Thanks for input on the hackberry tree inquiry.

Mother's yard was also covered with primarily pecan leaves and pecan husks,
along with grass clippings and minor weeds. Used mulcher mower with bagger
attachment, and bagged all 20 bags of it in 30 gallon trash bags. She wants
to leave it for garbage pickup. I'd like to take it all to my place and
allow it to anaerobically decay in a shaded area for a year. My soil is
terribly alkali on PH scale. Would pecan leaf and husk remnants help lean
it towards the other end of the PH scale?

--
Dave

In article ,
"Dioclese" NONE wrote:

Thanks for input on the hackberry tree inquiry.

Mother's yard was also covered with primarily pecan leaves and pecan husks,
along with grass clippings and minor weeds. Used mulcher mower with bagger
attachment, and bagged all 20 bags of it in 30 gallon trash bags. She wants
to leave it for garbage pickup. I'd like to take it all to my place and
allow it to anaerobically decay in a shaded area for a year. My soil is
terribly alkali on PH scale. Would pecan leaf and husk remnants help lean
it towards the other end of the PH scale?



http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080929104615.htm

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA

On Jan 19, 6:31*am, "Dioclese" NONE wrote:
Thanks for input on the hackberry tree inquiry.

Mother's yard was also covered with primarily pecan leaves and pecan husks,
along with grass clippings and minor weeds. *Used mulcher mower with bagger
attachment, and bagged all 20 bags of it in 30 gallon trash bags. *She wants
to leave it for garbage pickup. *I'd like to take it all to my place and
allow it to anaerobically decay in a shaded area for a year. *My soil is
terribly alkali on PH scale. *Would pecan leaf and husk remnants help lean
it towards the other end of the PH scale?

--
Dave

While the leaves themselves may test out as acidic, they lose much of
this property as they decompose and approach an almost neutral pH.
This is true of pretty much any organic matter.....the process of
decomposition is a great neutralizer! And it takes a great deal of
truly acidic soil amendments to significantly alter pH anyway and that
tends to be a temporary fix at best, as most soils have large
buffering capacities and tend to return eventually to the status quo.
So the short answer is no, they won't help to acidify your soil to any
substantial degree.

Pecans also contain some juglone, a plant hormone that is allelopathic
in nature, discouraging the growth of certain other plants. Much less
of this is concentrated in the leaves or husks than in the roots, but
you might want to avoid using the pecan refuse until it is pretty well
broken down on any vegetable crops....these seem to be more
susceptible.

Otherwise, any leaf mulch is good thing!

On 1/19/2009 6:31 AM, Dioclese wrote:
Thanks for input on the hackberry tree inquiry.

Mother's yard was also covered with primarily pecan leaves and pecan husks,
along with grass clippings and minor weeds. Used mulcher mower with bagger
attachment, and bagged all 20 bags of it in 30 gallon trash bags. She wants
to leave it for garbage pickup. I'd like to take it all to my place and
allow it to anaerobically decay in a shaded area for a year. My soil is
terribly alkali on PH scale. Would pecan leaf and husk remnants help lean
it towards the other end of the PH scale?


Anaerobic composting is NOT a good idea. You get much better and
quicker results with aerobic composting.

Compost that is primarily brown matter (dead leaves) will be slightly
acidic. That's why I make my compost closer to leaf mold than true
compost, to help remedy my alkaline soil. It's about 90% brown matter
and only 10% green matter (a small amount of grass clippings).

However, I also resort to adding stronger acidic materials to my soil.
I use a lot of gypsum (calcium sulfate) because my soil is heavy clay.
I apply about 5 lb of soil sulfur a year to areas where acid-loving
plants grow; bacteria in the soil slowly convert it into sulfuric acid.
I use ammonium sulfate and iron sulfate as fertilizers on most of my
plants. On some plants -- citrus, gardenia, Australian tea tree -- I
also use a small amount of zinc sulfate. My roses and a few others get
small amounts of Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate). For my camellias and
azaleas, I use a commercial camellia fertilizer that is acidic.

