Do those of you who use shredded leaves as a top dressing for your flower beds find that they get blown away by these March and April winds?
shredded leaves for top dressing
I dont have the same terrain as you. You have that wide open space so the wind is free-er to blow. You might try wetting down the leaves periodically. I dont shred mine and when I first place them in the beds, I wet them down well until they sorta settle in.
I used shredded leaves as a top dressing in some of my beds and the march winds have really blown, the leaves have barely moved. All the oak leaves falling down now on top blow all over the yard, but the shredded ones stay in place. I have piles of shredded leaves and they remain in place, of course I do try to keep them moist. However, the birds and the squirrels can really disturb the shredded leaves looking for acorns. I used pine straw in some of the other beds and did not have that problem.
Thank you, friends. Such a help. Yes, Steadycam, you know my place! That south wind blows right down our lane, picking up everything in it's path. A lot of that "pick-up" winds up on my front porch. I'm always sweeping leaves off the porch, and I don't even have trees close to the house. Regardless, those oak leaves find their way to my front door. I've used that red hardwood mulch in my beds for years, and it even picks that stuff up and puts it on the porch.
Seedfork, I got a leaf shredder for Xmas (be still, my heart), which I haven't even used, yet, because of my foot surgery. I think you're right--keeping the shredded leaves wet is probably the trick. My foot is somewhat still swollen, and I'm having PT three times per week, but 3 of my grandsons will be here any minute to work in the yard with me. This will be my "first day back" as far as the yard is concerned. Hahaha, the best laid plans................................ I planned my surgery for Jan 10th, because I thought I would lose less time. Being January, I figured I couldn't get outside much anyway, what with the cold, rain, and windy weather. Hah!!!! The yolk's on me. January was so BALMY! 70s and 80s here. And there I was--foot had to be propped up higher than my heart for 6 weeks. My whole body atrophied, I think. I'm coming back slowly, and the PT is really working, but I don't know how long I'll last today. I may just work as long as I can and then just be the boys cheerleader.
This message was edited Mar 19, 2013 6:53 AM
Sybil, I don't have a problem with shredded leaves blowing (the finer the better), but I find they do better as a soil amendment if I sprinkle compost on top. Sorta like making a lasagna bed, only not nearly as thick, of course. I never have enough compost to make a real layer.
Yeah, that sounds like me pbtxlady,. I used all my compost yesterday when three of my grandsons helped me lay out a new garden spot. It was suppose to be 10X22, but I ran out of coffee grounds, so the finished area is probably just about 10X18. I have no experience doing this, but I'd been told to start with newspapers first to control weeds, then 2" of grounds, then compost. That's what we did, although I don't think I had 2" of grounds all around. I used up all my compost, but I think it might be deeper than it needs to be, so I may be able to spread it all enough to get another couple feet of garden space. I'm going out in a bit to rake it even and stick a measuring stick down to see how many inches I have. I picked up more grounds this morning and will pass by starbucks again in the late afternoon, so I'll pick up some more. How deep should your garden soil be? I think mine will probably measure 8-10 inches.
I am not a Texas gardener, but I stumbled in here, and I am interested in sybram's results when she takes the measurements of the compost depth and the garden soil depth. I have always thought when putting layers in the compost pile that they were way deeper than they actually ended up being. When I think I have put down 4 to 6 inches of compost, then rake it out smooth it always ends up being more like 2 or three inches.I really have to pile it on heavy to get the desired results, but when its all you have (which nearly always is the case) there is just so much you can do.
So true, seedfork. My compost had been cooking since last summer and had been turned several times. I had it in an 8' across stock waterer, and it had shrunk to about half of original height. It was more than damp when we applied it, but as I said, I know it will sink down more when I water it.
I'm thinking about mixing in some landscaper's mix to see if I can get that 22' length that I originally planned. Right now the whole thing is pure compost (mostly horse poop and old hay), so I think it should still be a pretty good garden medium. What do you think?
Well, I just completed my new beds down in my "bog" area, I have added truck load after truck load of leaves but it was still boggy. So after reading about hugelkultur I came up with the idea just recently, of adding limbs and sticks and small logs then covering that with the leaves. So far it is working and the area is starting to firm up.
It was still too soggy for gardening, so my solution(not having any extra soil around and being to cheap to pay over a hundred dollars for a load of dirt) was to use my compost. All six of my new beds are 100 % compost almost! I just use shredded leaves and grass clippings plus what few kitchen wastes we have for my compost, no manure. I think your horse poop and hay will make a great garden medium, not sure what landscaper's mix is but if it some type of dirt I think that would be great. From what I have read, horse poop and hay are excellent for earthworms also.
Excellent idea Seedfork!!!
Sybil, if you're making a whole new bed, then you probably do need full layers. I have just been mulching existing beds this year. I have more leaves than I have room to compost (they are mostly oak and take forever to break down), so I shred them, mulch, and then spread as much compost on top as I can. This year, rather than fertilizing later, I'm mixing alfalfa pellets into the compost first.
