I am quite new to Permaculture so sorry if this is a very basic question...I have Geoff Lawton's DVD on Soils and I am keen to do as much mulching as I can at home since I live on a property with mostly depleted soils..clay, limestone/alkaline, not really any topsoil. I am wondering why there wasn't any mention of the use of eucalyptus leaves as a mulch in the DVD. As I really only have the forest to draw from at the moment to get things going, is there any application for it? Also, I have 4 alpacas and have used their manure to make my first compost and it didn't generate any heat...would it have been due to that manure or just not enough of it? Thankyou for any input, Chris
There are a lot of threads here about compost Forestgirl. Have a search and you will find a wealth of info on making successful compost. In my opinion the best composts come from a range of inputs. Eucalyptus leaves tend to break down pretty slowly and can cause some difficulties for plants grown directly under them. I think, at the bag of my mind somewhere, that they can also tend to keep the soil acidic. They would need to go into compost with a whole bunt of over stuff to break it down well. It might be worth your while trying to grow some nitrogen fixing crops that you can dig in and improve the soil. Again there are heaps of old threads about improving soils like yours. Cheers Grahame
Eucalyptus leaves have lots of volatile oils in them which are anti-microbial. Makes good medicine if you want to get rid of microbes but makes it hard for microbes to break down the leaves. We don't have eucalytps forests so much here but they don't have other plants growing under them right? So mulching with them could affect the plants you are mulching around. Still, there must be some bugs that break down the leaves - you could try building compost from them (and like Grahame says, mix with other things) and introduce some soil from a eucalypt forest to get the right biota. I'd still use the compost experimentally though. I think there might be another thread where we talked about eucalypts like this. In terms of mulch, you can grow your own mulch. What sort of garden are you planning? With the alpaca compost, what did you put in it, how big is it, and how do you know it didn't generate heat?
I had a trench underneath an Ironbark that filled with mostly Euc leaves and water. By the time I dug it out, it was full of worms. Took a long time, but like all organic matter, it ended up like it should. Definitely do like Grahame and pebble say, make them a small part of a compost. Or, if the tree is staying, why not mulch it with its own leaves like in the forest.
eucalyptus leaves are great to use. I mulch with them, and I also layer in mowed weeds, which I have tons of. I found an article long ago that show that composted eucalyptus leaves are one of the best soil improvement components. I forget the technical reason, but if I find the article I'll post it here. It's the bark that has more of the inhibitors in it than the leaves. As the leaves dry out they lose their oils, so by the time they break down they aren't as concentrated. Just don't build a house under one - falling branches!
yep,,,if eucalyptus leaves are plenty thick enough,,,and moist,,, the worms love it,,,, thats been my experience
Thankyou everyone. There is a lot of great advice there. I will definitely search the old threads on this topic. Pebble, I have begun some areas of vegetables and have also planted fig trees, apple trees, pear trees, 2 lemons and further away some nut trees. I also want to work on long-term regeneration of the paddocks closest to the house as they are so lacking in any topsoil...every winter we need to buy lucerne for our 4 alpacas and 4 sheep. The soil generally appears to be more alkaline when I did some random tests, there is limestone rocks everywhere. The first compost pile I made didn't appear to have gotten very hot, as on the 4-6 days it hadn't broken anything down. I used mostly grass cuttings from the paddocks, some bracken, some straw from bales I bought. I used alpaca manure, some urine, nettles. Next time I will keep aside some of the chicken manure to put in plus gather up some wild duck manure. It sounds like I can use the eucalyptus leaves in amongst other mulches and since I need some acidity, it could be quite useful. I will try it in the paddock areas with cardboard and manure. Once again, thankyou all!!!!!
Each year, our property provides approximately 30-50 wheelbarrow loads of eucalyptus leaves that can be harvested fairly easily (from along our driveway's 500m drainage channel which runs through regrowth forest). I really wanted to use this resource as mulch, but was worried about the toxins. Long story short, after doing some internet research, I came to the conclusion that the leaves probably could be used safely as mulch in my (established) zone 2 food forest area. I have been using the leaves in this area for 2 years now and have had no major issues. For anyone interested, here are a few university studies on this issue: Evaluation of 4 rates of eucalyptus mulch for weed control in a Tahitian lime orchard Determining the Usefullness of Eucalyptus Mulches in Landscapes Plantings Based on this research, I most likely wouldn't use fresh leaves in vegetable garden beds or any area where trying to germinate seedlings. But, it depends
I have a similar problem, but with pine straw and oak leaves. When these materials are fresh, they contain high levels of tannins. I collect them, and pile them up in a shady spot so they retain moisture longer and wait until they are less red in color and more grey. The color change is how I know the tannins have been reduced. I try to use aged leaves and straw when making compost. I also use the aged material when mulching certain plants that don't like too much acidity. I'll use fresh, red material for mulching acid lovers, like blueberry and citrus. Your manure should compost well if mixed with aged eucalyptus leaves, either from a pile that you let age a while, or from older leaves that you could collect from deeper down on the forest floor. Great compost comes from getting the ratio of greens and browns right, good aeration, and enough, but not too much, moisture. A diverse mix of ingredients helps a lot too.
Hi Sandman. Ahhh, the joy of compost It's great to realise that all of these "problem" materials can be made into something useful - the trick is to figure out how!
Hello there. Yes, and it's really not that hard. Compost is a lot like us - it needs to breath, it likes lots of different kinds of food, and it needs water but no so much that it drowns. Put that together, and nature does the rest!