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Al Dykes

12-05-2004 06:09 PM

hardwood leaves as mulch ?

If there's one thing I've got here it's piles and piles of oak and
sweetgum leaves, in various stages of rot. I could pile them up in a
heap, keep them moist, and turn them over as compost.

Is there anything I can do to speed this up, and what additives do
they need to be good to add to the gardern.

--
Al Dykes
-----------
adykes at p a n i x . c o m

The Watcher

13-05-2004 05:08 AM

hardwood leaves as mulch ?

On 12 May 2004 12:19:00 -0400, (Al Dykes) wrote:

If there's one thing I've got here it's piles and piles of oak and
sweetgum leaves, in various stages of rot. I could pile them up in a
heap, keep them moist, and turn them over as compost.

Is there anything I can do to speed this up, and what additives do
they need to be good to add to the gardern.

Throw some good dirt in there to make sure there's plenty of microbes, and some
manure if you have some around. It would be a good way to season some "hot"
fresh chicken manure.

simy1

13-05-2004 08:04 PM

hardwood leaves as mulch ?

(Al Dykes) wrote in message ...
If there's one thing I've got here it's piles and piles of oak and
sweetgum leaves, in various stages of rot. I could pile them up in a
heap, keep them moist, and turn them over as compost.

Is there anything I can do to speed this up, and what additives do
they need to be good to add to the gardern.

it depends what you want to do.

1) need mulch? just lay them on top of the garden, then punch holes
through them to plant things. One inch of matted leaves will eliminate
your weeding for one year at least and reduce your watering by a
factor of two.

2) need neutral mulch? do as 1), but add wood ash or lime.

3) need to break clay soil? do as 1), or till in, do it at least two
years running.

4) need fairly fertile compost? as the other poster said, add high-N
stuff (manure, kitchen scraps, grass clippings, or urea), add other
things you may have (like wood ash for K or bone meal for P), mix, let
cook a while, lay on or till in the garden.

5) need leaf mold for seed starting? do as 4), but go easy on the
non-leaf stuff (not all seedlings like too strong compost), turn a few
times, then sift and save the resulting mold. I use maybe five gallons
of this stuff a year.

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