What to do withleaves?

[elgordoboy]

I am going to rake my leaves up soon. Will the city/garbage folks come by after them? And do they need to be in particular bags? TIA
Edit: I am in Dune Allen--might help to know that.

[Smiling JOe]

Not sure of their schedule in Dune Allen, but Waste Management is supposed to collect bagged yard debris one day per week. No special bags required, but it does have to be bagged.

[seaside2]

Let's get ecological here!: Compost those suckers. Makes GRAYT mulch!!

[TreeFrog]

Not sure of their schedule in Dune Allen, but Waste Management is supposed to collect bagged yard debris one day per week. No special bags required, but it does have to be bagged.

They come to Eastern Lake one day a week, on Wednesday. And I don't think it all has to be bagged. Leaves, certainly. But my neighbor just trimmed his trees and just dragged the limbs out there - and they took them. And that's not the first time.

[elgordoboy]

Thanks all. It is way too many leaves for me to compost. Scores of bags probably and thats a lot to turn over and over and over etc.. Good thought though.

[Andy A.]

All the information you have been given appears to be correct. Call 862-7141 to find out the schedule for your area.

[jdarg]

They come to Eastern Lake one day a week, on Wednesday. And I don't think it all has to be bagged. Leaves, certainly. But my neighbor just trimmed his trees and just dragged the limbs out there - and they took them. And that's not the first time.


My neighbor cleared brush, neatly stacked it next to the road, and it has been there for 2 months.:lol: He has started hauling it away himself, I think.

[Beach Runner]

We just put yard clipppings and leaves out on 30-A on the outskirts of our neighborhood, and it gets picked up.

[NoHall]

I am going to rake my leaves up soon. Will the city/garbage folks come by after them? And do they need to be in particular bags? TIA
Edit: I am in Dune Allen--might help to know that.

Let's get ecological here!: Compost those suckers. Makes GRAYT mulch!!

Thanks all. It is way too many leaves for me to compost. Scores of bags probably and thats a lot to turn over and over and over etc.. Good thought though.

Run 'em over with the lawnmower. Repeat. You won't believe how much you'll reduce the bulk, and it helps them to break down faster, too. Put in beds. It conserves water and is really good for the soil.

[jdarg]

Run 'em over with the lawnmower. Repeat. You won't believe how much you'll reduce the bulk, and it helps them to break down faster, too. Put in beds. It conserves water and is really good for the soil.

I don't think anyone owns a lawnmower here, do they?:floor:

[NoHall]

I don't think anyone owns a lawnmower here, do they?:floor:

:roll: Oh, good grief--NEVERMIND!

Bah, humbug...

[NoHall]

Wait an ever-lovin' minute--you rake your own leaves (and the key word is "rake") and you don't own a lawnmower? What kind of parallel landscaping universe do y'all live in?

[Miss Kitty]

:roll: Oh, good grief--NEVERMIND!

Bah, humbug...


:floor:

[elgordoboy]

Wait an ever-lovin' minute--you rake your own leaves (and the key word is "rake") and you don't own a lawnmower? What kind of parallel landscaping universe do y'all live in?
:lol: I don't own lawnmower because I have 36 blades of grass. I weed eat the other stuff or just stomp it. But I have lots of leaves.

[Mermaid]

:lol: I don't own lawnmower because I have 36 blades of grass. I weed eat the other stuff or just stomp it. But I have lots of leaves.

You can still do what NoHall says. A leaf blower with a vacuum on it--sucking not blowing--will chomp the leaves in no time flat and you can use them to enrich your soil. Leaves are too good to waste. Don't send them to the trash man!! :bang:

[Johnrudy]

You can still do what NoHall says. A leaf blower with a vacuum on it--sucking not blowing--will chomp the leaves in no time flat and you can use them to enrich your soil. Leaves are too good to waste. Don't send them to the trash man!! :bang:
We do the exact thing. Mr. JR even has a compost in the back corner.

[NoHall]

A lot of times I just dump 'em in my beds and mulch over them. (Not a good idea with Magnolia leaves, though--they take forever to break down. Just rake/blow them back up under the tree.) The beds look a little bit bloated for a few days, but then they mash on down.

This is also an excellent way to control weeds.

[DD]

A lot of times I just dump 'em in my beds and mulch over them. (Not a good idea with Magnolia leaves, though--they take forever to break down. Just rake/blow them back up under the tree.) The beds look a little bit bloated for a few days, but then they mash on down.

This is also an excellent way to control weeds.

Hate magnolia leaves. :bang:

[Miss Kitty]

Hate magnolia leaves. :bang:

:floor:...omg, I knew you were going to say that. You must really hate it when the wind blows those magnolia leaves around!!!

