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parker34
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Posts: 34
Joined: Thu Jul 15, 2010 1:41 pm
Location: MN

Leaves on top of my soil

Hello
Last fall I mowed up the leaves in the yard and threw them on top of the veggie garden for the winter. I would say I still have 4-6 inches of leaves on top right now. (no snow last winter in MN) so they didn't compact.

Should I remove the leaves when I start planting my Veggies? Or should I just leave them be and use it for mulch for the plants? Should I till them into the soil? Will the rotting leaves rob the soil of a nutrient that my veggies will need?

Hopefully the weather here stays warmer so I can get some plants/seeds in the ground soon.

Thanks in advance!!

hit or miss
Green Thumb
Posts: 354
Joined: Sun May 30, 2010 4:57 pm
Location: central Kansas

You'll do just fine with either leaving them as mulch or tilling them in. The one advantage I can see to tilling is allowing the soil some sunshine so it will warm up quicker!

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farmerlon
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Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2010 11:42 am
Location: middle Tennessee

There is a potential problem with tilling-in the leaves. Leaves are "brown" (carbon rich) organic matter that will tie up Nitrogen while they decompose in the soil. So, if you're wanting to do your Spring planting, it would probably be best to gather the leaves up for your compost pile. That way, they can be a valuable soil amendment for your garden, later on.
You can mulch with the leaves too. But, as mentioned in the previous post, you'll probably want to remove the leaves for now, to let the soil warm.

Georgene
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Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 4:19 pm
Location: Bayside, Wisconsin

I would till the leaves into the garden and add some organic fertilizer that is rich in nitrogen. The leaves are a good soil amendment and the fertilizer would feed your plants while the leaves decompose.

lisavantil
Full Member
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:53 pm
Location: Michigan, USA

I would try tilling too, then add more fertilizer to the soil just to keep everything on the balanced side.



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