On 12/10/2007 6:46 AM, Mike wrote:
So, I was driving around town (Central NC), and saw a bunch of people
with piles of leaves around their trees, some as high as 3 or 4 feet.
Is this a good idea?

At this time of year, I mulch all my beds with leaves from my trees. I
try to keep the mulch not thicker than about 3-4 inches. This is not
enough to smother low-growing perennials but enough to discourage weeds.
In summer, it keeps the soil cool and reduces the loss of soil
moisture; with our ongoing drought, this is very important.

Around my oak (valley white oak, Quercus lobata), I try to keep a mulch
about 6 inches thick. Western oaks seem to suffer if they don't have a
mulch of their own leaves over their root zone. I have no low-growing
plants around the oak.

Excess leaves go into my compost pile, which is really more a leaf mold
pile since there is very little green matter. When the amount of leaves
threatens to overwhelm the composting process, the rest goes in the
green trash bin for the county's composting program.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/