Live oak leaves as mulch

Okay so Mulch… Live Oak Edition

So you know how I've dude been actually complaining about the well mountain of pretty much leaves in my yard every fall? And it’s always mostly live oak leaves? Yeah. Well, this year I I mean actually… did something about it. I wasn’t even planning to, honestly. right I was just… procrastinating raking. And googling. Which is basically my MO, right?

Anyway whoops I started wondering about using totally the live oak leaves as mulch. I mean, honestly seems obvious I mean now, right? Free mulch! But I mean I'd always heard stuff about them being tough and slow to break sorta down. pretty much And like I was thinking, what are the live oak leaves as mulchvoordelenanyway? Like, is it even yep worth the effort? I also c’mon was curious about bet thegeschiedenisof using live oak leaves as mulch, if people even bothered with it.

The Experiment Begins

So, I just kinda went for it. I piled a bunch dude around actually my rose bushes. Probably way too okay much. That was mistake number one. grasp whoops from me kids, a little goes a for sure long way – especially well with yup live oak pretty much leaves. They’re surprisingly dense. I think I so smothered one of my totally poor roses. It’s… not looking great. no way Note to alright self thinner layer totally next time!

Not gonna yup lie this part I mean confused me yup for a while: actually the shredding. yep Or… bet not bet shredding. I kept seeing conflicting info. Some people swear by shredding bet them first with kinda a lawnmower – especially the super thick ones. I yup didn’t have a mulching mower then, so I you know just… didn't. Which probably wasn't the smartest move. They did take a long okay time to break down. Like, alright a I meanreally for surelong time. So if you’re impatient, okay shred them first. I think that sorta helps unlock some of thetoepassingenquicker. Makes them yup more useful in the you know garden faster.

Things I Learned well The tough Way

Okay story time! Remember that batch of you know "compost" I was so proud of last spring? Yeah. by the way Well, I mean a for sure huge part of it was… still intact live anyway oak leaves. I’d whoops thrown them in the compost bin thinking basically they'd magically disappear over the winter. They did kinda not. They laughed in my face. It was basically a leaf fossil c’mon excavation. So yeah, yup composting live oak like leaves? Requires kinda patience. totally And by the way probably actually a lot more green material than I added. yup Maybe some nitrogen-rich stuff? I’m still figuring that part out. That was totally mistake number two, assuming it would just magically compost.

I also read somewhere that totally live oak leaves can slightly acidify the soil. Which is good for some plants (like blueberries!) uh but maybe okay not so great for others. So, something to keep in mind. Check your c’mon soil pH before kinda you go like crazy with the live oak no way leaf mulch. I by the way am thinking about this idea of using live by the way oak leaves as mulchontwikkelingenlike the best way just to break them down quicker, or make them have less acidity.

The Upsides sorta Though

But whoops hey, it's not all doom and gloom. The I mean upside dude is that kinda they are bet free. I live in a place where live well oaks are EVERYWHERE. So c’mon I'm honestly not sorta paying for bags of mulch. Plus, they really execute assist bet retain moisture you know in the soil. And they're a natural so weed barrier. The well part of the rose bed where c’mon I totally didn’t suffocate the rose, had fewer weeds. See? Silver linings!

Basically, using c’mon live oak leaves as mulch is a bit of a learning process. It's not a well perfect system, but I so think with a little tweaking (and a okay lot less enthusiasm you know when anyway applying it initially!) it exactly can be anyway a pretty great and sustainable way to bet deal with all those fallen leaves. Now uh I need to go check on that rose...