saving leaves

I was not very on top of the leaf piles in our backyard this fall. Intended to shred them all, but it was hard to find days when I wasn't busy or had the kids in the yard and it wasn't raining. A lot harder to shred when damp, plus it makes the bags too heavy. There was a huge pile under the tree swing for a long time, but once it started to decompose at the bottom of the pile, getting compact and slimy, of course nobody wanted to play in the leaves anymore. I moved it then to a back corner of the yard, intending to add gradually to the compost pile, but that hasn't had much green stuff in it lately and isn't breaking down very fast, so I didn't have room to add leaves and the pile just sat there.

A few days ago I decided to just bag it all up, even though it was still damp and wouldn't get shredded. Want it out of sight and by the time I open the bags again to mix with grass clippings and garden waste in summer, it will have broken down more. To help it out I threw a small handful of vermicompost into each bag.

And spread some into my new garden beds as well.