Should I Shred My Leaf Pile

Q: I have a heavily wooded lot. I take the fallen leaves off my grass and move them into an area with mature oak trees. The piles are four feet high when I’m finished. Is it better to leave the leaves whole or shred them?
A: I think the main question is whether the leaves mat down and prevent air and water exchange with the tree roots. Some leaves do this worse than others. A four-foot-deep pile doesn’t sound good but if it composts down to a thin layer after a few months I don’t think it would be harmful. I would experiment on a small area, putting a pile of whole leaves in one spot and mulched leaves in another and see what happens by summer’s end.
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Walter’s Bookshelf
Browse and purchase gardening books by Walter Reeves, plus select titles by other authors.
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name that plant
Post your puzzlers and help others with theirs.
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January calendar
January is typically the coldest winter month. Still, you can accomplish such garden tasks as sharpening...
Get The Checklist
-
-
Popular topics
Soil Spring Summer Seed Winter Fall Flowers Weed Fertilizer Disease Shade Temperature Pine Pots Oak Mulch Pruning Watering Container Maple Compost Herbicide Birds Moisture Tomatoes Azalea Poison Pears Hydrangea Glyphosate Cherry Caterpillar Pests Roundup Irrigation Pre-Emergent Stone Pesticide Dogwood Peach Pine Straw Spider Greenhouse Magnolia Squash Beans Squirrels Poisonous Travel Lemon
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Trending Posts
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1
Soldier Fly Grubs – In Compost
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2
Mushrooms – Growing from Bottom of Pot
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3
How to Soil Test
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Lycopodium – Ground Pine
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1
Aftercare for poinsettia, amaryllis and paperwhite narcissus plants
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2
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3
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-
4
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5
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Walter’s Bookshelf
Browse and purchase gardening books by Walter Reeves, plus select titles by other authors.
View books -
-
January calendar
January is typically the coldest winter month. Still, you can accomplish such garden tasks as sharpening...
Get The Checklist
-
-
Popular topics
Soil Spring Summer Seed Winter Fall Flowers Weed Fertilizer Disease Shade Temperature Pine Pots Oak Mulch Pruning Watering Container Maple Compost Herbicide Birds Moisture Tomatoes Azalea Poison Pears Hydrangea Glyphosate Cherry Caterpillar Pests Roundup Irrigation Pre-Emergent Stone Pesticide Dogwood Peach Pine Straw Spider Greenhouse Magnolia Squash Beans Squirrels Poisonous Travel Lemon