When I originally made my beds, I did it differently. I had a lot of grass, weeds, and monster-sized clay clods full of garbage dug up by contractors. I did put down the newspaper (or cardboard), wet it down, and cover it with leaves about 4-6 inches. Then I had to put at least 2 inches of something on top, and as usual didn't have enough compost and couldn't buy enough. So I mixed the compost I had with peat moss. Then I repeated the layers. Peat moss doesn't add much to the soil, but my alternative was topsoil, which doesn't do anything to lighten the clay. The peat mixed with compost worked out greatw. I planted directly in it, without waiting. Everything grew just fine and it was a LOT easier to plant. 5 years later the soil is full of earthworms and is very easy to work.
Great suggestions. I am going to build a bed for my son's new yard in Austin. I wonder where I can get some leaves. I have lots of cardboard. Wish I had a big shredder.
Since I layered on top of the ground, my biggest need now is a border that will hold everything in place. I want to get something in place before I plant anything at all. Gotta be cheap.
Sybil, we use finely shredded leaves (we use our lawnmower) on our garden. If you water regularly they'll be fine. As long as the bed is well-draining, you shouldn't have a problem. You might notice that in areas where the water runs off, some of the leaves will wash away, but in the other parts they'll be fine. You can always use a mixture of mulches, leaves and cedar mulch.
Anyone need St. Augustine grass and willing to dig it? I am getting ready to cover and area about 10' x 12' with cardboard and leaves then compost etc. to make a new bed this summer.
Sybil sounds like you are already geared up to complete yours. WTG!
I wish I were close enough to dig it I have a fountain bed and all the centipede grass in it completely died, I would love to try some St. Augustine. Have you done any research on digging the sod and turning it upside down? I have read that is almost like adding compost to the soil.
This message was edited Mar 23, 2013 7:00 PM
Oh, I totally agree with Stephanie; the easiest and most consistent shredder is your lawn mower. Ours gave out last year and we have a service, so we haven't replaced it. It's taken me days and days to shred all those leaves with a Leaf Hog, and it doesn't get them as fine as I'd like. Really miss that mulching mower.
Seedfork....I have a lady that will take the grass if I dig it, but not excited about doing that when mother nature can take care of it for me.
pbtxlady.....yes too slow on the shredder unless you are capturing the results for another purpose. After we start to mow in the spring, all the leaves revert in the grass.
I used to leave mine in the beds, but the trees got too big! The majority of them are red oak, which get wet and mat into big clumps and kill whatever is underneath, so I can't do that any more. Unfortunately, they're also a bit too big and tough for those little electric shredders. They do a great job on the ash leaves, though.
Sheila_FW, good point about letting nature take care of it. I guess inverting the grass would be good for people like sybram who did not have enough material to finish her bed. With the extra soil on top of the inverted grass it would not be necessary to pile so much compost on top of the bed.
Sheila: I can ask my neighbor. He is young and strong enough to dig and really needs ST AUGUSTINE.
We have a mulching mower so all our clippings go on the garden or into the compost pile.
Mulching mowers are great, supposedly it is not allowed to bag up grass cuttings in Colleyville, but I see it all the time. I admit, if my lawn has tons of seeded weeds, I don't compost that and throw it away like the rest of the shmenkies
I always bag up the first set of clippings because my lawn has crown vetch that I can't get rid of, and my compost doesn't get hot enough to kill the seeds. Kind of a shame, because I've heard that vetch is a legume and fixes nitrogen into the soil. My city collects yard brush separately, so at least those bags get used somewhere.
Anna, if your neighbor is willing and needs the grass, tell him to get his shovel.
We do bag the weeds and send them to the city compost! LOL
Sheila,I spoke with him yesterday and he has such a big area that he hired a service. I do have some cardboard for you though!
Sheila, if you need cardboard let me know! I've got tons at work. You can just come pick it up.
pbtxlady, I always bag my weeding trash and let it set for 3-4 weeks with the sun on it. It goes all icky, and then I put it in the compost bin. Seems to kill all those pesky seeds.
Sheila, what are you going to edge your new plot with, to keep it contained? That's where I am now. I need something cheap. I decided (with my son's help) that buying mortar for the sandstone would be almost as expensive as buying the landscape timbers. I think I'll try getting the "culls." They're imperfect, but just a dollar each. It's just a matter of calling and being at Lowe's at the right time.You might want yours to be more "perfect," but I'm very OK with some imperfections.
You girls who use your lawn mower to shred your leaves------where do you do it? I've heard of people doing it on their concrete driveway, but I don't have one. I just never could figure out where to do it.I got a leaf shredder for Christmas, but haven't even opened the box yet. Can't wait, but now that we've had rain, I'll need to wait until all the leaves dry out again.
I guess I don't qualify as a Texas gardener or as a girl, but I have an area of bare dirt in the shade (grass won't grow). It is surrounded by my compost piles and my garden shed.