[Mermaid]

A lot of times I just dump 'em in my beds and mulch over them. (Not a good idea with Magnolia leaves, though--they take forever to break down. Just rake/blow them back up under the tree.) The beds look a little bit bloated for a few days, but then they mash on down.

This is also an excellent way to control weeds.


And not to make mention of all that lovely nitrogen feeding the soil. :clap:

[DD]

:floor:...omg, I knew you were going to say that. You must really hate it when the wind blows those magnolia leaves around!!!

That's the thing...they're so freakin' HEAVY that they don't blow much. They just sit around not rotting. :angry:

[DD]

Oh hail. Just watched the forecast for Saturday....35 mph wind and cold. I guess that'll blow even the mag leaves. :angry:

[elgordoboy]

You can still do what NoHall says. A leaf blower with a vacuum on it--sucking not blowing--will chomp the leaves in no time flat and you can use them to enrich your soil. Leaves are too good to waste. Don't send them to the trash man!! :bang:
It's really a lot of leaves. I am not trying to be deliberately hardheaded..I just can't get my mind around the alternative methods. I'll put them in my truck bed and make the 20 or 30 trips to a single destination along 30A with them for any one that wants to compost them :biggrin:.

[Miss Kitty]

Oh hail. Just watched the forecast for Saturday....35 mph wind and cold. I guess that'll blow even the mag leaves. :angry:

Please tell me a wintry mix is coming!!! :wave:

[DD]

Please tell me a wintry mix is coming!!! :wave:

Possible. :idontno:

[Mermaid]

It's really a lot of leaves. I am not trying to be deliberately hardheaded..I just can't get my mind around the alternative methods. I'll put them in my truck bed and make the 20 or 30 trips to a single destination along 30A with them for any one that wants to compost them :biggrin:.

Ah ha! The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. That's understandable when you have as many leaves as you do. But can you do a token load of chopped up leaves to make NoHall and me happy? :blush:

[sowalgayboi]

There's always the dump them in a vacant lot solution.

[elgordoboy]

Ah ha! The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. That's understandable when you have as many leaves as you do. But can you do a token load of chopped up leaves to make NoHall and me happy? :blush:
Most definitely..I want a garden soon anyway but really isn't that very difficult in this sand? I can't really call what I have soil :confused: though I suppose if I started now with the leaves I'd be black and loamy in 2018. And yeah the flesh is very weak laziness is very tiresome.

[NoHall]

And not to make mention of all that lovely nitrogen feeding the soil. :clap:

I already said that. Gah. (Just teasing...:biggrin:)

It's really a lot of leaves. I am not trying to be deliberately hardheaded..I just can't get my mind around the alternative methods. I'll put them in my truck bed and make the 20 or 30 trips to a single destination along 30A with them for any one that wants to compost them :biggrin:.
Why is that simpler? :eek:

For the record, I'm always being deliberately hardheaded.

As a (hopefully) retiring gardener, here's my real-life recommendation: I have a client who has more leaves than the Smokey Mountains National Forest. I'm pretty sure that every leaf in Gainesville lands somewhere in his yard. I've already been there twice this month, and each time I left a pile on the curb that was 25' long, as high as my waist, and at least 5' wide. Those were the leaves that came out of the tops of the bushes, off his patio, driveway and very small lawn.

We leave (no pun intended) the rest of them--the ones that are beneath the bushes and under the trees. We'll put a layer of pine straw over them in early January.

In summary, all I'm saying is to not strip your beds down to bare dirt. Leave a nice little layer of leaves to hold in moisture, build up your soil, and suppress weeds, and get rid of the rest if it makes you happy. I can't really scold you for it--my sweet father comes and takes care of my leaves for me. (He mulches them and puts them in his vegetable garden and in my beds.)

Poor elgordoboy--all we've done is wag our fingers. Did you figure out whether to bag or not? Around here, the city doesn't require bags during leaf season (until mid-January) but asks us to bag leaves the rest of the year. They'll usually pick them up either way, though, unless they're overloaded with the aftermath of ice storms or tornadoes.

[NoHall]

Most definitely..I want a garden soon anyway but really isn't that very difficult in this sand? I can't really call what I have soil :confused: though I suppose if I started now with the leaves I'd be black and loamy in 2018. And yeah the flesh is very weak laziness is very tiresome.

Your sandy soil is all the more reason to mix in organic material. :D I gotta shut up and go to bed.

[elgordoboy]

I already said that. Gah. (Just teasing...:biggrin:)


Why is that simpler? :eek:

For the record, I'm always being deliberately hardheaded.

