BS: How big is your

Subject: BS: How big is your
From: frogprince
Date: 05 Nov 10 - 11:33 PM

... LEAF PILE? .

The picture really doesn't quite do our's justice; it spreads at least that far in all directions. Besides these, I blew about as many of the neighbor's leaves back over to his property. If I ever plant any trees in a yard of my own, they'll be evergreens.
      
                      Dean, tired.

Subject: RE: BS: How big is your
From: Amergin
Date: 05 Nov 10 - 11:36 PM

We never had a leaf pile growing up....we always used them to help hide the defunct automobiles, tools, scattered lumber piles and scrap metal that we always kept in the yard....

Subject: RE: BS: How big is your
From: katlaughing
Date: 05 Nov 10 - 11:43 PM

I love it...love leaf piles, but it reminds of part of an old joke, God On The Subject of Lawns:

...Elohim: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to enhance the soil. It's a natural circle of life.

ST. FRANCIS: You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away.

Elohim: No. What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter and to keep the soil moist and loose?

ST. FRANCIS: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.

Elohim: And where do they get this mulch?

ST. FRANCIS: They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.

Subject: RE: BS: How big is your
From: Little Hawk
Date: 06 Nov 10 - 11:49 AM

Bravo!

Subject: RE: BS: How big is your
From: gnu
Date: 06 Nov 10 - 11:57 AM

I spread em around, wait until they're dry and mow them.

Tip... never mow toward anything you don't want catching on fire.

Subject: RE: BS: How big is your
From: frogprince
Date: 06 Nov 10 - 12:56 PM

going, going... almost gone

I tried leaving them, and mowing them, a few years ago, when there weren't nearly as many. We barely had any front lawn the next spring.
The pile was approx 50 feet in circumference this time.

Subject: RE: BS: How big is your
From: gnu
Date: 06 Nov 10 - 01:47 PM

Ya should burn em in smaller piles. A big pile like that can cause too much heat which may damage the grass roots.

Subject: RE: BS: How big is your
From: Charley Noble
Date: 06 Nov 10 - 02:14 PM

We haul ours away to the transfer station where they are composted.

Of course we haven't raked them up yet this year!

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: How big is your
From: Bill D
Date: 06 Nov 10 - 02:28 PM

We have a LOT of trees. The county collects them with big vacuum trucks.. If I didn't blow/rake 'most' of them, I'd have no lawn. I don't try to get every one, just the larger mass. My grass always seems fine.
We are just beginning to get serious shedding of leaves....I made one pass in back with the blower, trying to works between rains.

Subject: RE: BS: How big is your
From: ClaireBear
Date: 06 Nov 10 - 02:34 PM

About 30 acres...

Subject: RE: BS: How big is your
From: olddude
Date: 06 Nov 10 - 03:56 PM

Raked a big pile, the big leaf sucker truck took them away ... YUP .. then the wind kicked in last week. All the neighbors leafs ... YUP ... got a pile more to rake ...

Subject: RE: BS: How big is your
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 06 Nov 10 - 04:15 PM

I tend to leave them where they lie. Looks better that way.

Subject: RE: BS: How big is your
From: Tannywheeler
Date: 06 Nov 10 - 04:50 PM

...and if anyone asks, it's McGrath's contribution to organic, eco-friendly planet care. Good job M. We have few trees & occasional stiff breezes. They don't pile up much anywhere. Our grass/weeds get pretty well-grown, we cut that down once in a while & scatter it in the henhouse & chicken yard. The chickens LOVE the Johnsongrass seeds. Tw

Subject: RE: BS: How big is your
From: Rapparee
Date: 06 Nov 10 - 09:38 PM

I toss some back on the golf course and mow up the others the last time I cut the grass (last Wednesday).

We still have rosebuds the come into bloom!

Subject: RE: BS: How big is your
From: Bobert
Date: 06 Nov 10 - 10:02 PM

You call that a leaf pile, f-prince??? Heck, I already burned a pile of marijuana that big in my pipe this evenin'...

You want leaves you come down here to my farm... I gotta a pile of' um' that is so big that NASA scientist been up to look at it 'cause if you got the right gear you can drive up to the moon with a 4-wheeler on it... Sho nuff can... Been up there a couple times myself... Gotta take extra gas and sweaters but, hey...

Subject: RE: BS: How big is your
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Nov 10 - 12:17 AM

It's a waste of time to bag them or rake them, and it's foolish to burn them. The best thing you can do is leave them where they are and mulch them in with your mower.

Dirt Doctor advice on leaf management.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: How big is your
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 07 Nov 10 - 07:50 AM

We used to mulch some of them with the mower, but with 5 old oaks (not to mention the neighbours' trees) on less than 1/2 acre, we had more leaves than the mower could cope with.

so we had one of these....

DIY compost bin

Add egg shells, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable peelings... great stuff for the vegetable plot.

Love the suburban cycle of life story Kat...

Subject: RE: BS: How big is your
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 07 Nov 10 - 08:22 PM

Gotta tell ya, that person with the joke 'God on the Subject of Lawns' is more self-righteous than helpful. This joke says

Elohim: What in the world is going on down there in the U.S.? What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I started eons ago? ... Those plants grow in any type of soil,withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But all I see are these green rectangles.

that's all wrong. Dandelions, most thistles, and violets are Eurasian invaders. If you want natives birds and bugs, you need native plants, almost all of which have been supplanted by these aggressive weeds.

I grow native plants in my garden and at my church. All the native plants need mothering.

This is not to say that I go for lawns, however. When my leaves fall, I spread them over the damn violets.