Re: [Native Gardening] oak leaves and gardens

 

Thanks for all the input. I guess I'll try leaving them as they are, for now, and keeping an eye on things.

I checked on the monarda didyma this morning. It seemed undaunted: it had put out new leaves, which look pretty robust. Of course, monarda didyma is not easily daunted. 

Kathleen

Kathleen Domenig

2077 North Oak Lane

State College, Pennsylvania

USA

daytime telephone: 1-814-234-2150

On Mar 10, 2012, at 8:40 PM, April Hughes wrote:

 

You could mulch mow them, like Michelle suggested, or you could just leave them be.  Like you said, they don't mat, and the other plants will easily grow up through them. 
 

 

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From: Michelle Vanstrom <VanShel400@aol.com>
To: "nativegardening@yahoogroups.com" <nativegardening@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: "nativegardening@yahoogroups.com" <nativegardening@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sat, March 10, 2012 6:00:26 PM
Subject: Re: [Native Gardening] oak leaves and gardens

 

Mulch mow them right in place. Mulched leaves won't blow away and they break down faster. 

On Mar 10, 2012, at 6:44 PM, Kathleen Domenig <kmdomenig@mindspring.com> wrote:

 

A portion of my front garden is mostly planted in meadow flowers--rudbeckia, asclepias tuberosa, echinacea, and so on. Right now, it's covered with autumn-fallen oak leaves that I'd planned to rake out--but I'm wondering whether I could save myself the trouble.

Oak leaves don't break down very fast, but they don't mat, either. Can I count on the rudbeckia, et al., to grow up through them and conceal them, thus protecting me from the rancor of the neighbors while also allowing natural decomposition to feed the flowers and enrich the soil?

Someone has suggested raking them out, running a mower over them, and raking them back in--but I'm wondering whether I can even skip that step.

My goal is to have a largely self-sustaining garden. (OK, go ahead and laugh, though it's really unnecessary. There's been plenty of laughing at that idea already. ;-)

Thanks for any sugge stions.

Kathleen Domenig

2077 North Oak Lane

State College, Pennsylvania

USA

daytime telephone: 1-814-234-2150

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