Mulch from loquat tree leaves and from bamboo leaves

Hi , in my neighbour land that is abandoned there is a louquat tree and also bamboo trees.
Do anybody have used the leaves from these trees as mulch? Are they good?
In which ways these leaves will change my soil?

I been experimenting with the soil comming from bamboo leaves but nothibg grow there. Do anybody have an idea why is this?

You have discovered the problem with using non-composted bamboo leaves, rutin and orientin are compounds found in bamboo leaves.
These two compounds have synergistic inhibition effects on many nutrient compounds found in soils, the effect is that these nutrients are no longer available for uptake by any plants.
The result of this nutrient binding is allopathic to plants other than bamboo, which renders the soil uninhabitable by other species.

To use Bamboo leaves as mulch in gardens, you first need to hot compost them so the rutin and orientin are neutralized.

Loquat leaves (Eriobotyra japonica Lindl) do not contain any disruptive compounds but their health benefits are such that they are better put to use in herbal teas.
The extracts of Loquat leaves have also been shown to help cure and even prevent breast cancers. They can also help in treatment of liver disorders.

To use Loquat leaves as mulch I would simply distribute them over the area I was wanting to mulch.

Hi bryant . Yes you are right! I added a lot of mulch fron bamboo trees and now my soil look dead without pñants growing there , all the places in my land i added bamboo leaves doesnt have anything..... Now i have a lot of plabts in my land with holes in the parts i added bamboo leaves , i was wobdering , how can i fix this ? Is there is a way to fix my soil?
And how can i make hot compost fron leaves from bamboo leaves?



I have other question , there is a big sauce tree near my land , do you think is a good idea to mix sauce leaves with Leaves from louquat trees as multch?

First, are the bamboo leaves you used still on the surface of the soil? If they are you can rake them up and form a heap with them, get all the spent coffee grounds or spent tea leaves you can get your hands on and add those to the center of the heap.
If you have any leafy green material that too can go into the center of the heap. The method I use now is to build the heap, then I pull out the center down to about half way to the bottom, I put in my coffee grounds and greens then put the material I removed from the heap to make the hole back and at this point I water the heap until it starts leaking water out the bottom. Now you just walk away for a week or two. The coffee grounds and greens will cause heat to build up in the center of the heap and you are on your way to having great compost.
I don't turn heaps unless I just have to. I use a 3/4 ID piece of pipe to punch holes all the way around to the ground so air can get in, but I don't do that until I see the heap start to settle. I also don't compact the materials I am putting into the heap, any settling they do is by gravity only.
I get finished compost in under 6 months with this method, your mileage may vary because it is very depended upon what materials go into the heap.
The materials I use are: dried leaves, grass clippings, kitchen wastes that don't go to the hogs, dog poop, hog poop, small branches that are cut into 10 cm lengths (these are smaller than my little finger), cardboard, paper products that don't have a plastic coating, wood ashes, all plant trimmings.
If it wasn't made by man, then it will compost. I have in the past even composted disposable diapers ( you do have to remove the plastic outer covering).

The only other way to make bamboo leaves good for soil is to burn them into a light charcoal but this requires a barrel with a lid so you can do it right and it really is my last ditch method.

I have a stand of black bamboo that produces lots of dead leaves. I have used these for years as mulch around beds with hawthorn (rhaphiolepsis) hedges. Very effective mulch—rarely see any weeds growing through it, and easily absorbs water and gradually breaks down.  And the hedge is doing just fine. So don’t know if the allopathic poisons affect all plants.

Green bamboo leaves are lethal to garden plants like tomatoes yet others such as garlic seem to like it. I sometimes use fresh green bamboo cuttings to kill grass in my gravel drive..I would only use brown aged leaves on plants as they seem to be. Largely lacking in the lethal substances present in green leaves. Always use small amounts at first to test compatibility. And I am uncertain of build up of trace chemicals over time. Definitely composting would solve many potential issues.

Interesting thread. Glad it resurfaced.  I always knew bamboo suppressed competition, but thought it was just due to the dense canopy and root network.  I make a lot of biochar from bamboo.  I would imagine the high heat destroys any allelopathic compounds, but I also feed a lot to livestock.  I wonder if their digestive process destroys the compounds? I have noticed a marked decrease in dallis grass in our pasture, a normally weedy grass in the area that grows just about anywhere.  Rye, clover, and our dominant warm season grass, nimblewill seem to do just fine.

Wayne Stoner wrote:I have a stand of black bamboo that produces lots of dead leaves. I have used these for years as mulch around beds with hawthorn (rhaphiolepsis) hedges. Very effective mulch—rarely see any weeds growing through it, and easily absorbs water and gradually breaks down.  And the hedge is doing just fine. So don’t know if the allopathic poisons affect all plants.

Allopathic tendencies rarely affect established plants, the do prevent germination of seeds.

Redhawk