Scrub Oak Leaves; rake or mulch???

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What say you? I'm considering using my mulching mower to mulch them into the grass to add organic matter. I've read oak leaves are very acidic though; some claim it won't matter when the decompose. Thoughts??? Thanks!
 
They are acidic if you are using lime on your yard it should be okay as long as you don't add too much bulk at once. it would be better to do this after youve aerated. We are just talking about a few leaves here. If you have a lot, then you need to rake and remove them.
If these are leaves from last fall, i'm surprised you'd have any grass left it you did not remove them before winter.
 
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Yup, leaves from last fall. Surprisingly, the grass is growing right through, most likely because we got a decent amount of snow this winter.
 
I mulch my leaves every year. I have lots of trees, and a few oaks. I've never had a problem with mulching.
 
I have not raked leaves in 20 years....

Mulch...

Get a bag of limestone next time your in a hardware store, (Lowes).
It's just chalk, won't hurt you a bit...
 
Mulch 'em.
The excess acidity will be nothing in the soil solution.
You may or may not need to lime your yard every decade or so.
You can tell by the weeds that thrive, but you can also have a soil analysis done, kind of like a UOA or VOA for your soil.
 
Last Fall, eh? With snow on top during Winter? I'd of thought that might cause a 'snow fungus' or something similiar, especially if it stayed wet for a long time.

I get buried in Elm leaves in late Fall and just recently, Live Oaks. Far too many to mulch back into the ground. Plus, there's not enough nitrogen to break them down + I already have a problem with extremely poor nitrogen soil as it is.

Having recently set my compost bins back up, I've been building a pile. One is already hot. When it is compost, I spread it back on the grass...but not until it's thoroughly broken down.

Here, everything is alkaline: soil, water. Lots of limestone. Have problems with chlorosis. IOW, I like acidic materials and use peat moss on the grass.

Other than that, I think our growing conditions are too different.
 
Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
Get a bag of limestone next time your in a hardware store, (Lowes).
It's just chalk, won't hurt you a bit...


Years ago did soil tests. Lime was recommended for the lawn. Shortly after lime applied an acid loving tree died. Lime was cheap. Tree removal, not so much...
 
Originally Posted By: MONKEYMAN
Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
Get a bag of limestone next time your in a hardware store, (Lowes).
It's just chalk, won't hurt you a bit...


Years ago did soil tests. Lime was recommended for the lawn. Shortly after lime applied an acid loving tree died. Lime was cheap. Tree removal, not so much...


Was it a small tree? or an odd species? I have trees all around my house, and never had a problem using lime.
 
Originally Posted By: sleddriver
Last Fall, eh? With snow on top during Winter? I'd of thought that might cause a 'snow fungus' or something similiar, especially if it stayed wet for a long time.

I get buried in Elm leaves in late Fall and just recently, Live Oaks. Far too many to mulch back into the ground. Plus, there's not enough nitrogen to break them down + I already have a problem with extremely poor nitrogen soil as it is.

Having recently set my compost bins back up, I've been building a pile. One is already hot. When it is compost, I spread it back on the grass...but not until it's thoroughly broken down.

Here, everything is alkaline: soil, water. Lots of limestone. Have problems with chlorosis. IOW, I like acidic materials and use peat moss on the grass.

Other than that, I think our growing conditions are too different.


All soil is "extremely poor nitrogen soil" Nitrogen is mobile in the soil, so it will leach away.
 
Originally Posted By: tom slick
How do you guys know he needs lime?

He might not and testing is the only sure way to know. Since he lives in Colorado and many soils there are alkaline, adding acidic leaves may be a good thing depending on what's growing where the leaves are.
 
Originally Posted By: spasm3
Originally Posted By: MONKEYMAN
Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
Get a bag of limestone next time your in a hardware store, (Lowes).
It's just chalk, won't hurt you a bit...


Years ago did soil tests. Lime was recommended for the lawn. Shortly after lime applied an acid loving tree died. Lime was cheap. Tree removal, not so much...


Was it a small tree? or an odd species? I have trees all around my house, and never had a problem using lime.


I do not know the species. I call it a gum ball tree. It has those pointy ball you have to rake every year. It was big and seemed in good health. It made my life much easier when it died. It did make me avoid lime after that.

I used to work for a rich lady that had a bunch of them planted. They were popular for fall colors. She called them big weeds and had them removed. She also had 3 old Jags in her 5 car garage so money was not an issue.
 
Originally Posted By: marshall25
All soil is "extremely poor nitrogen soil" Nitrogen is mobile in the soil, so it will leach away.

Hmm..that's quite a statement. I'd reply surely some soil is more fertile than others. What passes for native soil in my area is a very poor excuse. Namely dense, heavy red clay, loaded with river rock & limestone. I thought it quite odd it was so low after years of adding compost and yearly fertilizing the grass.
 
Originally Posted By: sleddriver
Originally Posted By: marshall25
All soil is "extremely poor nitrogen soil" Nitrogen is mobile in the soil, so it will leach away.

Hmm..that's quite a statement. I'd reply surely some soil is more fertile than others. What passes for native soil in my area is a very poor excuse. Namely dense, heavy red clay, loaded with river rock & limestone. I thought it quite odd it was so low after years of adding compost and yearly fertilizing the grass.


A soil's fertility level is based on a number of things including organic matter percentage, cation exchange capacity, base saturation, and pH. Dense heavy clay is by nature a pretty infertile soil - I used to live down where you are at. When you describe it I know exactly what you are talking about.

Most soils are nitrogen poor in their natural state. Some nitrogen is released from decomposition of soil organic matter, and some is added by legumes. But it's nowhere near the levels we'd see in a managed lawn or crop field.
 
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Been here, experienced that, eh? Garden tool manufacturers ought to do tool testing here....

I did an experiment with my grass last year. Not quite sure what forum it's posted in, but I related my notes and experience. It took far more nitrogen than I realized to revive the grass and encourage it to spread runners (St. Aug). Then I left it long during the Summer and only watered when it showed signs of wilting.

Currently, it's deep green and lush. Haven't applied any fertilizer since Aug or Sept. and it's been watered once 2 weeks ago. Getting very little rain here this Winter. I'll fertilize it at the end of the month and water it in.

I finally figured out what works well for me after lots of head scratching and frustration.

Up in Madison you have 'poor man's fertilizer'.
 
I've also been experimenting with fertilization schemes. What I do know is that managing St. Aug is a whole different ballpark than the rye/bluegrass that I have. I remember the lawn I had down there. Lots of bare dirt, rock, and some patches of grass. My neighbors didn't put work in theirs, neither did I.

I tried an early winter fertilization last fall. Right around Thanksgiving, before the ground freezes solid. The thought is that the grass isn't actively growing, but the roots still are. They take in some of the fertilizer and use it to build reserves for winter, and the rest stays in the frozen soil till spring. I'm skipping the spring fert application and will apply the first pass over Memorial day. We'll see how it works. I've not seen any mowers going around here yet, but I think we will in a couple days.
 
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