How can I use this stuff?

The needles are falling from the redwoods, cedar, Grand Fir, Douglas Fir and
Ponderosa Pine that grow in an island in my yard. The oak leaves are
starting to fall too. There is just too much to leave it all under the
trees. It will bury everything growing beneath! I'd like to leave some
under, but what can I do with the rest? We were blowing it all out and
tossing it, but that seems a waste of good material. I could mow it up with
the mulching blades and spread it around the other beds. Or should I stack
it all in a pile and compost it? Suggestions?

Karen

COMPOST it! I compost the pine tree neddles I get from the one tree by me and my
iris love them come spring.


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towards an east that would not know another dawn.
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lingered: and along the path he once had followed, man would one day go
again."

Arthur C. Clarke, The City & The Stars

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"AnonnyMoose" wrote in message
...
How can I use this stuff?

The needles are falling from the redwoods, cedar, Grand Fir, Douglas Fir and
Ponderosa Pine that grow in an island in my yard. The oak leaves are
starting to fall too. There is just too much to leave it all under the
trees. It will bury everything growing beneath! I'd like to leave some
under, but what can I do with the rest? We were blowing it all out and
tossing it, but that seems a waste of good material. I could mow it up with
the mulching blades and spread it around the other beds. Or should I stack
it all in a pile and compost it? Suggestions?

Karen




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In article , "AnonnyMoose"
wrote:

How can I use this stuff?

The needles are falling from the redwoods, cedar, Grand Fir, Douglas Fir and
Ponderosa Pine that grow in an island in my yard. The oak leaves are
starting to fall too. There is just too much to leave it all under the
trees. It will bury everything growing beneath! I'd like to leave some
under, but what can I do with the rest? We were blowing it all out and
tossing it, but that seems a waste of good material. I could mow it up with
the mulching blades and spread it around the other beds. Or should I stack
it all in a pile and compost it? Suggestions?

Karen

Boy, you *are* a long ways from home, darlin.'

Tom Bodett did a radio piece about yard care, when he moved from Homer, AK
to Whidbey Island a few years ago. As *you* know, all you need in Alaska for
yard care is a chainsaw and a weed whacker with a skil-saw blade on it. Tom
had to learn about lawn mowers and stuff when he moved down there.

Compost it. Hit the compost site that'll help you figure out how to balance
the greens & browns, so the compost will cook. (If I can do it, anyone can.
But I lost that website address when my good computer died. I think one of
the Pat's here knows the website.)

Jan

PS: We have snow in the forecast here on sat. night, Karen. I'm not ready.

Wow, that could hurt at BM time.

Find a corner and build a bin and let this material compost down. I take
it from Jan's post, your up in the colder areas. If true, chop up into
smaller pieces, build a big pile and let it be for a long time and it
will cold compost. May take up to a year but will be totally worth it.

http://www.barc.usda.gov/anri/sasl/compost.html

JK


AnonnyMoose wrote:
=

How can I use this stuff?
=

The needles are falling from the redwoods, cedar, Grand Fir, Douglas Fi=
r and
Ponderosa Pine that grow in an island in my yard. The oak leaves are
starting to fall too. There is just too much to leave it all under the
trees. It will bury everything growing beneath! I'd like to leave some
under, but what can I do with the rest? We were blowing it all out and
tossing it, but that seems a waste of good material. I could mow it up =
with
the mulching blades and spread it around the other beds. Or should I st=
ack
it all in a pile and compost it? Suggestions?
=

Karen

-- =

J. Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.celestialhabitats.com - business
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/personal.html - personal

You got that right, Jan. Back home my yardwork consisted of shoving leaves
aside in the fall. Those were the days. ;-)

karen

"Jan Flora" wrote in message
...

Boy, you *are* a long ways from home, darlin.'

Tom Bodett did a radio piece about yard care, when he moved from Homer, AK
to Whidbey Island a few years ago. As *you* know, all you need in Alaska
for
yard care is a chainsaw and a weed whacker with a skil-saw blade on it.
Tom
had to learn about lawn mowers and stuff when he moved down there.

