Return to the Soil Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Leaves in Vegetable Garden
| | |
Posted by
mjnoah 6 (
My Page) on
Sat, Nov 6, 10 at 11:45
| I have spread a couple inches of leaves over the vegetable garden. They have some grass in them that is already decomposed and the leaves have been through a mower. Is it better to get them incorporated into the soil now or just let lay on top to decompose? Unless they are in a pile it seems decomposition might be slower spread out over the garden bed.
Thanks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Leaves in Vegetable Garden
| | |
| Also, I was thinking of spreading some blood meal over them to help in decomposition. |
RE: Leaves in Vegetable Garden
| | |
| One more thing, the ground was plowed to break up hard pan. Is it still a good idea to incorporate the leaves after having been plowed once? Thanks. |
RE: Leaves in Vegetable Garden
| | |
| This could go either way. I've done both, and don't know if there is a preferred method. Putting the leaves down (as long as they are moistened when put in place to keep them from blowing away) on top is an EASY solution. You can always till them in come spring. OR, you can plow them in now, and the worms will have better access to them during the winter months, if it doesn't get too cold. You will probably till again in the spring, so this would cause you double work. Personally, I don't know that there really is any benefit to plowing them in now, but I don't think there is any harm either. |
RE: Leaves in Vegetable Garden
| | |
| If by plowing in, it means putting them down several inches deep, I think it is better to keep them in the top 3 inches. |
RE: Leaves in Vegetable Garden
| | |
- Posted by pt03 3 Southern Manitoba (My Page) on
Sat, Nov 6, 10 at 19:12
RE: Leaves in Vegetable Garden
| | |
If you leave those leaves on your soil as a mulch they will aid in 1) suppressing "weed" growth, 2) retaining soil moisture levels, 3) and allow the soil bacteria ti incorporate them in to your soil better than you can by tilling them in.
If you till those leaves into your soil you can stir up more "weed" seeds and possibly disturb the Soil Food Web enough that it will set them back several months. Tilling is a lot of unnecessary work. |
RE: Leaves in Vegetable Garden
| | |
| I say leave 'em where they lie. Worms, fungus and microbes are very capable of getting at them from the surface. |
RE: Leaves in Vegetable Garden
| | |
I would be very careful about adding too much blood meal. It is extremely high in nitrogen, which is good for leaf development, but can seriously inhibit fruit set, particularly in tomatoes. You will end up with a garden that looks great but produces little. A little nitrogen goes a long way. Better to get compost into the soil which is well balanced....IMHO. ;)
Don |
Post a Follow-Up
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in.
If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Soil Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
