I have access to my towns leaf pile.They have been putting the leafs up for 2-3 years and so a lot of decay has happened.I'm wondering if in order to build islands {some 24" deep} for my flowers in the yard ,would I have to mix a heavyer soil from my yard with it or can I just use it like it is?
Are you planning to dig a hole for the flowers? If so, you are ok. If you can still identify the leaves as such, there will probably be too many air pockets to use just them as "soil". On the lazy side (don't ask how I knw ) you could top them off with bagged dirt to compress the mulch better.
Sue ,thank you . This leaf pile is 420'x30'x30' high. Digging about 6' down I hit dirt that has very little to no leaf matter left to decay.If I can use this dirt on its own ,the land scapping plans are endless.But if I have to add a heaver soil to it then I'm limited.
I have used rotten leaves obtained from a local leaf collection site and it's wonderful. Usually to build a bed I start in the fall and place the leaves 5" or 6" deep over the grass below. By spring the material has further deteriorated to about half the depth. If I have the time and/or inclination I'll spread on another 4" to 6" in the spring and summer. If I don't I'll definitely repeat the initial layer the next fall. The first year I have the weeds and grass underneath poking through. After the second year they're mostly gone. As Sue indicated I'd be a little afraid of dumping on a 24" layer then planting directly in that. If you dig holes through the mulch and plant into the hole (into the soil beneath the mulch) you should be fine. Depending on the site where the leaves are collected you may get some weed seeds or young trees sprouting up from the leaf mulch. They're usually pretty easy to pull up since they're only rooted in the soft mulch at first. Good Luck
I wonder if I could raise the bed say 10" ,pack it down and then apply another 10" and pack that .Then lay the last 4" and leave it?It seems to be very good dirt ,but seems to be kind of fluffy. Thanks all for the help!
I'd also check the PH. I've been "thiefing" leaves for the last week from peoples curbside (I bet they wonder just what shift those recyclers work :haha: ) and you'd be amazed at the amount of pine and acorn in there (ok, I also found a plastic skeleton, a few dozen cigarette butts, and lots of candy wrappers) I doubt any town takes the time to sort through the stuff before they compost it. Anyway, why don't you do as you said, but try only a couple of flowers. You ought to know within a few days if they take root ok.
