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 | SOB1
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 15 New Jersey 
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2002-02-16 35653
I've got a few of my fields that have some oak trees in them. The leaves havent blown away like usual, and I'm planning on overseeding them this spring. Should I try and blow , mulchup, or brush hog the leaves that are there? Or just not worry about them and throw seed on top of them? The dirt under the leaves tooks good, so it may be worth it to get rid of the leaves... You can tell that I'm looking for a new project to do.. can't you?
Thanks.
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley 
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2002-02-17 35661
There are some pros that comment here from time to time, so maybe there'll be some very good responses.
Myself, I think that too heavy a layer of leafs or pine needles will kill grass and probably wouldn't work well for over-seeding. We use an ordinary riding mower to windrow leafs in the fall. The windrows are pushed onto large tarps and dragged or trailered to a composting pit in our bush. What the riding mower leaves is pretty well broken up and is more or less OK as mulch.
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| warren
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 54 Iowa
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2002-02-17 35676
I use a vaccum to collect leaves plus the mower chops the leaves up.It's sort of a durty job but beats racking.It has a 12 bu.wagon that blows in they get pack in from bouncing over the yard then you can dump them where ever you like.This works good for me.
Warren ....
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| jpaulus in W Wisc
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-02-23 35835
Oak leaves are notorious for finding sparse spots in your grass, and collecting there. They will not allow growth either by existing grass or seed.
I just posted some comments on the hobby farming site about using an Estate Rake on oak leaves -- suggest you reference there.
jim ....
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 | Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 3034 Northern AL
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2002-02-24 35841
OK, how do we simply get rid of pine needles? ....
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| jpaulus in W Wisc
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-02-24 35847
for pine needles, get rid of the pine trees?
jim ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2002-02-25 35851
There is 3ph implement called a pine needle rake mentioned in the archives among the ways people deal with their needles. Somewhere I recall hearing of something called a pine straw baler. Baled pine needles? Somebody must have a use for them. Don't know, you hear about straw bale houses, maybe a pine needle house.
For me, the needles are just another excuse to go to the dump. My wife likes to rake the things for reasons I've never understood. We just bag them and cart them away in the fall when the township starts burning their brush piles. I figure that maybe the needles help get the stumps we aren't supposed to put there going. I don’t know what you’d do without a willing raker. Figure I’ve outgrown being a rake myself.
The dump is a pretty good solution. If I don't go to the dump, there are neighbours I don't see for months and news I never hear. Besides, if we got rid of the pine trees, then I'd just end up putting the stumps somewhere where they aren't supposed to be and probably break my tractor doing it. Would be a way to have a chat with the dump superintendent though, but I’d still end up at the dump. All roads lead etc.
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| Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 3034 Northern AL
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2002-02-25 35861
I have cut a lot of Pine, but still have a number. Not enough for a bailer. Needles are used as mulch rather then bark in the south. Less likely to attract termites.
Tom sounds more like a Canadian every day, must be taking Red Green lessons. ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2002-02-26 35879
Peters: Red Green--now there's a Canadian reference. My brother in law is a big fan but he went to New Jersey. Tried to call him one day and there he was, gone. Must have taken my lessons with him too. Just as well I guess. I don't want to get to like Red too much since I'm happy where I am. Don't know if there's connection of course.
I might be laying it on a little thick here, but after all, I'm just an educated hick. Took me 50 years to figure it out. Who knows, I may have been fortunate enough to have skipped the educated part if rural electrification came through sooner for my folks. I’ve been in the buz of shedding the city part of me like a pair of winter Stanfields (another obscure Canadian reference) for awhile. But 'All's Well That Ends Well' I guess.
I do find the idea of baling pine needles curious though--guess that's because everybody's is about knee deep in them around here. The idea of somebody buying them is even more curious, but what ever works. I got my introduction to pine needle management doing my air Force tech school in Biloxi, Miss. A hundred and twenty some pines in the squadron area and the needless were raked three times a day. Got so aggravating I actually counted the dang trees. They must have been yellow pines, and they seemed to shed needles continuously.
