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Some of the leaves had been mowed with grass, so had the greens and the browns already mixed, just as I wanted. But there were several bags of dry, unchopped leaves. I emptied six bags into this 4'x4' enclosure, layering three bags of each.
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I stacked eleven bags of chopped leaves/grass clippings on one side of the bin.
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And six bags of chopped leaves/grass clippings on the other side of the bin. As the ones in the bin compact down, I can begin adding these.
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Five more bags, some chopped and some not, are waiting to find a place to live for the winter.
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As well as another stack of what looks to be 10-11 bags of mostly unchopped leaves.
All told, she had brought over about 38-40 big bags of leaves. I was wanting maybe 8-10 bags. While I was moving and stacking them today, she hollered over and asked if I wanted more. NO! NO! NO! Thank you, but NO!
I wanted to spread the remaining leaves on the garden then till them in, but Mr. Granny refuses to help me get the tiller out and started. I guess I'll hope for a warm winter day when I can try to get it started myself. We're expecting cold days and possible snow this week.
That's a LOT of leaves! Good luck in putting them to use. If not, makes a good Christmas gift--har har.....
ReplyDelete;D
LOL, Sue. I'll make sure Santa picks them up and deposits them under your tree :-)
DeleteHow wonderful! Is this the neighbor with the weeds against your fence? Leaves compost down to almost nothing, so hopefully you will make use of them all.
ReplyDeleteLangela, yes this be *she*! Although she did dig out all the weeds and plant rhododendrons. The mixed grass/leaves should even compost in the bags if there's not enough room in the bin, but I do wish I had them either tilled in or spread on the beds and covered with manure.
DeleteYou are lucky to get the ones mixed with grass clippings. That never happens to me. I would love that. Though I guess I should be careful what I ask for. I might get it.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, I covet those mixed ones, especially since I know she doesn't use chemicals on her lawn. I had to use my *thing* to hold them though, so I'll have to make another one before I plant spinach and beets next spring. The netting was ripping from the weight of the leaves, so the filled bags around the outside serve another purpose, holding everything together.
DeleteI just had to comment because I did the EXACT SAME THING TODAY!! I've left my grass to grow for a month now and let the leaves fall on the grass for a while. Today I could take it no longer and I put the bag on the mower and collected all the chopped grass and leaves and spread it on my beds. I didn't have enough from my small lawn so I went over and asked several of my neighbors if I could mow their grass/leaves tomorrow. I'm sure they thought I wanted to get paid because they kind of hesitated but I assured them that I only wanted their free mulch LOL
ReplyDeleteShannan, that's what I'm going to do with those unchopped leaves. I'll let the grass grow for another week, then spread them on my back yard and mow using the grass catcher. There will be lots of grass clippings mixed with them, so they should be able to go right on the beds with no tilling and not blow back over to the neighbor's. I don't think she wants them back, LOL
DeleteI am so jealous! I'd love to have this many bags of leaves for my garden and compost. Hmm...how far away are you? I'll even help you till.
ReplyDeleteAlison, would you believe she had at least that many more bags set out for the garbage truck to pick up this morning? She'll be mowing and picking them up at least weekly, as long as it doesn't snow. The huge sycamores have just begun to drop their leaves, so she has a lot more to look forward to. I've always missed out on getting those leaves, with us going to AZ in October, and they don't really start falling until November. When Pat lived there she'd always throw a half dozen bags over the fence for me, so I'd at least have them in the spring.
DeleteYou are going to have some beautiful stuff soon, your garden will love it!
ReplyDeleteErin, if I just had a load of poo to top it off with, I could probably grow a ton of veggies next year!
DeleteAll I can say is WOW!!! The few we brought home from our sons today is a drop in the bucket compared to yours! Nancy
ReplyDeleteNancy, I'm lucky to have it all delivered right over the back fence! There's just so much, it's a bit overwhelming. I remember reading a newspaper article years ago about a couple who dug in loads and loads of leaves in the fall, and that's all the "food" they gave their gorgeous and very productive veggie garden. No chemicals, no manures, no compost. Just leaves.
DeleteWe usually have tons of leaves, and I want to make use of them. Is there any beds they should not go on? I thought I had read potatoes or something did not grow well if the leaves had not completely composted. Do you know the answer to this?
