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#1
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fallen leaves as mulch
It sounds lazy, but I was wondering if piling leaves upon bulb beds, shrub
beds, etc is beneficial at all or is it necessary to mulch completely? thanks, Pati |
#2
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Its best to either compost it or run it through a shredder first.
"Pati Rock" wrote in message news:_w4nd.12765$tI3.9725@trndny01... It sounds lazy, but I was wondering if piling leaves upon bulb beds, shrub beds, etc is beneficial at all or is it necessary to mulch completely? thanks, Pati |
#3
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Pati Rock wrote:
It sounds lazy, but I was wondering if piling leaves upon bulb beds, shrub beds, etc is beneficial at all or is it necessary to mulch completely? thanks, Pati I do it without shredding. It's great around roses, camellias, azaleas, and other shrubs. In the summer, this keeps the soil cool and moist, reducing the amount of watering I have to do. But you have to be careful about not covering desirable plants. It's too easy to smother low-growing plants (e.g., ground cover). Be sure that you don't pile the leaves higher than small bulbs can grow. -- David E. Ross http://www.rossde.com/ I use Mozilla as my Web browser because I want a browser that complies with Web standards. See http://www.mozilla.org/. |
#4
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Pati Rock wrote:
It sounds lazy, but I was wondering if piling leaves upon bulb beds, shrub beds, etc is beneficial at all or is it necessary to mulch completely? Depends on how many leaves, what kind of weather you have in the winter, and what's growing there. There is no single, right answer. However, if you pile unshredded leaves high enough, the pile is going to be there longer than next spring. You may just be deferring work even if you're piling them on an empty bed that's waiting for annuals to be planted in spring. -- Warren H. ========== Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife. Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants to go outside now. Blatant Plug: Black & Decker Landscaping Tools & Parts: http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blackanddecker |
#5
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In article _w4nd.12765$tI3.9725@trndny01, "Pati Rock" wrote:
It sounds lazy, but I was wondering if piling leaves upon bulb beds, shrub beds, etc is beneficial at all or is it necessary to mulch completely? thanks, Pati Its what I do & the gardens certainly seem to benifit by it. With our wet temperate winters on Puget Sound, there's nothing left of the leaves but a few skeletons by early spring, it's all the world's best leafmold in no time. I was pleased to see one of our local television gardening stars on Gardening with Cisco in one episode going all "Oo-la-la!" at the joy of mulching with leaves in his garden in autumn, & giddily worried about those people who foolishly bag their leaves & sit them on the curb for the city compost. -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com |
#6
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"Pati Rock" wrote:
It sounds lazy, but I was wondering if piling leaves upon bulb beds, shrub beds, etc is beneficial at all or is it necessary to mulch completely? People who raise fig trees outdoors here in Pennsylvania build a barrier around their fig trees and fill the barrier with whole leaves to protect the fig trees during our winters. It works for figs. In the spring they must remove the leaves, so they compost them then. |
#7
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In article ,
"Cereus-validus..." wrote: Its best to either compost it or run it through a shredder first. But if you mix the leaves into the general heap of composted matter, you don't end up with leafmold, which is great stuff for the garden. And unless you have gigantic leaves there is no reason to shred. Extremely large leaves might function as a water barrier keeping the ground too dry in spots. Most of the leaves that fall in my yard are beeches, hornbeam, cherries, Japanese maples, oak -- & others all small enough to not need mulching. I get a few big leaves from a Bigleaf maple that's not in my yard but sheds into my yard, & these as much as I can manage I put on an area of tulip bulbs which can benefit from the slight ability of the largest leaves to provide a winter water barrier for a short while before breaking down into leafmold. I dunno how well it'd work in much colder areas where it takes longer for leaves to break down, but I would think fallen leaves would be the most natural mulch possible, anywhere where deciduous trees would be growing. -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com |
#8
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I do it without shredding.
But you have to be careful about not covering desirable plants. It's too easy to smother low-growing plants (e.g., ground cover). Be sure that you don't pile the leaves higher than small bulbs can grow. That's why it is best to shred the leaves. It prevents that problem from happening in the first place. "David Ross" wrote in message ... Pati Rock wrote: It sounds lazy, but I was wondering if piling leaves upon bulb beds, shrub beds, etc is beneficial at all or is it necessary to mulch completely? thanks, Pati I do it without shredding. It's great around roses, camellias, azaleas, and other shrubs. In the summer, this keeps the soil cool and moist, reducing the amount of watering I have to do. But you have to be careful about not covering desirable plants. It's too easy to smother low-growing plants (e.g., ground cover). Be sure that you don't pile the leaves higher than small bulbs can grow. -- David E. Ross http://www.rossde.com/ I use Mozilla as my Web browser because I want a browser that complies with Web standards. See http://www.mozilla.org/. |
#9
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Quote:
Piling new leaves on can rob the soil of nitrogen. You really need to rot the leaves into leaf mould for a year to make it beneficial. |
#10
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On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 16:58:34 GMT, "Pati Rock" wrote:
It sounds lazy, but I was wondering if piling leaves upon bulb beds, shrub beds, etc is beneficial at all or is it necessary to mulch completely? thanks, Pati The problem with this is that you need to remove the leaves as soon as the bulbs begin to sprout. Leaves make wonderful insulation. My father grew roses in Cleveland Ohio and used leaves to protect the plants from winter freezing. |
#11
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That's why it is best to shred the leaves. It prevents that problem from happening in the first place. God doesn't shred the leaves in the forest, I haven't seen Mother Nature out there doing it either ) Colleen Zone 5 CT |
#12
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GrampysGurl wrote:
God doesn't shred the leaves in the forest, I haven't seen Mother Nature out there doing it either ) Neither God nor Mother Nature plant in beds, either. Nor do they move the leaves into piles. If you want to use the logic that if God and Mother Nature don't do it that way, then there is no need to ever go out and do anything in your garden. Let God and Mother Nature take care of the weeding, pruning, soil amending, and plant propogation. -- Warren H. ========== Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife. Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants to go outside now. Blatant Plug: Black & Decker Landscaping Tools & Parts: http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blackanddecker |
#14
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What in the heck does god have to do with anything?
We are talking about a garden. A garden is something that is a completely artificial man-made environment. Most likely none of the plant you have in your garden would ever be found growing together naturally in the wild. "GrampysGurl" wrote in message ... That's why it is best to shred the leaves. It prevents that problem from happening in the first place. God doesn't shred the leaves in the forest, I haven't seen Mother Nature out there doing it either ) Colleen Zone 5 CT |
#15
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"GrampysGurl" wrote in message ... That's why it is best to shred the leaves. It prevents that problem from happening in the first place. God doesn't shred the leaves in the forest, I haven't seen Mother Nature out there doing it either ) Colleen Zone 5 CT God may not shred leaves in the forest or on the lawns in my neighborhood, but the wind sure does. It also blows leaves into great piles against fences, around houses and under TREES too. |
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