What did you do in the garden today?

[Guvnah]

Finished spreading those leaves....my only fear is that I've spread them too deeply and they won't compost as much as I think they will before spring. Only time will tell....

I don't want to poop on your parade, but I suspect those leaves won't decompose enough by spring. But I'll say this: When you rake them into a compost pile in the spring, the lower layer will be full of worms. Leave some of that in place and till it in. The rest you will have to pile up in a corner somewhere, and let it compost through the summer. You'll get a lot of worms in the raked pile too, and the results will be magnificent.

As the summer progresses, you can start using it as mulch around your tomatoes and corn and other larger veggie plants. It will be heavy and wet, so not suited for mulching smaller stuff, but your tomatoes will love it. My corn always thrives with heavy mulching, and stuff like that is super for that. By next fall it will be perfect to till it all in.

What you have done is the best investment you can make for your garden!

 

[lazy gardener]

You might want to view the Back to Eden film to get an idea of what Bee is accomplishing here. Yes, leaves are an incredible investment in the soil. Black gold.

 

[LittleLakePhil]

LG could you please repost the link to BTE....I want to watch it again...Phil

 

[lazy gardener]

Here it is: http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/

enjoy. I'm continuing to work on converting my garden. I've moved almost 14 cu. yds. onto the orchard and starting the garden. Gotten down to bare soil where the first load was dumped. The soil there is heavy clay subsoil. But, where soil interfaces with the mulch, there's already a very small layer of black humus. (stuff was dumped in June) My plan is to soil test that area, as well as a comparable section of sub soil that has been left naked/allowed to grow up to weeds, and some of my bare garden. Then, I'll have a data base to work with as the BTE gets going in the orchard and garden next year. Also building up DL in the chicken run. Same nasty clay subsoil there. But already seeing evidence of earthworms moving into that soil, and the very beginnings of some black humus at the soil/mulch interface. Thankfully, my garden is nice sandy loam. So... that should respond very well. The orchard will be especially challenging, b/c the water table is very high there, and the soil, if you can even call it that is not at all condusive to planting fruit trees. Last fall, I mired the truck up to front and back bumpers in muck where the orchard sits. (needed AAA to winch me out) Now, even with the last 5.5" rain storm, the mulched orchard handled the water well. Time will tell how the trees respond to the sub-optimal condition there.

 

[LittleLakePhil]

We have all sand here...I guess I'm glad because it seems like sand is easier to work with...keep up the good work I'm sure you'll be rewarded

 

[lazy gardener]

Took the truck to church this morning. On the way, I prayed, "Lord, all of my efforts to get bagged leaves have been a bust. Can you help me with that??" Passed a lady out raking, with about 15 bags leaning up against her trees. So, I spun the truck around, and went back. She had a lot of them already spoken for, and the bags were divided into piles for the various recipients. But, she said, "I think we'll have some extras." So she called her friend over, they conferred and decided they could spare 5 bags. Well, that's a start. Seems that she was in the HS graduating class with my hubby. Then, after I told her what I was using them for, she said, "We'll have more when we do the back yard". I gave her my number and promised her a doz. eggs if she has a nice heap for me. Then, several miles later, I spied a house surrounded with huge trees, and a bunch of leaf bags sitting about 30' from the road. No one in sight... so I marched up to the door, and knocked. No answer in spite of cars in the yard, so I turned to leave just as a little old lady opened the door. "I know why you're here! You want my leaves! Usually, I have lots of people taking them, but no one has asked yet this year." So, I gave her my number, and told her I'd take all she'd let me have. Promised a dozen eggs in exchange. She said she'd not let any one else have them, and save them for me... "OH, by the way, I usually have a hundred bags!" All this within 9 miles of my house! Ask and you shall receive, pressed down, heaped up, and flowing over.

 

[Beekissed]

AMEN!!!! Isn't God wonderful???

That's how I got mine too!!!! Prayed for help, got it x 250!

 

[Beekissed]

Here it is: http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/

enjoy. I'm continuing to work on converting my garden. I've moved almost 14 cu. yds. onto the orchard and starting the garden. Gotten down to bare soil where the first load was dumped. The soil there is heavy clay subsoil. But, where soil interfaces with the mulch, there's already a very small layer of black humus. (stuff was dumped in June) My plan is to soil test that area, as well as a comparable section of sub soil that has been left naked/allowed to grow up to weeds, and some of my bare garden. Then, I'll have a data base to work with as the BTE gets going in the orchard and garden next year. Also building up DL in the chicken run. Same nasty clay subsoil there. But already seeing evidence of earthworms moving into that soil, and the very beginnings of some black humus at the soil/mulch interface. Thankfully, my garden is nice sandy loam. So... that should respond very well. The orchard will be especially challenging, b/c the water table is very high there, and the soil, if you can even call it that is not at all condusive to planting fruit trees. Last fall, I mired the truck up to front and back bumpers in muck where the orchard sits. (needed AAA to winch me out) Now, even with the last 5.5" rain storm, the mulched orchard handled the water well. Time will tell how the trees respond to the sub-optimal condition there.

Maybe the wood chips will start to absorb and change the nature of that ground? Paul G. of BTE fame, said that the wood chips seem to keep the soil more evenly moist by absorbing excess fluid when it was very wet and preserving more fluid when it's very dry, so you may get some good results by adding the wood chips to act as a sponge there.

Hey...had an idea for the extra bags of leaves I've got. I think I'll put push in stakes and deer netting~we have scads of it here~around each tree and empty some leaves in there. Then I'll take some from areas of the garden where they are piled up too thick and spread them more evenly into the area that doesn't have any leaves and also empty enough bags in there to get an even 10-12 in. across the entire garden. I should have plenty of leaves for the fruit trees if I do that.

I never could fathom getting 16 in. of wood chips to place around 8 trees in a big enough area to cover the drip line....but the Holy Spirit gave me the idea to use the leaves. If I'm still here next year I'll make that a priority, getting leaves onto that soil, as well as the garden. I'll leave those pens up all year round so that, as I get material, I can add it into that DL around the trees~manure, old mulch hay, sawdust, etc. There's a sawmill about 10 mi. down the road, on the way to town, that sells bags of sawdust for $1.50 ea.

 

[lazy gardener]

How big are those bags? I think I can get 16 bags onto the truck at a time by using a tarp and some tie down straps. I have started banking the E/N/W sides of the cold frame. Will put a good layer in the old coop, in the run, and plan to put the rest around and on the HK mound.

 

[Beekissed]

Most are a standard large leaf bag, some folks have used the heavy, larger contractor bags. If you lay them on their sides, form rows and stack them in that manner, it makes it easier to strap them down with a ratchet strap pretty tightly. By the time we did our last day on the leaves, we had gotten pretty good at securing a load of slippery bags, some light in weight, some heavy, which makes for a shifting load, particularly when you compress them and then the bags would slip out from under the ropes, bungees, etc. So, we learned to use the ratchet straps first and then ropes and bungees to secure edges and such.