It is a fairly large area, large enough for me to use the riding mower when I want. I can spread out as many as 16 bags of leaves at one time. My area is on a down hill slope in two directions so all the shredded leaves tend to work there way down toward the compost piles. It may not seem to matter much but you would be surprised how much easier it is to rake the shredded leaves down hill. If I have grass clippings I will often mix them in while I am shredding the leaves(in small batches).
After I process a batch of leaves I rake them into a big pile and use my seed fork to toss them onto the compost piles. I use the same area over and over, and it is almost like a small compost factory.
Sybil, we have a push mulching mower. When we are shredding leaves, we just mow the grass and bag it. Otherwise, we just mulch it and leave it on the yard.
Sounds like you've got a real good working situation, Seedfork, and the area looks very organized (and I'm sorry about the "girl" thing).
Our mower has a mulch setting on it, but since I'm not the one who mows, I don't really know how it works, I guess. I just always thought if I piled up leaves and mowed over them, they would probably blow everywhere. Not so?
sybram,
Many mowers have rear or side discharge. Normally when in mulching mode those are blocked off, that way what ever you are mulching falls back down on the blades for repeated cutting. When I use my riding mower I first run over a thick pile of leaves, that almost instantly clogs the tube going to the large containers on the back. The result with the tube being blocked is that the leaves have no where to go so they fall back and get cut again. Not perfect, the higher the setting the more leaves blow out from under the mower. Also they have to blow out some where or it would constantly be clogging the blades. Its a matter of just finding which setting is best for the leaves you are doing. The mulching mowers usually also have a special blade for mulching, but you can use normal blades also. My riding mower has three regular blades it does a wonderful job. Just a tip, anything like a compost pile or Liriope will block the leaves and accumulate them in a nice easy to rake up row. Mowing so the leaves come out the down side also helps, that means often going forward, then going backward, that way the leaves blow in the same direction. I normally do that on the last pass, like to go both ways the first few times. Don't have a wall or building right next to where you shred, often there are rocks or other hard objects that could deflect off and back at you.
I don't think I need more cardboard, been saving for a while. DH has tried to toss it several times! LOL!
But thanks for the offers!
This message was edited Mar 26, 2013 5:20 PM
Seedfork and Stephanie, you guys have a system! It's plain to see you really know what you're doing. I'm still at the stage in my gardening (very low level) where I try everything, so thanks for telling me what works for you.
Sybil, I don't have as much to mow as you do! LOL
Ok. Glad I found this thread!!!
I got a leaf blower-vacuum-shredder last year and shredded about six 45-gallon contractor bags. I did a "Honeybee," and spread them around my raised beds to make pathways. They've stayed in place since the mid-fall.
My question is "how do I make the best use of them now?" They've shrunk down greatly, and do a soft crunch underfoot. But, I've noticed there is LUSH greenery growing under the leaves in the pathways, and I need to smother them down and out.
Should I rake up this batch of leaves and throw them on top of my raised beds as mulch after I seed/plant the beds? I've got many, many more fresh leaves I can shred and replace in the pathways. Or, should I just shred the remaining leaves, and add them over the existing layer of leaves?
My goal was to have the leaves start breaking down in place, since a couple areas of the pathways will have raised beds built over them. I figured to get the ground worked up underneath where the beds will be set (prepped by any bennies, e.g., earthworms, pillbugs, etc., that set up shop under the leaf layer.
Thanks!
Linda
Gymgirl
As I started to type out my answer, I was amazed at how complicated such a simple little garden chore could become. What is the lush greenery, will it pull up by the roots easily, how thin a layer of shredded leaves do you have, how big a hurry are you in for that path area that will become raised beds, etc. So many answers depending on so many questions.
So, if the weeds or lush greenery(what ever it is) if it will pull up by the roots easily, I would do that. Then I would add a much thicker layer of shredded leaves on top. That should smother out the greenery.
Or if you are not in a hurry for the path area to become raised beds, you might put a layer whole leaves down on top of the shredded ones first, then top that with a layer of shredded leaves to make it look much better and save a lot of work. Walking and working on top of those leaves for a season along with worms working from below should accomplish your goal of having the leaves starting to break down and having a good area to start a raised bed.
The great thing is all those things you suggested could also be done, along with a dozen or so more, there are just so many ways to use shredded leaves.
Lynda, leaves provide a blanket under which a LOT of plants simply wait for spring winds to blow them away. You need in your area both light, air and weight to smother anything grassy....
Thanks for the comebacks, guys!
Seedfork,
The lush greenery seems to be some verdant ST. AUG grass and a variety of cute, healthy little weeds trying to poke through. I should've put some heavy cardboard down first. Uh, actually, I DID put some heavy cardboard immediately around the Raised Beds, and nothing is poking through there, except where the cardboard has broken down. I did NOT put cardboard down in the areas along the fence line, that are breaking down for additional raised beds...shoot!
I think I might take the EZ button you suggested and just shred a thicker layer of leaves along on the fence line. Shredding helps them to break down faster.
Kitt
Yes, you are correct. Kill the light, smother the air, and weigh it down to kill what's underneath!
Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa!
Linda