> And the piles dry out on the sides all the time.

Agreed. I also think that rain washes the fine stuff out of the sides and leaves the twigs and shreds sticking out. Half the time, before turning or instead of turning, I rake the surface coarse dry stuff from right to left, so that the right-hand third of the pile is usually ready to screen, and the left-hand third is recently-added stuff.

The middle is where I add kitchen scraps and do the must turning.

''Agreed. I also think that rain washes the fine stuff out of the sides and leaves the twigs and shreds sticking out. Half the time, before turning or instead of turning, I rake the surface coarse dry stuff from right to left, so that the right-hand third of the pile is usually ready to screen, and the left-hand third is recently-added stuff.

The middle is where I add kitchen scraps and do the must turning.''

Read more: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1287283/#ixzz2O59bIufJ

I have a bin thats made from 4 foot ends and 8 foot sides stacked lincoln log style--and thats how I use it, when the leaf load starts to shrink down. Wood keeps the moisture in but the corners and edges still can be dry

>> 4 foot ends and 8 foot sides

I have compost envy!

>> Wood keeps the moisture in but the corners and edges still can be dry

My raised beds work the same way with soil, Water perks right through 1" thick concrete pavers (perhaops faster that my clayey-er soils perk!) and the cracks between pavers are worse.

So sometimes I line the corners, or corners and the walls, with plastic cut from the bags that mulch or store-bought compost came in.

I picked up a truck load of leaves and grass clippings yesterday. This morning I got up early and got them all shredded with the lawn mower. I started a new compost pile where the old pile had been that I used to create my new beds with. The first picture shows the dark area left from the old pile, the next picture shows the first layer of shredded leaves(I cut the sprinkler on while I am preparing the next layer). The third picture shows the pile built up just over a foot, that is all a truck load of shredded leaves will cover. Tomorrow time for another load (I already have them spotted, I think I might be able to get two loads from the pile).