How many bags of leaves will you get this fall?

llama momma wrote:Finished collecting leaves and all the other ingredients for this season. 108 bags of leaves. This is about 40 bags less than last year.   Have (2)  six by eight foot leaf corrals still holding nearly three foot tall compressed leaves and leaf mold from last year.  Should be done with massive leaf collection for awhile.  Now it's time to fill five wooden pallet heaps. Let the fun and calorie burn begin.

audrey.jeanne.roberts wrote:So, am I the only one who drives through town and thinks I should have a leaf rake and bags in the car?!!!!

We are sick puppies, LOL!

slimbolen99 wrote:

I think a person could really do him or herself good to make friends with a lawn mowing business -- if they were willing to bag and deliver their lawn refuse to your door...that's one thing I'm working on this year.

slimbolen99 wrote:I guess as long as your neighbors or contributors aren't vampires, garlic would be a great idea!  To be honest, I don't ask, because it's on the curb, and when I'm collecting it (during the day), most of these folks aren't home.  Granted, making that personal connection might pay benefits in the end.  I do try and save the bags (if they weren't already damaged), and return them to their owner's front porch.  I guess I'm not one of those personable people.

I think a person could really do him or herself good to make friends with a lawn mowing business -- if they were willing to bag and deliver their lawn refuse to your door...that's one thing I'm working on this year.

llama momma wrote:Finished collecting leaves and all the other ingredients for this season. 108 bags of leaves. This is about 40 bags less than last year.   Have (2)  six by eight foot leaf corrals still holding nearly three foot tall compressed leaves and leaf mold from last year.  Should be done with massive leaf collection for awhile.  Now it's time to fill five wooden pallet heaps. Let the fun and calorie burn begin.

yolos wrote:

LM - Do you shred your leaves in the corals? I started to then stopped as my little shredder was too much work. Some donated bags last year were already shredded so I put those right into the newly made compost heaps.  All the rest of the bags with whole leaves were just tossed into the corrals.  Do you use any type of nitrogen to help break them down? Inside the corrals, I do not.  My corrals are for leaf storage only.  If nitrogen was added then it would become another compost heap and I don't need more heaps. My current # of 5 pallet heaps is enough.  How long does it take the leaves to break down into useable compost or leaf mold. In the corrals the leaves went in last Dec-Jan. and now there is a bottom layer of black crumbly leaf mold, so the time frame is about a year.  The other leaves that went into the compost heaps seem to take about a good 3-6 months - that's with care and attention- to break down nicely OR 1 month if I use the hot Berkely compost method. If I half arse things by just poking holes in the heaps for aeration, and let mother nature rain on it and no other help from me, then the compost heaps take closer to a year.  

plantoid wrote:

slimbolen99 wrote:I guess as long as your neighbors or contributors aren't vampires, garlic would be a great idea!  To be honest, I don't ask, because it's on the curb, and when I'm collecting it (during the day), most of these folks aren't home.  Granted, making that personal connection might pay benefits in the end.  I do try and save the bags (if they weren't already damaged), and return them to their owner's front porch.  I guess I'm not one of those personable people.

I think a person could really do him or herself good to make friends with a lawn mowing business -- if they were willing to bag and deliver their lawn refuse to your door...that's one thing I'm working on this year.

Be careful on this one ..
If the lawns have been weed and feed treated with a hormone weed killer , the cuttings will carry the strong traces of the weed killer for several months and kill your chances of growing anything  sown /planted in compost made from these cuttings .

 My own lawn weed and feed chemical label  says no composting of cuttings for 8 months after treatment and stated that there will be residual hormone weed control for up to two years later.


Even then I'll be keeping the cuttings in a separate compost bin and do some trial sowings in a couple of plant pots with it in before I put it in my veg & flower beds.

llama momma wrote:My lil' old opinion here -- 
The leaves could be used in different ways.  Here are a couple of ideas. It could all be tossed back into the compost, semi composted or not.  Or..
 
I have other plans to take the blackened portion and dig it into the non sfg flowerbeds to draw earthworms and good bacteria. Just read about this and I'm really excited.  This should help condition the soil that I nearly killed/ruined years ago from repeated use of miracle grow products. (pre organic and sfg days...) 
 
Also learned that leaf mold (black and crumbly material for those who don't know) is suppose to be a great substitute for peat moss. If I have enough this Spring I'd like to use it and mix with compost for my window boxes of flowers.  For years I bought bags of pre made stuff for my flower boxes and hope to be free of that expense.

llama momma wrote:Oak leaves are tough buggers Yolos, so its actually good to let them sit for a time.  There is an extra toughness to their coating that takes longer to break down.   I think someone mentioned earlier about getting their leaf mold tested?  Leaves in themselves don't have much nutrition.  As I understand it, Yes they provide food for the microbes, but it is mostly that very action of the microbes and bugs with the greens that does all the bio chemical magic that finally makes nutrients available to the veggies.  Worms come in later as compost settles down and add their fantastic castings.  I'm not speaking with authority here, just what I've picked up so far reading, reading, reading!