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[Prairie Rose]

The most immediate effect was the binding of the nitrogen, but I am building my raised veg beds on top of that area without any problem. Grass has always done okay in that spot, but most of my veg just withered and died up until a couple years ago.

Around here there are very few straw-producing crops grown, and this year hay is more pricey than gold thanks to a super wet spring and early summer. It wouldn't be too hard for me to get my hands on a rain-ruined bale, but I would have to go get it myself and I don't have access to a truck for that. Last year I mulched my veg bed with shredded junk mail, a thin layer of newspaper, topped with shredded leaves. This year I went to farm and home and bought two bales of straw, because all of my leaves were still on the trees in October when I cleaned up the garden.

I make my own compost, but I don't generate nearly as much as I could use....yet!

 

[henless]

Be sure and check you hay suppliers. There is a broad leaf herbicide called Grazon that is sprayed on hay meadows to kill all the weeds. The horses/cows/sheep/goats eat it, grass or hay, the herbicide passes through them in the manure. Even after the manure is composted, the herbicide is still present. '

It's really been causing havoc in home gardens when people purchase the hay for mulch or the manure for composting.

I've been using leaves for my mulch. DH bought me a leaf mulcher, which has worked great for chipping all the leaves into smaller pieces.

 

[Prairie Rose]

I am thinking about getting one of those little electric chippers from harbor freight to chip leaves and small sticks and stemmy yard waste for my compost, to help them break down faster.

 

[digitS']

@Prairie Rose , use some caution about making a decision.

Your expectation for what it might be used for could be about right. However, I bought one about 20 years ago, don't think it was from Harbor Freight. I didn't expect to use it with corn stalks or anything heavy. Didn't even have all that many leaves and they weren't maple leaves or something large. I'd hoped to use it with pine needles but those weren't primary and weren't in my yard, anyway.

No way! It could contribute next to nothing to my compost making. That shredder sat unused for years and even a guy dealing in used lawnmowers wouldn't take it off my hands for free. I wish that I could remember the make to better advise you - tall, orange thing.

Steve

 

[Prairie Rose]

Thanks Steve, it is a purchase far in my future, but I would probably be happier investing in a heavier one that can eat the small limbs that come down in summer storms. I used to rent one a few times a year, but they raised the rates recently and for what it costs now I might as well buy my own.

I am just impatient for faster compost, and chipping what goes into the pile really helps with that!

 

[henless]

My shredder is just for leaves and such. No blades, just uses weed eater thread. The one I have is The Worx. I got it at Walmart for $125. Looks like it cost a bit more now.

Robot or human?

Easy to use. We do try to keep the twigs/sticks out, but some do slip through. It does great on leaves and even shreds the pine straw.

 

[baymule]

@Prairie Rose what about running over them with the lawnmower?

 

[henless]

That is what I used to do, run the mower over them. With the mulcher, they go straight in a trash bag and I can store them or pour them out on the garden or compost pile.

If I had a bagger on my mower, I wouldn't have the mulcher. Mow/bag all at once.

 

[Dirtmechanic]

I have volumes of leaves such that it would simply not be outrageous to say 30 cubic yards or so. The riding mower mulches them and I sweep them up with a craftsman lawn sweeper, and haul them over to a pile. It works well to keep the grass in view of the sun, and being chopped, wetting as they are layers produces a nice compost by the time warm spring weather arrives.

 

[Prairie Rose]

I have tried that, but my mower usually spreads them so thin I have to stop and rake them back into a row every pass. It's time consuming and I try to be efficient. I hate to say it, but I'm a a little lazy. I don't have a lot of free time for my hobbies, so I try to handle things as little as possible. If I can get handling leaves down to one afternoon instead of a multi-day project? Better all the way around in my book. That means I have more time to do the other things I have to do!