As a (hopefully) retiring gardener, here's my real-life recommendation: I have a client who has more leaves than the Smokey Mountains National Forest. I'm pretty sure that every leaf in Gainesville lands somewhere in his yard. I've already been there twice this month, and each time I left a pile on the curb that was 25' long, as high as my waist, and at least 5' wide. Those were the leaves that came out of the tops of the bushes, off his patio, driveway and very small lawn.

We leave (no pun intended) the rest of them--the ones that are beneath the bushes and under the trees. We'll put a layer of pine straw over them in early January.

In summary, all I'm saying is to not strip your beds down to bare dirt. Leave a nice little layer of leaves to hold in moisture, build up your soil, and suppress weeds, and get rid of the rest if it makes you happy. I can't really scold you for it--my sweet father comes and takes care of my leaves for me. (He mulches them and puts them in his vegetable garden and in my beds.)

Poor elgordoboy--all we've done is wag our fingers. Did you figure out whether to bag or not? Around here, the city doesn't require bags during leaf season (until mid-January) but asks us to bag leaves the rest of the year. They'll usually pick them up either way, though, unless they're overloaded with the aftermath of ice storms or tornadoes.
You two have convinced me to rake my back yard leaves into the corner while I consider and just bag my front yard ones. I need to round out my outdoor equipment collection and I do want a garden at some point.

[Mermaid]

You two have convinced me to rake my back yard leaves into the corner while I consider and just bag my front yard ones. I need to round out my outdoor equipment collection and I do want a garden at some point.

Good for you! Here's a pictorial to get you started:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/earthknd/compost/compost.html

[Smiling JOe]

You can always do like Chris V's neighbor and burn them, polluting the air with plenty of smoke and carbon.

Personally, I think if you just leave them in the yard, you won't have to worry about not mowing the 36 blades of grass. My yard is filled with Oak leaves mostly and several Magnolia Leaves, topped off with a little Pine straw. It is amazing how the Oak leaves just crush into nothing by just walking on them repeatedly. I just wish I could do that enough over the entire yard so that the mosquitoes wouldn't be able to lay their eggs in the water which the leaves trap.

[NoHall]

You two have convinced me to rake my back yard leaves into the corner while I consider and just bag my front yard ones. I need to round out my outdoor equipment collection and I do want a garden at some point.

Yay! I'm really not trying to tell you how to live your life; I just want everyone else to have an excuse to be as lazy as I am. I'm all about the maximum conservation of energy. I'll give my clients the same speech I just gave you, and it's not because I care about their soil or weeds. I make more money if I have to come back and amend their soil and pull their weeds. I give them that speech so that I can go home early and take a nap.

I guess I can say that now that I'm retiring, right?

[DD]

Good for you! Here's a pictorial to get you started:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/earthknd/compost/compost.html


Excellent!

[elgordoboy]

Whew! Good stuff I need the one with the crank.

[NoHall]

Steve Bender is my favorite smart@$$ garden expert, and he always writes a smart@$$ column on leaves (http://209.85.207.104/search?q=cache:icM1KniNqOIJ:www.southernliving.com/southern/gardens/how_to/article/0,28012,386760,00.html+%22steve+bender%22+leaf+mul ch&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a) this time of year. (He truly is the only reason I still read Southern Living. He's almost as good as Dave Barry sometimes.)

(Here (http://www.southernliving.com/southern/gardens/seasonal_gardens/article/0,28012,1599140,00.html) is his "Grumpy Gardener" link)

[NoHall]

Whew! Good stuff I need the one with the crank.

Another of my clients had one with a crank, and it was just a mess. I HAVE to go to bed, but remind me and I'll tell you how to build an attractive, very functional bin.

[elgordoboy]

You can always do like Chris V's neighbor and burn them, polluting the air with plenty of smoke and carbon.

Personally, I think if you just leave them in the yard, you won't have to worry about not mowing the 36 blades of grass. My yard is filled with Oak leaves mostly and several Magnolia Leaves, topped off with a little Pine straw. It is amazing how the Oak leaves just crush into nothing by just walking on them repeatedly. I just wish I could do that enough over the entire yard so that the mosquitoes wouldn't be able to lay their eggs in the water which the leaves trap.
I don't want to burn them and cause trouble. I have a pile of tires I'm saving that for. I am tired of them being in my house (the leaves). I'd be with you and leave them if it were just for looking at them.

[elgordoboy]

Another of my clients had one with a crank, and it was just a mess. I HAVE to go to bed, but remind me and I'll tell you how to build an attractive, very functional bin.
Will do thanks very much :D.

[sowalgayboi]

I don't want to burn them and cause trouble. I have a pile of tires I'm saving that for. I am tired of them being in my house (the leaves). I'd be with you and leave them if it were just for looking at them.
:funn: