Re: leaves and winterizing
>Hello, everyone,
>Decided to come out of lurk mode and ask another question about
>the leaves for mulch. My greenhouse lady says not to use leaves
>at all, or grass clippings, because of the possibility of
>disease. She says to use shredded wood chips, from tree and
>stump removal, I suppose. I would have to get those from the
>landfill. Does it depend on the part of the country you're in?
>Here it is cold winters, dry summers. I can get locust tree
>leaves from a friend down the street, that would be much easier
>than finding chipped wood. Is it okay for me to use leaves?
>
>Sharon
>zone 5 northwest Kansas
>
Grass clippings are perfectly OK, as long as you bear in mind any
herbicides that might have been used on them and the fact that they break
down quite rapidly.
Leaves also are generally fine, although the leaves of some wood perennials
can aid in the spread of fungal diseases. I have been using deciduous tree
leaves all of my life for mulch and have never encountered a problem other
than some of the larger leaves, such as maples can form suffocating mats if
not broken up before the snow and ice arrive.
I only use wood chips to mulch as a surface weed barrier in the summer. If
turned into the soil, they tend to tie up nitrogen as they decompose. If
you live in the city, check with your forrestry department. They often
offer them for free.
Don Martinson
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
d*@post.its.mcw.edu
"Existing order thrives upon ignorance and lies.
Objective truth and individual reason are feared above all."
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