Last fall I mulched the garden with about 6" of leaves (rather than growing a green manure). The leaves have compacted into a mat and I don't know whether to rake it all up or try and till it under. I had thought the leaves would have been more decayed by now. I could also drag disk over the leaves and then till under. Any thoughts or opinions much appriciated.

-- Bob (STBARB@usa.net), March 03, 2000

Answers

Bob: Don't dispair. You are on the right track.What you are missing is time. Pat and I have been hauling 6-8 tons of leaves into our 40x120 garden each year for 10 years. We didn't get really deep, light soil until the third year. I tilled, raked and deep-dug to no avail. It just takes time. Good luck, John and Pat

-- John and Pat James (jjames@n-jcenter.com), March 03, 2000.

You are on exactly the right track. I prepare the soil for my garden in the fall, and bury it under leaves to winter over. When it is time to set the plants out, I go out with a spade, and open holes in that nice layer of mulch to set the plants out. After doing this for several years I can do this with a hand trowel, or in some cases, with my bare hands. For seed planting, I push the mulch aside, plant the seeds, and wait for them to come up. I then tuck the mulch back to the base of the plants. You now have a practically work free garden, full of worms and drought resistant.

-- Connie (Connie@lunehaven.com), March 03, 2000.

We've been living on our "homestead" for a little more than a year but we've owned the land for about 5yrs. Thirty yrs ago the land was the location of a junkyard/granite pit (rotten granite). The area we've selected as the garden area has no soil---only sand with little pepples of glass, misc. nuts, bolts, washers etc in it. Two yrs ago we had the city, located about three miles from us, haul in five 10- yard truckloads of leaves. We pushed them up into a pile and let them rot over the winter and most of the following summer, then spread them in the fall over this sandy area.

Last year we did the same thing but put about ten 1 ton truckloads of horse manure in with the leaves. In the spring we broke the pile up. It was not fully decomposed but it was much better than the year before. We used the loader and made four deep raised beds about 6 x 30' each, tilled it as deeply as we could and planted in it, very late in the season (mid july). In spite of the lateness and courseness of the compost we had a bumper crop of tomatoes, potatoes and squash.

This last winter, we did it again, but with 50# of blood meal, 50# of bone meal, 50# of kelp meal and lots of wood ashes over the winter. I haven't yet opened the pile but it has reduced in size considerably which is a good sign.

We have not tilled it in nor do we intend to because we don't want to churn the junk up into the garden soil. We're building the garden on top us the sand. Thats been our experience, but our soil situation is different.

I'm guessing if you tilled the leaves in, in the fall, with some alfalfa hay to supplement nitrogen you'd be pleased with the results.

-- john leake (natlivent@pcpros.net), March 05, 2000.

I till the leaves in in the fall. They break bown much faster. You can't get too many leaves. If your ph is off after a few years, just ad lime.

-- BROOM MAKER (elmjem@aeroinc.net), March 05, 2000.