Garden

[Lilysmom]

@JustJazzmom, ah!  Very good explanation.  I need to learn more about gardening vis a vis soil, etc.  I am going to have a look at our Ag school to see what is available.  Thanks for this.  LM

[JustJazzmom]

The very first class in Master Gardener course I took from our County was about soil-- all day-- (6 hours in the classroom). An Aggy School instructor from State University of NY Farmingdale came over to give us what he termed an 'overview'. Mind you this is a 3 credit course over there for a semester.

Everything starts with the soil from its components, to what is in it--microbes, insects, decay, etc. and it isn't dirt!

Dirt is what you find inside your house when you vacuum.

We also learned how to test the soil for pH and to do the 'ribbon test' about what the soil is composed of-- clay, sand, loam or a mixture of all or none.

[ValuSkr]

I would do it in a minute if I had a shredder.  I live in a condo and most leaves are blown away by the landscaping crew, but there are still a lot I rake out of the shrubs and gardens myself.  I'd love to shred them and put them back in the garden - it's terrific fertilizer. You can buy shredders for a reasonable price, but cheaper ones may not be as good.  There are even leaf blowers with a shredding vacuum.  Shredding quality, as I understand it, is measured by a ratio such as 10-1, or 20-1, representing, for example, 10 bags of leaves converted to 1 bag of shredded leaves.   If you don't mulch, but have room to compost, I'd do that instead.

[DiAnne]

At the rate I am going getting all leaves raked up I may be doing that!

[Mary Bailey]

Last winter I did not pick up all the maple leaves.  The places I missed had dead lawn under them in the spring. Maybe shredding them would made them compost.

[Lilysmom]

Thanks everyone.  I may seriously consider the blower/vacuum/shredder.  I need to think about this for awhile.  I should be moving to less work, not more.  At this stage, I'm not sure if this is the answer but I am interested in taking it further...LM

[ValuSkr]

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@Mary Bailey wrote:

Last winter I did not pick up all the maple leaves.  The places I missed had dead lawn under them in the spring. Maybe shredding them would made them compost.

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That's my experience too, but with oak leaves.  They're practically indestructible and get blown into my back yard where they mat when wet.  That in turn kills the grass.  I try to stay on top of it through the Fall and again in the Spring when the snow clears.

[goldensrbest]

If you mow the leaves,so they are mulch, it is grate for flower beds, look at the dirt in the woods,it is alive,fertile.

[Lilysmom]

@goldensrbest, thank God for the mower mulching the leaves.  I would never get out of the yard in the Fall without it!LM

[Desertdi]

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@Lilysmom wrote:

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@Desertdi wrote:

We used to do it back in the "old days"........when we also had a steaming compost heap!

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@Desertdi, Was it messy?  Were you dirty every time you came out of the garden?  Maybe I should try this in one spot?  LM

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We had a fenced yard.......so the stuff didn't move over to the neighbors when the wind blew.    Oh yeah......this can attract bugs, so I wouldn't do it aywhere near a structure.