Fall clean up started

bagged wood chips - Just the start of fall clean up here in Minnesota for me. Ugghh!
@webeishere (36313)
United States
October 21, 2009 1:17pm CST
This is a shot of the bagged wood chip mulch from just one of my flower beds. And that area is still not cleaned fully. I usually end up with about 15 bags of wood chips and maybe 30 of leaves. This year I've been mowing over the leaves though to try and save on bagging tem. Plus January first theres a new law that recycle centers and other places will not take the black plastic bags as they are not recyclable. So after the first of the year we have to have the green or clear bags for yard waste and recycle items. Do you have this law yet in your area? Are you cleaning your yard,flower beds/gardens/lawn for the fall yet? HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB!!~
2 people like this
15 responses
@dawnald (85129)
• Shingle Springs, California
21 Oct 09
We just have a green bin that we put our yard waste into. No need for bags, so I guess it doesn't matter where we are.
3 people like this
@webeishere (36313)
• United States
21 Oct 09
I can get the same container but at an extra charge. As I make my own compost a lot of my yard waste goes into the compost bin. But this time of the years I have SOOOO much waste. They charge $2 a bag but I take a lot to my wifes work for the garbage pick up there. HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB!!~
2 people like this
@dawnald (85129)
• Shingle Springs, California
21 Oct 09
They give us one bin for trash, one for recycling and one for yard waste. Any extras they charge for. We don't compost (yet) but we do take some of our recycling to a center that pays us for it instead of giving it all to the county.
3 people like this
@webeishere (36313)
• United States
21 Oct 09
We have what's known as Recycle Bank with our garbage company. We earn points for the recycleable itmes towards gift cards etc. HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB!!~
@peavey (16936)
• United States
21 Oct 09
I'm itching to get out and clean up my gardens, but I have an infected toenail and toe, so I can't even put my shoes on. I keep staring out the window, wishing I could get the last few things harvested (horseradish, J.artichokes, etc.). I had intended to clean up the middle garden, bury some compost and cover it with mowed grass, but... I just hope I can get out there before the ground freezes!
3 people like this
@webeishere (36313)
• United States
21 Oct 09
Owwww! All mine is done. Had a few frosts and a few inches of snow here already. HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB!!~
1 person likes this
• United States
22 Oct 09
yea,we've had that law for awhile now. paper bags or trash cans they can dump into the truck only. i've been raking leaves here and there,they've only just started falling. thing that gets me is most of them aren't even ours-it's from the neighbor's tree.
1 person likes this
@webeishere (36313)
• United States
22 Oct 09
I live in a tree lined area. So I get tons of leaves from other yards as well. HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB!!~
@enola1692 (3323)
• United States
22 Oct 09
I have a section way in the back yard for leaves an such to make a compost pile so far it works great on my garden an my neighbor ask where i get such nice blck dirt I am is south carolina so we have red clay so saving my leaves an grass clipping an yes some trash from my kitchen not only am I cuttin down on useing bags but I am makeing good dirt for the garden every spring its alot work going out there to turn it but its worth it
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
22 Oct 09
I'm very fortunate in that I'm surrounded by lovely trees but I only have one in my back yard, a flowering pear. I get to see the beautiful leaves without having to deal with them in my yard! Most of my leaves blow away and I leave the rest to degrade during the winter. I will usually mow over them but it looks as if it will probably snow before they fall this year, even though other trees are losing their colored leave--mine are still green! Here, our garbage trucks sell lawn bags at the grocery store and people use those for their leaves and yard waste. I'm lucky enough not to have to use any.
1 person likes this
@catdla1 (6005)
• United States
21 Oct 09
Our town picks up any colored bag. But, as the bags are picked up, the workers cut them open and dump them into the compacting truck. Some communities are using paper bags, which are like giant grocery bags. While they are biodegradeable, they're also expensive, don't hold much and tend to split when they get wet. Another town I lived in (I've moved a bit), used to have residents rake the leave to the curbside, where the town had trucks vacuum them into shredders. That was great all the way around. I have to ask...why do you bag up your wood chips? I leave mine down for to insulate the roots over the winter, and they sort of compost into the soil. Each spring, I just add another layer on top.
2 people like this
@webeishere (36313)
• United States
21 Oct 09
I use leaves for a winter mulch is why. They're easier to clean up in the spring than wet wood chips. HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB!!~
@GardenGerty (157027)
• United States
24 Oct 09
I am a lazy lawn person. Have mowed one more time. May do some stuff tomorrow, but mostly it is just wild here, and stays that way. I know that getting outside would be so healthy for me and my yard. I had great tomatoes this year and have some plans for even better next. We take all of our recycle out to the transfer station, or we buy special biodegradable bags and pay extra or we rent an extra cart.
• United States
23 Oct 09
We don't really do any cleaning up for fall except for raking up the leaves. My husband does that though and now our 3 year old likes to help. I don't think we have the law about the black trash bags. We can also put leaves up at the road not in trash bags and the truck will come by and suck up the leaves with this big round thing.
@BarBaraPrz (45217)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
21 Oct 09
I did a bit of clean up the other day. Why are you bagging the mulch? Don't you just leave it in the beds to protect the plants?
1 person likes this
@tyc415 (5706)
• United States
21 Oct 09
No we don't have that city ordinance as of yet. We don't have enough leaves to rake up either. Our flower bed has sure grown up and needs cleaning and will get that done soon.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
21 Oct 09
hi grandpa bob, if we have I was not aware of it, I know they are now supposed to charge you if you ask for plastic bags in some grocery stores. that tees me off, it is such a darned nuisance. so far here in Garden grove stores I have not seen that, but do not know about the green or clear bags for yard waste, could well be I guess. I guess Vons is charging a nickel a plastic bag, wow. well I havent been in vons since I came here so won't bother me anyway. happy posting.
1 person likes this
22 Oct 09
Hi GRANDPA, When we do our garden, we don't have to bag our garden rubish up as we have a large wheelie bin for all the garden rubish for recycling, once the bin is foull the council comes and collect it fro us. Tamara
• India
22 Oct 09
yesterday everything was completed happy.today every singleleaf on my zokalo tomatoes had atleast someblight on it.so,i startedmy fallclean up.ipruned offevery singleleaf .i willleave thefruit on the plant a day ortwo mor to see if anyof it ripens.the tomato in thepromenade didnt have blight yet,so i didnt prune itbecause i ran out of time.over the next fewdays ,i need to attack the other tomato then start in on the sunflowers and longbeans.
• India
22 Oct 09
yes we can follow your same priciple gently and nicely
1 person likes this
@Bluepatch (2476)
• Trinidad And Tobago
22 Oct 09
Nice to know you guys have a fall clean-up. In Trinidad we clean up just before Easter when everybody paints, cleans, washes and everything else. At home we always painted the lower part of our house in whitewash and cleaned all the linens and did a wipe out in the attic and our parents had everybody on a cleaning binge.