Be careful. Some plants prefer an alkaline soil. These include iris,
primroses, dianthus (carnations). Gypsum won't really bother them, but
I keep the other materials away from them. Also, acidifying an alkaline
soil should be a slow process. Too much sulfur will eliminate the soil
bacteria that is needed to convert it into sulfuric acid. Too much
ammonium sulfate will burn not only top growth but also roots. "Too
much" might seem like not enough.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

"gardengal" wrote in message
...
On Jan 19, 6:31 am, "Dioclese" NONE wrote:
Thanks for input on the hackberry tree inquiry.

Mother's yard was also covered with primarily pecan leaves and pecan
husks,
along with grass clippings and minor weeds. Used mulcher mower with bagger
attachment, and bagged all 20 bags of it in 30 gallon trash bags. She
wants
to leave it for garbage pickup. I'd like to take it all to my place and
allow it to anaerobically decay in a shaded area for a year. My soil is
terribly alkali on PH scale. Would pecan leaf and husk remnants help lean
it towards the other end of the PH scale?

--
Dave

While the leaves themselves may test out as acidic, they lose much of
this property as they decompose and approach an almost neutral pH.
This is true of pretty much any organic matter.....the process of
decomposition is a great neutralizer! And it takes a great deal of
truly acidic soil amendments to significantly alter pH anyway and that
tends to be a temporary fix at best, as most soils have large
buffering capacities and tend to return eventually to the status quo.
So the short answer is no, they won't help to acidify your soil to any
substantial degree.

Pecans also contain some juglone, a plant hormone that is allelopathic
in nature, discouraging the growth of certain other plants. Much less
of this is concentrated in the leaves or husks than in the roots, but
you might want to avoid using the pecan refuse until it is pretty well
broken down on any vegetable crops....these seem to be more
susceptible.

Otherwise, any leaf mulch is good thing!

-----------

Couple of more questions.
How about just spreading the resulting rot to the lawn?

In a raised garden scenario where I typically use purchased soil which is
sandy and almost benign of nutrients, okay there?
--
Dave

Composting tends to neutralize pH and decrease plant toxins. A
handful of hulls to a bushel of leaves is fine, but I like the idea
for the hulls to rot for a year before adding to the compost bin. I
do that with sawdust (I have an endless supply of sawdust). The heap
of sawdust gradually turns gray near the bottom and that's what I use
for mulching my blueberry bushes.

On Jan 20, 4:38*am, "Dioclese" NONE wrote:
"gardengal" wrote in message

...
On Jan 19, 6:31 am, "Dioclese" NONE wrote:

Thanks for input on the hackberry tree inquiry.

Mother's yard was also covered with primarily pecan leaves and pecan
husks,
along with grass clippings and minor weeds. Used mulcher mower with bagger
attachment, and bagged all 20 bags of it in 30 gallon trash bags. She
wants
to leave it for garbage pickup. I'd like to take it all to my place and
allow it to anaerobically decay in a shaded area for a year. My soil is
terribly alkali on PH scale. Would pecan leaf and husk remnants help lean
it towards the other end of the PH scale?

--
Dave

While the leaves themselves may test out as acidic, they lose much of
this property as they decompose and approach an almost neutral pH.
This is true of pretty much any organic matter.....the process of
decomposition is a great neutralizer! And it takes a great deal of
truly acidic soil amendments to significantly alter pH anyway and that
tends to be a temporary fix at best, as most soils have large
buffering capacities and tend to return eventually to the status quo.
So the short answer is no, they won't help to acidify your soil to any
substantial degree.

Pecans also contain some juglone, a plant hormone that is allelopathic
in nature, discouraging the growth of certain other plants. Much less
of this is concentrated in the leaves or husks than in the roots, but
you might want to avoid using the pecan refuse until it is pretty well
broken down on any vegetable crops....these seem to be more
susceptible.

