Nature and Gardening

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All things green, outdoors, and nature-y. Whether it's animals in their natural habitat, hiking trails and mountains, or planting a little garden for yourself (and everything in between), you can talk about it here.

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Tips for disposing of fallen leaves (slrpnk.net)

submitted 1 week ago by andrewrgross@slrpnk.net to c/greenspace@beehaw.org

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cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/16130943

My mom was complaining that the city has limits on how many leaves that they'll pick up, and she's got bags and bags of leaves stuffed into black garbage bags. This seems like a problem that should have some kind of backyard solution.

I've done a cursory search, and see that leaves are very compostable. They can also apparently be turned into "mold", though I don't fully understand what this means.

But I also see that there is a lot of variety in compost bins, and they're quite expensive. So I'm wondering: what's the best strategy for making leaves go away? She's not specifically interested in the product of the leaves, she just wants to find somewhere to put them after she rakes them up. Any ideas?

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[–] emuspawn@orbiting.observer 4 points 1 week ago

I feel like I'll be reposting this video a lot, but I love ✨ＬＥＡＦ　ＭＯＬＤ✨

In my garden, I took some chicken wire, a few stakes, and made a place for leaves, about 3-4 feet across.

Just like compost, mix it every few days and moisten it to the level of a damp sponge (appropriate for your climate). After a year (yes, a year), you'll have a pile of broken down organic matter, and a lovely leaf mold environment.

Also, Leaf mold breaks down leaves way faster when you already have a starter pile of it to add to from last year.