|
burning leaves in garden
I have a lot of trees. Those trees have alot of leaves.. I am
fortunate to live in a town that not only allows, but encourages leaf burning. My question is this.. does the ash left from the leaves have any value in the garden? I know too many leaves can cause the ground to become acidic, but what about the ash left from burning them? Is it possible to put too much on? Last fall, I put mulched leaves on, and put lime on this spring. I also spread rabbit manure (with a bit of straw bedding mixed in) and tilled it under about 3 weeks before planting.. I only planted last week, so I don't really know the results yet. I'n new at this, and mostly going off hints from others... thanks for your help.. dave |
burning leaves in garden
|
burning leaves in garden
On Sat, 10 May 2003 15:15:32 -0400, Pat Meadows
wrote: On Sat, 10 May 2003 17:49:40 GMT, wrote: I have a lot of trees. Those trees have alot of leaves.. I am fortunate to live in a town that not only allows, but encourages leaf burning. My question is this.. does the ash left from the leaves have any value in the garden? I know too many leaves can cause the ground to become acidic, but what about the ash left from burning them? Is it possible to put too much on? I'd certainly prefer to either compost the leaves or spread them on the garden to be turned under in spring. I think you'd be wasting an awful lot of good organic matter if you burn them. I have been mulching and turning under, but I also have ALOT of ash.. my ash pile (and you know how leaves burn down) is about 10 feet by 40 feet, and about 6 inches deep. the amount of leaves before hand is about 10 X 40 X 3 feet deep, and I make 4 or 5 of them a year.... it just seems like a waste to not be able to use the ash for SOMETHING (other than makeing a mess on the dogs! :) ) dave |
burning leaves in garden
|
burning leaves in garden
I agree totally, I put the leaves on the garden in the fall, along with the
grass clippings that were collected with them and I don't till them in. I just plant in them. susan Pat Meadows wrote: On Sat, 10 May 2003 17:49:40 GMT, wrote: I have a lot of trees. Those trees have alot of leaves.. I am fortunate to live in a town that not only allows, but encourages leaf burning. My question is this.. does the ash left from the leaves have any value in the garden? I know too many leaves can cause the ground to become acidic, but what about the ash left from burning them? Is it possible to put too much on? I'd certainly prefer to either compost the leaves or spread them on the garden to be turned under in spring. I think you'd be wasting an awful lot of good organic matter if you burn them. Pat |
burning leaves in garden
[posted & mailed]
"Dave Allyn (Dave Allyn)" wrote : I have been mulching and turning under, but I also have ALOT of ash.. my ash pile (and you know how leaves burn down) is about 10 feet by 40 feet, and about 6 inches deep. the amount of leaves before hand is about 10 X 40 X 3 feet deep, and I make 4 or 5 of them a year.... That is one hell of a leaf pile, my friend. My recommendation is something that's worked quite well for me: Get thee to a hardware store or home center and buy a leaf blower/vacuum. Now, you may have only marginal use for a leaf blower, but that's not what we're after here. We're after the vacuum function. Gas or electric - whichever trips yer trigger. The beauty of this appliance is that you can turn a Big-Ass Pile O' Leaves (tm) into Teeny Leaf Bits (also TM) in short order. Those bits can then be used as mulch, compost heap fuel, soil amendment - whatever. A tip - give the leaves a brief spray with the hose before you start snorting them up, else the leaf dust (and the dust *on* the leaves) will cause you to hack up nasty stuff for days afterward. Alternately, you could buy one of them leaf-shredding things and have at it. But those (rather over $100) are a lot more expensive than my cheapo leaf blower option ($50-75). For big fun, buy a chipper / shredder. That will take care of yer deadwood *and* leaves. Jason |
burning leaves in garden
Get thee to a hardware store or home center and buy a leaf blower/vacuum. Now, you may have only marginal use for a leaf blower, but that's not what we're after here. We're after the vacuum function. Gas or electric - whichever trips yer trigger. I bought a combo blower/vac/mulcher-electric at Home Depot recently for $69.00-best money I ever spent. You should see how my kids laugh at me when I am "vacuuming" the back yard...lol. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.478 / Virus Database: 275 - Release Date: 5/6/2003 |
burning leaves in garden
|
burning leaves in garden
On Mon, 12 May 2003 13:35:32 GMT, "Norma Briggs"
