Sacramento Digs Gardening: Turn fallen leaves into garden gold

That's not litter. Those leaves are the building blocks for an excellent compost pile -- and they're free for the raking. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

This last week of fall really lived up to its name: Leaves fell everywhere!

Recent storms shook loose most of the foliage remaining on deciduous trees such as maples, pistache, sycamores and elms. Those leaves are now covering our sidewalks, patios, driveways, lawns and more.

What to do with that mess? Make garden gold. That’s what Nature does.

“A yard of fallen leaves may seem like a mess,” according to the Sierra Club. “But hidden in all that decomposing foliage is the perfect organic matter for a great pile of compost. So this year, instead of putting fall leaves in a garbage bag and sending them to the dump, put them to use.”

For composting newbies as well as longtime composters, the Sierra Club also offered these tips:

* Size matters — both in leaves and piles: The size of a leaf pile can make a big difference in how fast leaves decompose. Keep your leaf piles up to 3 feet square — 3 feet tall, wide and deep. That helps distribute the heat faster while keeping the pile easy to turn. Before adding to the pile, chop up larger leaves so they’ll break down faster. (A lawnmower works wonders for this task.)

* Choose a shady spot: The best place to site a pile is in a shaded area with good air flow and decent protection from rain or wind. If your pile gets too big, start another.

* Keep it fresh: Compost needs a mix of greens and browns for faster decomposition. Add freshly fallen leaves, vegetable and fruit peelings and grass clippings to your old brown leaves.

* Turn regularly: Once a week or so, take a shovel or pitchfork to turn (or mix) your compost. That aerates the pile and speeds the whole process.

Started now, your compost pile will turn those brown leaves to garden gold by mid-spring – just in time for tomato planting!

- Debbie Arrington

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

nature soil enrichment December gardening Sacramento garden gold compost nutrients leaves

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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