Compost it. Hit the compost site that'll help you figure out how to
balance
the greens & browns, so the compost will cook. (If I can do it, anyone
can.
But I lost that website address when my good computer died. I think one of
the Pat's here knows the website.)

Jan

PS: We have snow in the forecast here on sat. night, Karen. I'm not ready.

Well, so far all the replies say "compost." Easy enough. I've got compost
bins set up for my other green material, so I'll just have to incorporate
this stuff. But I'm wondering if I should compost this separately since I'm
thinking it will be awfully acidic when it breaks down. I could use it for
mulching the rhodies and acid loving plants. Any thoughts on that?

I'm near Portland, OR, so it's not too cold. Jan lives up in Alaska, where I
used to live, and that's what she was referring to.

karen


"J Kolenovsky" wrote in message
...
Wow, that could hurt at BM time.

Find a corner and build a bin and let this material compost down. I take
it from Jan's post, your up in the colder areas. If true, chop up into
smaller pieces, build a big pile and let it be for a long time and it
will cold compost. May take up to a year but will be totally worth it.

http://www.barc.usda.gov/anri/sasl/compost.html

JK


AnonnyMoose wrote:

How can I use this stuff?

The needles are falling from the redwoods, cedar, Grand Fir, Douglas Fir
and
Ponderosa Pine that grow in an island in my yard. The oak leaves are
starting to fall too. There is just too much to leave it all under the
trees. It will bury everything growing beneath! I'd like to leave some
under, but what can I do with the rest? We were blowing it all out and
tossing it, but that seems a waste of good material. I could mow it up
with
the mulching blades and spread it around the other beds. Or should I stack
it all in a pile and compost it? Suggestions?

Karen

--
J. Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
ô¿ô - http://www.celestialhabitats.com - business
ô¿ô - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/personal.html - personal

AnonnyMoose wrote:

Well, so far all the replies say "compost." Easy enough. I've got compost
bins set up for my other green material, so I'll just have to incorporate
this stuff. But I'm wondering if I should compost this separately since I'm
thinking it will be awfully acidic when it breaks down. I could use it for
mulching the rhodies and acid loving plants...




The composting process should produce a fairly neutral product. It might
be somewhat on the acid side if the compost is incomplete, but not
enough to be a problem. If you worry about it, most states have
extension services which can do tests on compost similar to soil tests.
Also, the pH test is probably the most accurate one in the home soil
test kits, so that should give you some information.

I would think they might really mean to say, "Throw the stuff in a pile
and let it sit". Or" grind it up and pile in a bin" The material will
compost fairly well in the temperate area you're in. As it breaks down,
it'll have a tendency to tend towards neutral ph. If you have avid
lovers and rhodies, you should be in good shape.

JK


AnonnyMoose wrote:
=

Well, so far all the replies say "compost." Easy enough. I've got compo=
st
bins set up for my other green material, so I'll just have to incorpora=
te
this stuff. But I'm wondering if I should compost this separately since=
I'm
thinking it will be awfully acidic when it breaks down. I could use it =
for
mulching the rhodies and acid loving plants. Any thoughts on that?
=

I'm near Portland, OR, so it's not too cold. Jan lives up in Alaska, wh=
ere I
used to live, and that's what she was referring to.
=

karen
=

"J Kolenovsky" wrote in message
...
Wow, that could hurt at BM time.
=

Find a corner and build a bin and let this material compost down. I tak=
e
it from Jan's post, your up in the colder areas. If true, chop up into
smaller pieces, build a big pile and let it be for a long time and it
will cold compost. May take up to a year but will be totally worth it.
=

http://www.barc.usda.gov/anri/sasl/compost.html
=

JK
=

AnonnyMoose wrote:

How can I use this stuff?

The needles are falling from the redwoods, cedar, Grand Fir, Douglas =
Fir
and
Ponderosa Pine that grow in an island in my yard. The oak leaves are
starting to fall too. There is just too much to leave it all under th=
e
trees. It will bury everything growing beneath! I'd like to leave som=
e
under, but what can I do with the rest? We were blowing it all out an=
d
tossing it, but that seems a waste of good material. I could mow it u=
p
with
the mulching blades and spread it around the other beds. Or should I =
stack
it all in a pile and compost it? Suggestions?

