WaltA wrote:
On 18 Aug 2005 03:39:41 -0700, "Cat(h)" wrote:
border on the immediate other side of the boundary. Surely, if cutting
the trees down kills them, the roots are no longer pumping nutrients.
They might even provide some back into the soil by rotting quietly?

I was going to add " rotting quietly,,,, but very slowly" !
But I see others have suggested that already.

I don't know where they stand in the conifer world in relation to
Larch ( I'm thinking resin content) so I don't want to worry you
unduly, but about 28 years ago we took down some dead and dying larch
and the stumps are still there ! In fact so are some of the logs and
trunks that were left where they fell ! Others that were stacked still
keep us warm in the winters

To add to the suggestions already given about mulching, I wonder if
you could make a 'raised bed' type system to enclose them and keep
mulch/compost over them ? Keep it deep and moist and that should speed
things up.

Actually, the soil isn't that bad there, believe it or not. The main
sin from the dreaded leylandii, was just how dry they were keeping it.
And now, how tricky it is to plant between their roots. I have mostly
managed to get the plants I wanted planted where I wanted them. I may
need a little more force to plant two climbers, though I think I should
wait till next spring, as it is getting a little late.. or is it?

Meanwhile, I plan to mulch the whole bed in late winter/early spring
with some well rotted manure from a local farm.

You could maybe even grow beans in the bed to share with your
neighbour :-))

The neigbour's veg patch puts mine to serious shame... they'd probably
smirk at my feeble attempt :-) Plus, I have bother keeping up with my
own crop... whatever possessed me to plant veg I am the only one to
like? Thank goodness for the freezer :-)

Cat(h)
The world swirls...