leaves for grass

LEAVES FOR GRASS
by william nash

i am told by several folks that i am a writer
which by the way i dont feel like i am
i just think stuff up like this blog and put what
is in my brain into my fingers and tap it on my
computer

i do a free flow of thoughts
then go back and do corrections
sometimes i follow those autocorrect recommendations
but
they dont quite understand how i like to write

now today i am going to write this blog
will some hesitation
well a lot of hesitation

what i am going to tell you to do
at your house may greatly affect
my ability to garden as i like to garden
and
probably cost me money as i will have to
buy more of this stuff
compost

first i have a confession to make
i have 15 trees on the one acre that is fenced in around
our house
plus even more in my pastures

each year in the fall after the weather turns cold
the leaves all turn brown
then slowly they all are let loose to fall gently
to the ground
so for that many trees thats a lot of leaves

now confession time
i dont ever rake those leaves
i just let nature blow them around all winter long
looks good in my landscape
not really sure where they all go
but i dont see much evidence of them in the spring

                                                        thisoldhouse.com

yesterday in my barn i found my old leaf rake that
is covered with layers and layers of dust
forgotten and shoved into a far corner of our barn

now there are several of you and your friends
who painfully rake your leaves
bag them up
sometimes paying your kids or
sometimes forcing them to do the work for you

then thank goodness
you call me the ogd to come get your bagged up leaves
if im lucky they are in those paper bags
i just chuck them over the fence into my big chicken
run compost pile
nature breaks down the bag
the country n chickens then act as my shredder
and fine shreds them to smithereens
then they dig out the seeds
poop all over it
then
after months of waiting i have the best compost you can use
the one that you make your self
or should i say
the country n hens make themselves

jerry the rooster just seems to stand around
and supervises
like
i guess you do when your kids rake the leaves in the yard


now for the part im hesitant to tell you
you dont have to rake those leaves and bag them
just as you dont have to bag your grass clippings
just mow over the leaves several times
they get shredded to smithereens like the country n chickens
do
and
you now have mulch and eventually compost in your yard

its almost free to do it this way
they tend to be acid which around here is needed in our soil
since its so alkaline
plus
that composted lawnmowered leaves add nitrogen to your
soil
so you almost dont need to add fertilizer each year
especially
if you leave those grass clippings on your yard

now
if you dont want to do all this
its ok with me
cause ill still continue to take your leaves

what nature giveth
dont giveth away
unless
they are headed my way

the end

the organicgreen doctor

the life blood

THE LIFE BLOOD
its the life blood of your garden
thats what compost is

the best compost is the compost you make yourself
thats what i do
made almost 3 cubic yards of country n compost this year

compost can be as simple as dumping leaves in the corner
of your yard and just leaving them alone
gradually over time they will compost down to a rich
nutritious compost
like nature does

yesterday i was showing a student that was helping me
doing some landscaping at habitat for humanity
as i was talking about compost to her

yes i get in a compost lecture when i can

i showed her how those leaves had sat on the lot for months
down under the top layers
there was this rich compost there

 you can all do that

if you cant make your own
there are a lot of commercially available organic composts
readily available at most garden centers
especially here in the austin area there are several good ones
ladybug brand gardenville medina just to mention a few
i always use ladybug brand on my garden if i need compost

please oh please dont use the solid waste compost in your garden
it aint safe to use

so here again is how i do my country n compost
the kiss method
keep it simply simple

my chickens do all the work
they provide me with compost eggs and insect contol

you the ones that give me your leaves provide the carbon source
the chickens provide the nitrogen source with all that pooping
they do
then
the chickens dig through the leaves removing the seeds and
gradually over weeks shred the leaves to smithereens

i make three strengths of country n  compost
strongest
stronger
strong

the strongest starts here

this is where the chickens roost at night
their poops falls down below the roost area
i have leaves as a base
then every so often i throw in some leaves to cover it up
and to control ammonia buildup
the coop is open to the outside so it has good ventilation

that white stuff you see is diatamaceous earth
i dusted the area well with it
after i power washed the coop with an oranges oil water mixture

the diatamaceous earth will kill any insects in there and mites

every 6 months i clean this out
this year i got 3 full wheelbarrows full
of poop feathers leaves

and pile it up in a area layering each wheelbarrow load with leaves
then i let this sit for months
letting it all compost down all that poop feathers and leaves
what is left is a rich compost
i use it like you would use an organic fertilizer

the stronger compost

i make or i should say the chickens make this

inside their coop is an enclosed area of about 300+ square feet
this is the area where they are locked up at night and when we are
not around
they spend well over half their day there even when we are around
as they feel safer in there
they have food and water in there also

i have put in bags and bag of leaves yes those that you gave me
they over time have shredded the smithereens out of the leaves
leaving a rich rich compost not as strong as that mentioned earlier

i clean this out every 6 months
this year i got about 15  5 gallon buckets of this compost

which i placed in this 4 ft x 4 ft area to sit for several months
ill use this in my fall garden
yum yum my peppers eggplants okra tomatoes i have planted now
i heard them say this i did
they cant wait

the strong compost

there is a chicken run around my garden where they have access
all day long
thats about 90 ft x 3-4 ft

i have placed down a layer of leaves about 2 feet deep
yes they really work this stuff
digging dusting shredding eating seeds for a year
whats left is pure compost
is smells like fresh dirt
i get about 2-3 cubic yards of compost from this area
this ill use next spring in my garden

so this is the three country n compost that i er should i say these
girls make each year
i almost feel guilty using all this free labor
but heck they sure seem happy

its the best compost that can be used
since i made it myself

reduced that footprint some didnt i

start you a compost pile
and
maybe add a chicken to keep it all stirred up

the organicgreen doctor