Karen
=

--
J. Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.celestialhabitats.com - business
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/personal.html - personal

-- =

J. Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.celestialhabitats.com - business
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/personal.html - personal

Thanks all. I've started the pile.
karen

"J Kolenovsky" wrote in message
...
I would think they might really mean to say, "Throw the stuff in a pile
and let it sit". Or" grind it up and pile in a bin" The material will
compost fairly well in the temperate area you're in. As it breaks down,
it'll have a tendency to tend towards neutral ph. If you have avid
lovers and rhodies, you should be in good shape.

JK


AnonnyMoose wrote:

Well, so far all the replies say "compost." Easy enough. I've got compost
bins set up for my other green material, so I'll just have to incorporate
this stuff. But I'm wondering if I should compost this separately since
I'm
thinking it will be awfully acidic when it breaks down. I could use it for
mulching the rhodies and acid loving plants. Any thoughts on that?

I'm near Portland, OR, so it's not too cold. Jan lives up in Alaska, where
I
used to live, and that's what she was referring to.

karen

"J Kolenovsky" wrote in message
...
Wow, that could hurt at BM time.

Find a corner and build a bin and let this material compost down. I take
it from Jan's post, your up in the colder areas. If true, chop up into
smaller pieces, build a big pile and let it be for a long time and it
will cold compost. May take up to a year but will be totally worth it.

http://www.barc.usda.gov/anri/sasl/compost.html

JK

AnonnyMoose wrote:

How can I use this stuff?

The needles are falling from the redwoods, cedar, Grand Fir, Douglas Fir
and
Ponderosa Pine that grow in an island in my yard. The oak leaves are
starting to fall too. There is just too much to leave it all under the
trees. It will bury everything growing beneath! I'd like to leave some
under, but what can I do with the rest? We were blowing it all out and
tossing it, but that seems a waste of good material. I could mow it up
with
the mulching blades and spread it around the other beds. Or should I
stack
it all in a pile and compost it? Suggestions?

Karen

--
J. Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
ô¿ô - http://www.celestialhabitats.com - business
ô¿ô - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/personal.html - personal

--
J. Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
ô¿ô - http://www.celestialhabitats.com - business
ô¿ô - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/personal.html - personal

If you get your "greens and browns" right, compost will get good
and hot, even up here in the Frozen North(tm). I was doing start
to finished compost in 3 weeks this spring. (Spring weather up
here runs ~40F. more or less.)

Marion Owen on Kodiak Island, AK has a website (and newsletter)
that talks about compost in colder climates. (Alaskans don't think
of this as a cold climate, since so many Alaskans work at McMurdo
Station in Antarctica. *That* is a cold climate. So is working on
a crew that's drilling ice cores for climate studies on the ice cap
in Greenland.) Our area is downright tropical in comparison (!)

Jan

In article , wrote:

Wow, that could hurt at BM time.

Find a corner and build a bin and let this material compost down. I take
it from Jan's post, your up in the colder areas. If true, chop up into
smaller pieces, build a big pile and let it be for a long time and it
will cold compost. May take up to a year but will be totally worth it.

http://www.barc.usda.gov/anri/sasl/compost.html

JK


AnonnyMoose wrote:
=

How can I use this stuff?
=

The needles are falling from the redwoods, cedar, Grand Fir, Douglas Fi=
r and
Ponderosa Pine that grow in an island in my yard. The oak leaves are
starting to fall too. There is just too much to leave it all under the
trees. It will bury everything growing beneath! I'd like to leave some
under, but what can I do with the rest? We were blowing it all out and
tossing it, but that seems a waste of good material. I could mow it up =
with
the mulching blades and spread it around the other beds. Or should I st=
ack
it all in a pile and compost it? Suggestions?
=

Karen

-- =

J. Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.celestialhabitats.com - business
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/personal.html - personal