ReplyDeleteShawn Ann, I know manure has to be well composted to use on potato beds, but I really don't know about leaves. I haven't found a problem with them. In fact, the year I grew them in a raised bed I incorporated a bunch of chopped leaves just before planting and had great potatoes. I do add a bit of granular organic fertilizer that's a bit higher in nitrogen, to replace what is being used in the breakdown of the leaves.
DeleteGranny, I am loving your picture at the top! Those butternuts are hilarious!
ReplyDeleteYou may have gotten too many leaves, but at least you have some! We have literally zero trees in our neighborhood, let alone any grass. I have to go out and steal leaves like Daphne!
Good luck composting all that! It is gonna be gorgeous!
Ashlee, I have zero leafy trees, too. Just pine trees and one little flowering plum that doesn't drop enough leaves to fill a bucket. In my perfect world the leaves would be on the beds right now and covered with composted manure. Unfortunately, I still haven't found the pickup I want to buy to haul the manure!
DeleteWhat's really nice around here In the Lower Mainland of BC is that we have weekly curbside green pickup, you have to put your green waste in paper bags or designated garbage bins, so if there's any lack of leaves in my yard I can go out before garbage day and collect the leaves from the neigbours already bagged up and ready to go. I'm proud to say that this year, I recycled any and all of my greenwaste back into my yard!! Clippings left on the lawn and leaves bagged and ready for sheet mulch in the spring.
ReplyDeleteHeather, I do wish our city would do that. My neighbor's leaves go into the black plastic bags and out to the landfill. During the fall and early winter she probably has up to 50 bags of them each week! I should have taken a photo of her curbside on Thursday, you wouldn't believe how many bags she had stacked there over and above all the ones she put over the fence for me. I wish I had a larger area for composting!
DeleteWow, and I thought the twenty bags I brought home were a lot! It's more work for sure, but you are lucky to have all those leaves! I bet they help you break the produce record next season!
ReplyDeleteNutmeg, the hardest work will be spreading the unchopped leaves on my lawn and mowing and bagging them. I do wish she had only given me the chopped ones, as she did end up later mowing a bunch in her front yard.
DeleteYou may not have to till them in at all. Have you ever read Ruth Stout's books? If not get you hands on "Gardening Without Work", in the library or Amazon. She just layered mulch on top of everything and never tilled. Love your blog. I just had my lawn guy do the same thing with our leaves and grass, he empties the mover bag directly into the garden.
ReplyDeleteLana, I have read Ruth Stout, and at one time did try just mulching and not digging, but it wasn't visually pleasing to me. I love growing a garden, but I want it to be a feast for the eye as well as the belly! I like neat, weedless paths, with curves and clusters and colors. My eyes overrule my good sense. I normally do not till. Last spring I did, as I had a new garden area. I usually just layer the amendments on top of my planting areas (not the pathways) and then turn them in with a shovel, or scratch them in with a hand cultivator. With all these leaves, I will probably till again next spring. Of course, that depends on how well they break down during the winter.
Deleteoh my that is a lot of leaves!
ReplyDeleteYes it is, Mrs. P. It certainly is! There are a lot more where they came from.
DeleteGranny, I always collect at least 75-100 bags, but I do make alot of compost, too. You'll use them - trust me....
ReplyDeleteHey, Poopyhead, where have you been? Yes, I know I'll use them. The bin is already heating up and beginning to settle a bit. The chopped leaves/grass mix should compost right there in the black plastic bags. I just need to get the dry leaves chopped up now.
DeleteI wished my neighbor would give me about 40 bags of leaves and grass clippings! I hope you're doing great, Granny!
ReplyDeleteI'm doing as well as could be expected in cold, rainy weather Greg! LOL, I want to be outside, and I want it to be 70 degrees and sunny!
DeleteGood score! - I've had to raid the neighbors leaves since my tress came down in the big storm of 2012.
ReplyDeleteDavid, same here since our maple tree blew down in 2008!
DeleteI was thinking of you this past weekend as I was raking my leaves over my strawberry plants...leaves, leaves, everywhere! :-)
ReplyDeleteFarmers Wife, I'm just waiting for a dry day to dump the whole leaves on the lawn and chop them, then I'll be dumping those on my strawberries too.
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