wrote: Get thee to a hardware store or home center and buy a leaf blower/vacuum. Now, you may have only marginal use for a leaf blower, but that's not what we're after here. We're after the vacuum function. Gas or electric - whichever trips yer trigger. I bought a combo blower/vac/mulcher-electric at Home Depot recently for $69.00-best money I ever spent. You should see how my kids laugh at me when I am "vacuuming" the back yard...lol. I have a torro I use now. I'm not as impressed with the vacuum part as I am with the blower, but that is what I use to mulch the leaves I put on the garden now. My problem is more of an amount issue. To gather and burn takes about 3 days (me and my wife) to mulch the same amount would take closer to 2 weeks. mulching with the mower isn't an option either. I did that one year, and then had to rake up the mulch the next spring when it was killing the grass (it was 1-2 inches thick all over the yard) My yard is almost all trees, and I live on a corner lot, so I get alot of the neighbors leaves. I still mulch some for the flower beds, etc, but I still have alot of leaves left over.... thanks for your help.. dave |
burning leaves in garden
Wood ash is 0/1.5/8 with a pH of 10.4. Leaf ash is going to be about
the same. I am shocked that you have to lime when all that ash can do just as good a job. I lime my own garden with wood ash. I guess that is some of my confusion. I have always heard Leaves will make your soil (or compost) acidic. I had thought that Lime was alkiline and would therefore combat the acid from the leaves... then, I had someone tell me that lime is neutral, and would remove acid or alki. Now it sounds like lime is acid.... what does lime do?? email: daveallyn at bwsys dot net please respond in this NG so others can share your wisdom as well! |
burning leaves in garden
"Dave Allyn" (Dave Allyn) writes:
I guess that is some of my confusion. I have always heard Leaves will make your soil (or compost) acidic. I had thought that Lime was alkiline and would therefore combat the acid from the leaves... then, I had someone tell me that lime is neutral, and would remove acid or alki. Now it sounds like lime is acid.... what does lime do?? Lime and ashes both raise pH, reducing acidity. I think people get confused because lime the fruit is very acidic, while lime the crushed stone is just the opposite. It used to confuse me, anyway. Lime (calcium carbonate) also adds calcium, which could be beneficial to calcium rich plants like tomatoes and broccoli. Ashes add potassium and phosphorus, two other important nutrients. (Most commercial fertilizers are a mixture of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus.) So ideally, you'd want to apply both, or get a soil test and see which one would be more beneficial for your soil. Soil generally becomes more acidic over time, especially when nitrogen fertilizers, including manure and green mulch, are used. So you're much more likely to need to raise the pH of your soil than lower it. If you plan to grow acid-loving plants like potatoes, you may want to leave a section of the garden un-limed or -ashed, so those plants can have the acid soil they prefer. -- Aaron |
burning leaves in garden
"Norma Briggs" wrote in message m...
Get thee to a hardware store or home center and buy a leaf blower/vacuum. Now, you may have only marginal use for a leaf blower, but that's not what we're after here. We're after the vacuum function. Gas or electric - whichever trips yer trigger. I bought a combo blower/vac/mulcher-electric at Home Depot recently for $69.00-best money I ever spent. You should see how my kids laugh at me when I am "vacuuming" the back yard...lol. Yeah, The Black and Decker Leaf Hog is great. I got the dodad that fits over a garbage can too and mulch them into there and then distribute them to the rows and plants. |
burning leaves in garden
Yeah, The Black and Decker Leaf Hog is great. I got the dodad that fits over a garbage can too and mulch them into there and then distribute them to the rows and plants. WOW ....they make a doo dad that fits over the garbage can? So cool...I must have one! BTW: don't laugh, but leaf blowers are great for dusting...esp. behind that entertainment center you cant move...hehe.. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.481 / Virus Database: 277 - Release Date: 5/13/2003 |
burning leaves in garden
"Dave Allyn" (Dave Allyn) wrote in message ...
Wood ash is 0/1.5/8 with a pH of 10.4. Leaf ash is going to be about the same. I am shocked that you have to lime when all that ash can do just as good a job. I lime my own garden with wood ash. I guess that is some of my confusion. I have always heard Leaves will make your soil (or compost) acidic. I had thought that Lime was alkiline and would therefore combat the acid from the leaves... then, I had someone tell me that lime is neutral, and would remove acid or alki. Now it sounds like lime is acid.... what does lime do?? Lime increases the pH of the soil (is alkaline). A neutral pH is 7. In your woodland, pH is within one unit of 5.3 probably. Wood ash increases the pH and returns the potassium to the soil. If you know what you are doing, there is never a situation where lime is preferrable to ash. You do not have to combat acidity under trees because they like it that way. Leaves are acidic, but ash is alkaline. The acid components of leaves go up in smoke. |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 10:24 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
GardenBanter