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| Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 3034 Northern AL
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2002-02-26 35885
Well Tom Eh. Being a concervative my brother said we wasted public money at the Olympics. eh. Seems he thinks we only needed to sent the womens team and let them play both venues, eh.
Well it seems all my rural relatives find the dump and important meeting place. Where do you think Red Green get the ideas for his creations?
I maybe only a educated hick from the sticks, but I think Steve Smith (AKA Red Green) is the Walt Whitman of our day. He started as a parady of a cheesy old Canadian fishing show the Red Fisher Show. His humor is multilayered with slap stick, satire etc. , I am not sure everyone catches all. When was the last comedy show that had acclaimed actors doing bit parts and as regular characters of Possum Lodge, and not the stars guest appearance.
Unfortunately in the south the much of the humor has to be explained. When the furthest you have travelled north is Kentucky, "Keep your stick on the ice" losses it, in the translation. ....
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| bubenberg@netzero.co
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-05-03 38117
leaves and grass don't go together, but some many home owners, farmers, landscapers are of the opinion that by mulching (reducing the size) of a leaf (especially an oak leaf is all they need to do. what you are really doing is start a large area compost pile, and that is not conducive to a good lawn growth.
i did not say that humus of leaf origin should not be used as top dressing on turf. but humus has gone through several processes which normally takes years (certain manipulations can accelerate the process).
just go ahead don't collect the leaf we love lawn/turf restauration work ...just call me ... hahahahah! ....
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 | DennisCTB
Join Date: Nov 1998 Posts: 2707 NorthWest NJ
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2002-05-03 38123
Bubebberg,
You are definitely right about leaves. My property is just too big to do anything but chop and blow em. But where I have concentrations of finely chopped leaves, the Grass is saying see ya later. All that acid in oak leaves just is not great, and raking those spots is almost a must.
Dennis ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2002-05-04 38130
We have around 2-acres of lawn that we finish mow and remove leafs and pine needles. Our bush is on its own.
Last spring I made a shallow excavation in a bush clearing for leafs, bedding straw etc. I pushed back the mound, used some of the material, added more and re-mounded last fall and again this spring.
I'll till in some lime and a bit of fertilizer soon. I'm reluctant to use much lime and fertilizer because I don't want to get a roaring composting action going. I've seen seriously smoldering piles of sawdust due to spontaneous combustion. I don't know the potential here, but I'd just as soon not have that happen in our bush. At any rate, last spring's material seems to be pretty well composted when I pushed the mound back a week ago but nothing much had happened over the winter.
At any rate, it seems like a year in the pit does the job on leafs, which is fast enough, and I don't have to accelerated the action much. We get leafs off the lawn, dispose of them and have something useful left over. My wife did add pine needles to the pit last fall. I guess my attitude is that needles won’t compost very well, and they didn’t over the winter. I suppose time will tell.
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| Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 3034 Northern AL
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2002-05-04 38136
The temperature in the compost pile must remain fairly high to maintain composting action.
I piled just needles in an area under the utility line here. The needles were pretty well composted after one year. The pile temperature would remain higher longer here as the winter temperatures are failrly mild. ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2002-05-04 38139
Thanks for the comments Peters--even though it's still talking about leafs. I've now got hopes that I may see some progress in needle reduction by fall. It's always tricky explaining to wives that their ideas didn't work--now I've got hope I may not have to. There are enough pine needles around here that piling then up does remind a person about fire hazards. We have taken trailer loads of needles to the dump for that reason so I'll be happy if they compost.
We had a flock of at least 60 robins in our year until a few days ago when they paired up and dispersed. The yard was a sea of orange. Reminded me of a lady bug plague that I could live with. Dang! Can't stop talking about them bugs either.
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