We've Moved
Shredded Leaves
With the recent blast of warm weather here in New Jersey, I've managed to finally finish closing my vegetable garden for the winter. Better late than never, I always say.
Not only do I like to add a heaping of compost to my raised beds every spring, I also like to add shredded leaves in fall. The shredded leaves serve as a mulch so that I don't loose too much of that easily workable, organic matter packed, garden soil.
And since my lazy neighbor's leaves have found a winter home by getting blown across the street into my yard, why not shred them. With my leaf blower configured to leaf vacuum mode, I sucked up a few bags full of leaves for the garden.
When spring comes, I'll just turn the shredded leaves over in the soil and that'll add even more organic matter to the mix. That means more worms, less watering and a host of other benefits. Shredded leaves are almost as good as finished compost.
Who says I never finish anything, my garden is now tucked in nicely for winter and the yard is cleaned up too. If you ignore the January part, I'm looking like an overachiever.
3 Comments:
Do you use any special equipment to shred your leaves? I gathered and stored copious amounts of leaves last (Southern Hemisphere) fall. I have them stored in black polythene bags but I fear it's going to take years for them to break down. I do use some as the brown layer in compost though.
Ki, Nice work! My mower died just as the grass stopped growing this fall/winter (nice timing) so I didn't have the option to shred with the mower. But it's nice to hear that my little blog is having some effect. :)