Otherwise, any leaf mulch is good thing!

-----------

Couple of more questions.
How about just spreading the resulting rot to the lawn?

In a raised garden scenario where I typically use purchased soil which is
sandy and almost benign of nutrients, okay there?
--
Dave

I think what you mean is cold or passive composting - just allowing
the leaves to sit in a pile and breakdown/decompose naturally - rather
than anaerobic. Passive composting is still an aerobic process - it
just takes longer to get a finished product than does active
composting. This is a pretty common activity used with leaves - it is
known as leaf mold (or mould if you live in the UK) and is an
excellent and very valuable soil amendment.

Which ever process you follow, I'd wait until the pecan refuse has
broken down a bit before applying it either in raised beds or directly
to the lawn. Whatever you apply to a lawn should be of a pretty fine
texture, otherwise you run the risk of smothering the turf grass and
creating fungal issues. And use a light hand!

"gardengal" wrote in message
...
On Jan 20, 4:38 am, "Dioclese" NONE wrote:
"gardengal" wrote in message

...
On Jan 19, 6:31 am, "Dioclese" NONE wrote:

Thanks for input on the hackberry tree inquiry.

Mother's yard was also covered with primarily pecan leaves and pecan
husks,
along with grass clippings and minor weeds. Used mulcher mower with
bagger
attachment, and bagged all 20 bags of it in 30 gallon trash bags. She
wants
to leave it for garbage pickup. I'd like to take it all to my place and
allow it to anaerobically decay in a shaded area for a year. My soil is
terribly alkali on PH scale. Would pecan leaf and husk remnants help
lean
it towards the other end of the PH scale?

--
Dave

While the leaves themselves may test out as acidic, they lose much of
this property as they decompose and approach an almost neutral pH.
This is true of pretty much any organic matter.....the process of
decomposition is a great neutralizer! And it takes a great deal of
truly acidic soil amendments to significantly alter pH anyway and that
tends to be a temporary fix at best, as most soils have large
buffering capacities and tend to return eventually to the status quo.
So the short answer is no, they won't help to acidify your soil to any
substantial degree.

Pecans also contain some juglone, a plant hormone that is allelopathic
in nature, discouraging the growth of certain other plants. Much less
of this is concentrated in the leaves or husks than in the roots, but
you might want to avoid using the pecan refuse until it is pretty well
broken down on any vegetable crops....these seem to be more
susceptible.

Otherwise, any leaf mulch is good thing!

-----------

Couple of more questions.
How about just spreading the resulting rot to the lawn?

In a raised garden scenario where I typically use purchased soil which is
sandy and almost benign of nutrients, okay there?
--
Dave

I think what you mean is cold or passive composting - just allowing
the leaves to sit in a pile and breakdown/decompose naturally - rather
than anaerobic. Passive composting is still an aerobic process - it
just takes longer to get a finished product than does active
composting. This is a pretty common activity used with leaves - it is
known as leaf mold (or mould if you live in the UK) and is an
excellent and very valuable soil amendment.

Which ever process you follow, I'd wait until the pecan refuse has
broken down a bit before applying it either in raised beds or directly
to the lawn. Whatever you apply to a lawn should be of a pretty fine
texture, otherwise you run the risk of smothering the turf grass and
creating fungal issues. And use a light hand!

-----------

What I intend on the decompostion end is to add some water to the mix, and
seal the bags for about a year or so. Place upside-down, closed end against
the ground. Allow to decompose in a shaded area out of direct sunlight.
Initially, there will be native air mixture in the bags. Little time of
freezing throughout the seasons, zone 8A. Those are the conditions that I
describe as anaerobic, close enough?

Initally, when applying such, there might be some burn if you will to the
lawn. However, since its relatively dry here, I doubt if there will be
subsequent fungal growth.
--
Dave