What do you do with fallen leaves in garden?

[threebikesmcginty]

Anyway, leaves.... erm... rake em up and burn 'em, or simply leave them where they are.

You'd use a leaf blower surely?!!

 

[sheddy]

Black sacks, but check occasionally that they don't dry out

 

[buddha]

Run through them like a 5 year old

Beware! There be fox poop lurking under them leaves.
I know from experience

 

[GrahamNR17]

Make a big cylinder shape with some plastic mesh and stand it in the corner of your garden. Fill it with leaves. No need to cover it. It'll make lovely leaf mould.

 

[Fnaar]

You'd use a leaf blower surely?!!

Gawd bless yer memory, 3bm... only to blow them into the fire... thinking of raking leaves etc this afternoon, if it disnae rain...

 

[rich p]

Gawd bless yer memory, 3bm... only to blow them into the fire... thinking of raking leaves etc this afternoon, if it disnae rain...

Is that when it rains Walt-er?

 

[Fnaar]

Is that when it rains Walt-er?

I spent yesterday evening having a beer with a friend from Glazgee... I'm even thinking in Scottish this mairning

 

[threebikesmcginty]

My daughter came out with another of her celebrated 'doctor doctor' jokes this morning.

Doctor doctor I kept think about Bambi, Snow White and Mickey Mouse.

And how long have you been having these Disney spells?......groan

 

[JamesAC]

... or have a discrete pee and dilute it in a gallon of water and pour that over it- it won't smell!.

.. but only if you're a bloke. lady pee doesn't cut the mustard.

 

[mad al]

I hadn't raked up fallen leaves until today as there were still a lot of the tree and so would only have to do it again. I really hoped the wind would blow all of them into a neat pile for me to just bag or something.

Half the leaves have been put into bin liners & I was going to make holes in them & put behind the shed over the winter. A few have been spread over the poor soil in my front garden. Is that a good thing to do?

Well I just leave them where they "fall"

 

[Weegie]

Run through them like a 5 year old

+1. I run through them like a 5 year old, with my 4 year old chasing me. Life is great.

 

[Randochap]

In the composter with the kitchen and other yard scraps.

 

[threefingerjoe]

How to compost:
1. build 2 compost bins, about 4' x 4' x 4' and place them side by side.
2. grind leaves with lawnmower or leaf vac. Ground leaves will decompose much faster than whole leaves.
3. if you didn't use a leaf vac, then put a bagger on your lawnmower and vacuum up the ground leaves.
4. LAYER the leaves in your compost bins with green matter, such as grass clippings, kitchen waste, such as banana peels, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bags, (NO MEAT, NO SEEDS OR PITS) and soil. ie, a layer of leaves, layer of grass clippings, layer of soil, another layer of leaves, etc.
5. when layering, wet each layer. Keep the pile moist.
6. Turn over every few days...easy if you have 2 bins. Shovel from 1 bin into the other.

For the decomposition process to work properly, Carbon (dry plant material, such as leaves) and Nitrogen (green plant material) should ideally, be in equal portions. The soil that you added will supply the bacteria needed to start the process. Oxygen will be supplied by turning. Keep it moist. You will know that the decomposition process is working, if you can dig into the pile and feel heat. It can get VERY warm during this process. The pile will "cook" down over time.

One of the problems can be that you rarely have equal portions of Nitrogen and Carbon. You have grass clippings in the summer, and dry leaves in winter. Sooo...you can substitute some fertiliser or dried blood meal (high in Nitrogen) to help break down the leaves.