[Ag-eq] Autumn Leaves

Sun May 12 17:09:39 UTC 2013

Jewel:

Great article.

To bad I don't have any leaves!  I have an Arizona pine trea and some citris
trees, which don't drop their leaves like the oaks, maples and such.

We are gearing up for summer and have already had a couple of 3 digit days.  I'm
having to water more often and will soon have to everyday.

Nella

Quoting Jewel <jewelblanch at kinect.co.nz>:

> I know that your seasons are opposite to mine;  you are part way through
> Spring while New Zealand is part way through autumn/fall, but you might like
> to put this little article away and pull it out when autumn does come around
> for you, which, take my word for it, it will.
>
>        Jewel
> AUTUMN LEAVES
> For some home owners, autumn leaf fall is a curse, another chore to rake them
> up and clear the gutters.
> For a number of others, leaf fall is a blessing and they gladly collect the
> leaves to make leaf mould.
> Leaf mould is excellent for improving soil, also as a lawn conditioner and
> mulch over gardens.
> It can be used in seed raising mixes and potting mixes.
> Leaf mould is easy to make, its free with a little effort on your part and
> its a good substitute for peat moss in your gardens.
>
> Also if you have bare vegetable or flower gardens either leave the leaves as
> a cover over the area or place a good layer over the gardens yourself.
> Sprinkle garden Lime over the leaves then spray them with Thatch Busta which
> will help break down the mat of leaves, getting the gardens ready for spring.
> This cover of the leaves will prevent a lot of weeds from growing in the bare
> gardens.
> Now to make your own leaf mould with what is left or what you can collect
> from else where.
> There are two ways to do this and one is much faster than the other.
> The fast way is to lay some leaves over a flat area of lawn an inch or two
> thick and the with your rotary mower adjusted to the lowest setting run over
> the leaves with your catcher on.
> Repeat this with another layer of leaves and so on.
> When your catcher is ready to empty, open a black plastic rubbish bag and put
> a few handfuls of leaves and any grass clippings into the bottom of the bag.
> Sprinkle over the leaves a handful of garden lime and then spray with Thatch
> Busta at 10 ml per litre. (If you don't have Thatch Busta but have Mycorrcin,
> then use it at 15mls per litre.)
> Now add a few more handfuls of mashed up leaves and repeat the lime and
> spraying.
> Press down when bag is full to compress the material and then you can add a
> lot more.
> Finally when the bag is full enough to still be able to tie off, tie the top
> and with a small nail or thin blade screw driver punch lots of small holes
> all over the bag.
> Toss the bag into a sunny out of the way area and leave for a month or so.
> After a few weeks pick up the bag, give it a shake and put it back with a
> different side facing upwards.
> Repeat this about every month or so.
> The bag will appear to have more space in it as the material coverts to leaf
> mould.
> Within about 6 months you should have a lovely crumbly product that smells
> good.
> The sprinkling of lime is important as the leaves that fall are acidic and
> you want them sweet so the bacteria will work breaking them down to mould.
> The Thatch Busta or Mycorrcin is also very important as they supply the food
> that increases the microbe populations which speeds up the process.
> The alternative method is to place the leaves into a rubbish bag without
> using a rotary mower to break them up. Otherwise the lime and spray are used
> between layers and tied off as above.
> This way will take at least twice as long to get your leaves into good leaf
> mold (say about a year)
> Without the lime and Thatch Busta/Mycorrcin then about two years.
> If you are not able to clear the leaves and are going to leave them where
> they fall, then the best thing to do after they have finish falling is to
> sprinkle some garden lime over them and spray with Thatch Busta.
> Repeat the Thatch Busta spray every month or so to speed up break down.
> If you haven't planted your spring bulbs yet then you should get cracking
> now.
> If you are planting a bed of bulbs then sprinkle the area with Rok Solid and
> Bone Flower.
> If you cant find bone flower use blood & bone.
> Rake the two products into the bed then plant your bulbs.
> Remember to place the tallest growing spring flowers at the back or if a bed
> in the open place tall growing ones in the centre.
> The shortest growing will be in the front.
> Rather than having a bare bed for a while till the spring bulbs emerge, plant
> some alyssum and lobelia seedlings. They will make a nice ground cover over
> the winter and a lovely back drop for your flowering bulbs.
> Don't forget to protect tender plants from frost. Spray with Vaporgard and if
> there happens to be two or more frosts in a row, night after night then cover
> plants with frost cloth or sack/newspaper)
> Winter time plants hate wet feet but they may still need an occasional drink
> during periods of no rain.
> Container plants not in the open will occasionally need a drink also; best to
> wait till they start to droop from lack of moisture then give them a small
> drink.
> Plants like citrus trees in open ground that detest wet feet should be
> sprayed with Perfection to prevent root rots in winter.
>
>
> Garden Gloves of Geraldine Stock the following items mentioned in this
> article
>
> Thatch Busta
>
> Mycorrcin
>
> Rok Solid
>
> Vaporgard or Spray on Frost Cloth
>
> Perkfection.
>
>
>
> Email graham at garden-gloves.co.nz for an order form
>
>
>
>
> Problems ring me at 0800 466464 (Palmerston North 3570606)
>
>
>
>
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