guildfordcycads

It is Autumn here in the Southern hemisphere and I have been letting leaves from our deciduous trees (oak and beech) fall (or blow) onto our garden beds. I’m trying to follow the wisdom to leave the leaves for our critters and let the leaves nourish the soil.

However I read some advice stating that too thick of a layer can be problematic and prevent moisture reaching the soil and restrict air flow.

Is this really something to worry about? Should I be managing the depth of the leaves or just let nature do its thing as it always has?

Cheers

I’ve been experimenting with growing fruit trees in containers, and mangoes have been one of the trickiest — they can get massive if you pick the wrong variety.

I came across a breakdown of three dwarf/patio mango varieties that are supposed to do really well in pots without going wild in size

Hi everyone! I’m currently helping lead a small environmental awareness project at a public elementary school and nearby park in northern Mexico. As part of this, we’re organizing a tree planting activity with kids aged 6 to 13, and we’d love to make it fun, memorable, and meaningful.

One idea we’re already planning is this:
👉 After planting several trees, we’ll invite all the children to “adopt” one special tree and give it a name together. That one tree will represent the whole school’s commitment to caring for the environment, and they’ll help water and take care of it over time.

We’re also thinking of running a quick “clean-up race” where kids get small prizes if they pick up recyclable trash (bottles, cans, wrappers) and bring it to a bin.

💡 Do you have any ideas for fun, educational, and simple environmental activities or games we could do with kids this age?
We don’t have a big budget, but we can give small prizes like stickers, fruit, or little notebooks.

Can activities include some symbolic gestures? Emotional connection to nature? Hands-on tasks?
Would love to hear what’s worked for others or what you’d love to see in a school setting. Thanks in advance for your creativity and experience!

For some reason I thought comfrey was NA native, so I wasn’t too concerned at grabbing some free plants and root cuttings from someone local. Well it’s not, and I don’t really want to spread invasives. I have it in a pretty isolated garden bed right now, but should I:

just rip them carefully out and start fresh?

Wait till they seed and try and germinate some to see if they’re sterile

Somehow identify the strain via photos or some sort of tells?

Thanks for helping a fledgling gardener.

I’m also using fresh yarrow (leaves and roots) and dried chicory leaves from last year as mulch around my trees, veggies, and native plants. Is there any reason not to?

I moved into my new place this year and am starting to plan out my food forest. But the previous owners were pretty terrible stewards of the land — there are packing peanuts strewn across the field, random garbage piles in the forest and (as pictured here) remnants of metal garbage being burned.

Other than testing the soil for heavy metals, does anyone have advice for how to start remediating this space? And plants that are participating good for this process?

I was just gifted some Good Job Henry seeds. I see online that it’s recommended to cold stratify them for 10 weeks (!) and then move them to pots to start indoors 4-6 weeks before last frost, before finally moving them outside. I’m wondering if there’s any reason I can’t start this process soon, which would end with planting outside approximately late august or September. My goal is to get it established sooner rather than waiting another year to be on the typical schedule. Is there any reason I shouldn’t do this? Will it harm the plant having temperatures drop only a month or so after planting outside? I’m in Montreal, Canada.

I’ve watched that movie the biggest little farm MANY times. It’d be the ultimate dream to do that myself. Is it possible with putting in the effort that someone could get funding like that and make something happen ? I’ve started the beginning process of mapping out exactly what I want to do and what I’d want to have. Just curious to see if anyone else thinks something like that is a worthwhile venture.

Once covered in scrub spruce and pine, recently clearcut. Stumps remain. New England location, this is East facing.