House projects

[lyman]

so you rake up the thatch afterwards?

[Dragonsdad]

On the patch I did earlier today, I ran over it with the mower and vacuumed (hoovered) up what the de-thatcher loosened, then emptied the bag into the compost bin. I'll mix it in later.

[Allen]

Sounds like a lot of work.

[mtnboomer]

so you rake up the thatch afterwards?

A match would probably be easier.

[lyman]

A match would probably be easier.

then you have not been paying attention,

Dragonsdad is the master of compost,

[Dragonsdad]

more precisely... certified Master Composter

I've learned to watch people's eyes when I get wound up on the subject.
Sooner or later people will start looking past me at a point somewhere behind where I'm standing. I know that's when it's time to switch topics.
Online conversations don't offer that opportunity and I finally hit a point where I simply don't let myself get started.

I hire deer to guard the bins
They get paid in apples.
IMGP2500.jpg

Deer, coyotes and one bear in particular share clean-up duty, saving me having to do it. It's a workable arraignment.
We can cover bear poop in a different thread.

[Dragonsdad]

so you rake up the thatch afterwards?

Another short vid. This one touches on the topic of cleanup afterwards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFvgWzungAI

[Dragonsdad]

I did say I've watched a bunch of these. You were warned.
A review of a different brand follows. Run time is a little longer but it covers some important points, ie: baskets / not burning out the motor / power cable.
His lawn looks like a putting green before he even starts. He might have an uneven fertilizer application thing going on but that's beside the point.
I'd be totally happy to have a lawn that looked like his. I'd water it and leave it alone.

- - - Updated - - -

[Chuck750ss]

DD, any way to compost Live Oak leaves? Have lots.

- - - Updated - - -

How about a composting sticky?

[Dragonsdad]

DD, any way to compost Live Oak leaves? Have lots.

Much of anything I could contribute you already know from experience. Anything organic will break down (decompose) over time. That much is a given.
We just want to speed up the process and end up with something that contributes to life in the soil.

Google is our friend here.

https://www.abchomeandcommercial.com/blog/composting-oak-leaves/

I was able to keep my ranch job in commercial composting during the Winter while everyone else in the lab was looking at layoffs by sifting through the university library (U of N, Reno) and web searching for specific information requested by ranch management. Much of our actual lab time was spent testing components for Carbon/Nitrogen content, (C/N ratio - greens and browns) and trace elements. We had a list going of things we either had on hand or were likely to come across in quantity but even without testing some things held true across the spectrum.

Particle size plays a part here.
If you can shred those leaves by running over them with a lawnmower, things will move much quicker, (I said you already knew some of this).

If your leaves are already dried out and brown, they've likely lost whatever nitrogen they had when they were green and you're left to deal with balancing the Carbon content (the brown) with nitrogen (greens), providing an environment conducive to various fungi (mold) and micro-organisms that return your leaves to the soil from which they came. Oddly, manure and coffee grounds are both 'greens' rich in Nitrogen content.

Moisture is another part of the equation.

shorter answer...
Shred those leaves if you can. If you have grass clippings or manures you can mix them with, do that but don't over do it. We're after a balance here.. Keep the moisture content around 50% by weight, things will really take off and your pile/bin will start to warm up. Temps of 160f are possible. If you get into this area (hot composting) you'll want to turn the pile on a regular basis to allow it to breathe. You're releasing CO2 and taking up Oxygen at this point and what you don't want is to allow conditions that favor anaerobic bacteria that will kill the pile and generate sulfur compounds you don't need or want.

So, to speed things up consider...
particle size
moisture content
balancing greens and browns (C/N ratio)
aeration
... and you'll turn those leaves into finished compost inside of one season. Finished compost won't have any visible trace of what you put into it. Leaves (or whatever else) won't be leaves or whatever else, anymore. Finished compost is what you have left after fungi and other microbial life has had their way with whatever feedstock you're using. It's the the end result of life in the soil. It has a rich, earthy smell. Cornell used to have a great composting department and web presence, probably still do.

https://www.compost.css.cornell.edu/

I'd suggest putting together a compost bin or setting aside an area for this but I'll leave that up to you. I won't try to tell you it's critical. Our home composting efforts began with dumping kitchen and yard waste in one garden bed, then mixing the result into the soil the following year, starting a new pile the next year and continuing the process.

I haven't had my coffee yet. I'm gonna fix that now.
later...

[Dragonsdad]

didn't mean to try and write a book

on the sticky suggestion-
Not all that many people have the time, space or inclination to compost.
How many active gardeners do you know? I'm guessing the percentage is pretty low.

[Dragonsdad]

Lyman's lawn pic has me reluctant to put up pics of mine.
It used to look nice. Maybe it will again.

that said...
I'm close to 1/2 way done with the first pass at 1/2 depth setting and this thing is working great. What it's doing for me, is loosening the overburden so I can bag it and get it out of the way, allowing (hopefully) this year's new growth to poke through more easily. I am getting a crapload of stuff up and out. Does it look better? Not really. I didn't expect it to.
Will it look better? Definitely.

I should admit that I''m thinking of my new toy as more of an adjustable depth power rake that I still have to pick up after but that's what my lawn needs right now.
Removing all the thatch down to the soil line wouldn't leave me with anything, so... I'm good with this.

[Dragonsdad]

process.jpg

The borders were better defined 50 years ago.
The actual lawn part sits between the two lawn mangler thingies.

[lyman]

if you mean the pic I posted on mewe,, that ain't my lawn, it is actually a pasture at a venue

[Dragonsdad]

...a pasture