Yeah I'm a scrounge...So what?!
Alright, it's out there. I'm a scrounge. I am, I admit it. Well, I guess in all honesty anyone who's ever read this blog for very long already knew that. There were the window frames I picked up a last year, the concrete urbanite that graces so much of our yard, and most recently all of the grass clippings other organic materials that I added to my lasagna beds. So I guess it won't strike anyone as a shock that the weekend before last, while driving through Salt Lake Cities older east side and seeing all the bags of leaves left out for the city to collect for people, that I threw a bunch in the back of the truck!
I Love freebies! Especially freebies that reduce landfill waste, give me lots of ammo for the compost pile and some really good mulch for next year! I'm hoping to stock up on a bunch more leaves this fall to add to this. They're really one of the best kind of "browns" to have available .
I really liked these particular ones because of their size. You can see here that they're a good medium-small sized leaf, not like Maple or Sycamore, and will break down into the beds very well. I'll be turning these into the raised beds this fall and then topping them with more for the winter. I'll be adding them to the compost pile when I rotate it for the last time in the next couple of weeks (I need to relocate it first, but that's a future blog.) and will top off my lasagna beds with some for the winter too.
So, where else could I get leaves if I can't get more from people putting them the curb? City parks, think about it, they have to pay someone to deal with them and then just toss them in the trash anyway. I will be loaning my blower/vac to a friend to help him make it easier to clean up his leaves in return for the bags of leaves when he's done. Or maybe I'll offer to help an elderly couple clean their leaves up and just "take care of the leaves" for them. The point is, even if your house is like mine with no real trees to speak of, you can still have plenty of leaves to use in the yard.
Think outside the box, and keep an eye open to the world around you. There's so many opportunities if we'll just be open to them, and maybe put a little ego on the back burner.
Good luck
P~
I Love freebies! Especially freebies that reduce landfill waste, give me lots of ammo for the compost pile and some really good mulch for next year! I'm hoping to stock up on a bunch more leaves this fall to add to this. They're really one of the best kind of "browns" to have available . I really liked these particular ones because of their size. You can see here that they're a good medium-small sized leaf, not like Maple or Sycamore, and will break down into the beds very well. I'll be turning these into the raised beds this fall and then topping them with more for the winter. I'll be adding them to the compost pile when I rotate it for the last time in the next couple of weeks (I need to relocate it first, but that's a future blog.) and will top off my lasagna beds with some for the winter too.So, where else could I get leaves if I can't get more from people putting them the curb? City parks, think about it, they have to pay someone to deal with them and then just toss them in the trash anyway. I will be loaning my blower/vac to a friend to help him make it easier to clean up his leaves in return for the bags of leaves when he's done. Or maybe I'll offer to help an elderly couple clean their leaves up and just "take care of the leaves" for them. The point is, even if your house is like mine with no real trees to speak of, you can still have plenty of leaves to use in the yard.
Think outside the box, and keep an eye open to the world around you. There's so many opportunities if we'll just be open to them, and maybe put a little ego on the back burner.
Good luck
P~
Labels:
backyard projects,
compost,
gardening,
organic gardening,
urban farming
6 comments:
Great idea! I covet bags of leaves!
Be careful though. I've heard about people who have done that and the chem residue from people's treated lawns renders their garden a barren wasteland where nothing will grow.
I'd happily offer you some of my many leaves if you weren't so far away! :-)
We have loads of big ole (huge)oak trees and pecan too. I am looking forward to added those to the compost pile!!! I LOVE the idea about helping the elderly and gathering thier leaves to use for your garden!!!! Good stuff ,right there!!!tp
Wow, good point farmmom. As long as the leaves are clean, they are a great source of minerals, including calcium and potassium, and fallen leaves are on average about 10% protein, which is nitrogen for your plants when it breaks down. Good stuff.
I'm always looking for bags of leaves, but never find any. Our neighborhood does a special dumpster and they compost them.
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