Saturday, October 31, 2009

My Garden at Rest
















So as you can imagine, since it is Fall, the leaves are falling. Obvious statement, right. Well, what most of us don't realize is that the very leaves that fall from our trees are packed full of nutrients for our yards. Just look at the forests in the US. The soil under that canape of trees is some of the richest soil anywhere. Why, because of all the organic matter that is produced and not removed. I'm not saying that we should never rake our leaves or clean them out of the road. If we did that, we would have a lot of upset neighbors. What I am saying is that why not use them to dress our gardens. I did this last year with some success. The problem I ran into was that I did not shred my leaves fine enough, so they didn't break down nearly as fast as I wanted. Last year, I used my leaf blower (I don't know why they call them this since I was not blowing but sucking the leafs), and it didn't shred the leafs well enough. This year I mowed them...twice! And they got really fine. So I am expecting them to break down much faster. A couple of days ago, my next-door-neighbor wanted to be really nice and mow up all of our leaves. He DIDN'T get far. I ran outside and asked him not to mow them, so that I could...I wanted to keep them... As you can imagine, he just gave me this funny look, and said "okay". So here we are. I want to expand my veggie garden, so I will be doing something similar to Lasagna Gardening, developed by Patricia Lanza. We will see how I do. In the garden now is a lone Arugula plant and some Broccoli plants. so my garden is not at complete rest!

11 comments:

Daphne Gould said...

I'm having fun mowing my leaves too. Well maybe not fun, but I do like the idea of collecting all the shredded leaves. I use them to compost all the summer green material. I think next year I'm going to mulch my paths with them too.

Zach said...

Oh that is a Great idea. I never thought about that. IDK what your paths are made of, but that would be awesome! Most of my leaves are down now, off the trees. So I will have to get them from my neighbors!

Roses and Lilacs said...

Hi Zach, nice to see you again. I go overboard when it comes to leaves. I pick them up along the curbs as well as mowing and composting my own. Hard to believe so many people rake and bag them up neatly for me;) Besides compost, the make excellent mulch in summer.
Marnie

Zach said...

Marnie,
Hahaha, you sound like me. I remember one year, my mom and went out and swept up all the leaves in the curb. On both sides and like a fourth of the block. Those are some of the best nutrients for the soil! Can't agree more!

Zachary and Jennifer said...

Thanks for stopping by our blog! I was thinking of putting up some end of season garden pictures up too.

Jennifer

Anonymous said...

Hi Zach, gotta love those leaves! Chopping them does really make them break down faster too. How funny about your neighbor, just trying to be helpful. That mix of leaves and grass clipping is the best yet, green and brown material.
Frances

Don said...

Hi Zach, thanks for visiting my blog. You asked me some questions about chickens and different breeds, etc. I think you will like having a few hens around to entertain and lay eggs. Check out chicken tractors for keeping them safe and out of your tomatoes!

If you want good layers, I would go with Rhode Island Reds, if you want interesting looking birds and eggs, look at light brahmas or polish cresteds. Green egg layers are Ameracaunas and they come in a variety of colors.

Contrary to things I have seen on the internet, chickens will tear up your gardens and eat your veggies!

God luck!

Zach said...

Frances:
I know, it was really nice of my neighbor to offer to mow up my leaves, but I am a selfish person and want them all to my self.

Don:
You are amazing! I am so glad you responded. I was thinking of having my chickens in another part of the yard, away from my garden. Cause I know that they will eat up all of my goodies! Thanks for the suggestion of breeds and things. They will be put to good use! Now just to convince my parents in agreeing with me.

Anonymous said...

I put my garden to bed today, and it was so enjoyable to be out in the warmth and sunshine in November. I still have lots of flowers though, who would have believed it this late!

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The Neuff said...

It's sad, but things will always be reborn :) that was nice of your neighbor too by the way.