Leaves!
A lot of people selling leaves just rake them up, shove them in a bag, and you're lucky if they've even been frozen. I spend time hand-sorting to make sure you're only getting good leaves. Not sticks, rocks, pine needles, dead bugs, spiders, etc.
The leaves are then frozen for a minimum of three days at -45° in a deep freezer to sterilize them. My leaves are never heat sterilized, as heat sterilizing kills all of the existing fungi and beneficial soil bacteria, resulting in mold outbreaks from random spores in the air after rehydration in you enclosures. Soil bacteria is also important for the gut biome of detritivores, and vital to their ability to digest food.
All of my leaves are packaged in heavy duty 4 mil plastic resealable zipper bags, because I personally don't like having leaves spilling all over if I drop a bag. I don't sell anything I wouldn't use, so I also don't do packaging I wouldn't be happy to receive if I bought it from another merchant.
Water oak leaves-
Gallon - $15 (shown)
Quart - $5
Deep freezer sterilized. Currently mostly fresh and crunchy fall leaves. See the next entry down if you want softer and more composted leaves for millipedes.
A lot of people selling leaves just rake them up, shove them in a bag, and you're lucky if they've even been frozen. I spend time hand-sorting to make sure you're only getting good leaves. Not sticks, rocks, pine needles, dead bugs, spiders, etc. The leaves are then frozen for a minimum of three days at -45° in a deep freeze.
Collected here in Rocky Point, NC.
Valley Oak Leaves -
Gallon - $15 (shown)
Quart - $5
Deep freezer sterilized.
These are the most classically "oak" looking leaves I've ever seen. They're also softly composted, and absolutely perfect for millipedes.
Collected by one of my awesome field collectors in California.
Just as carefully hand sorted and sterilized before bagging as all of my other leaves, and fully dry so they won't continue to break down or smell weird like wet leaves often do if stored in a sealed environment.
Hardwood Mix Leaves -
Gallon - $15 (shown)
Quart - $5
Deep freezer sterilized.
Hand-sorted to make sure you're only getting good leaves. Not sticks, rocks, pine needles, dead bugs, spiders, etc. The leaves are then frozen for a minimum of three days at -45° in a deep freeze.
This is a mix that may include sweet gum, maple, red oak, sycamore, elm, wild grape, yellow poplar, water oak and other hardwood leaves.
Contents will vary, and mix will be labeled on bags according to the current batch.
(Sweet Gum & Maple mix shown)
These are from a variety of sources, including my awesome field collectors and my own local leaves, based on current availability.
Crumbled Sweet Gum Leaves -
Gallon - $15 (shown)
Quart - $5
Deep freezer sterilized.
Want a lot of great hardwood leaves for mixing into substrate that are soft and enjoyed by a wide variety of invertebrates? Don't need them to be pretty?
UPS crunched a big box of these Sweet Gum leaves from one of my field collectors in California, so while a lot more now fits in a gallon bag, there's few unbroken leaves.
But I'm not charging extra for them or filling the bags lightly, so UPS's abuse of boxes is useful for my customers this time.
Grab yourself a couple bags and stock up, since this is the best bulk value for leaves on my list.
Vinhático (Persea indica) Leaves -
Gallon - $15 (shown)
Quart - $5
Deep freezer sterilized.
A really cool new leaf from one of my California field collectors.
Vinhático is a cousin of the avocado, and the leaves are really nice and thick, great for a long lasting meal for isopods, millipedes or roaches.
These are also nicely composted before drying, freezer sterilizing and hand sorting, so they're soft and ready for all your detritivores to snack on.
Sweetleaf leaves -
Gallon - $15 (shown)
Quart - $5
Deep freezer sterilized.
Just like my oak leaves, I spend time hand-sorting to make sure you're only getting good leaves. Not sticks, rocks, pine needles, dead bugs, spiders, etc. The leaves are then frozen for a minimum of three days at -45° in a deep freeze.
Collected here in NC, Sweetleaf is a nice native shruby tree, and every invertebrate I've offered these to has been a fan.
As a bonus, these smell nice, making the source of their name obvious.
(Apparently also favored as a food of deer, horses and other herbivores)
Bamboo Leaves - Limited amounts available, restock expected to be intermittent.
My isopods were immediately interested and act like these are treats. Would be great for roaches too. Unexpected bonus - these leaves smell really good.
Quart - $5
Deep freezer sterilized.
Field Elm Leaves - (out of stock currently)
Via one of my awesome field collectors in Texas, we now have the perfect leaf for small enclosures and small invertebrates.
Field Elm leaves are a great little hardwood leaf and a lot of them fit in a quart bag. The only downside I can find is that I currently only have a few bags available.
Like all of my leaves, these are hand sorted and top quality, harvested from pesticide free locations.
Quart - $5
Deep freezer sterilized.
Willow Leaves -
Another score for my Texas field collector!
I've been wanting to add willow leaves to my list for a while now, but couldn't find a good local source to harvest from. Fortunately, my field collector came through and sent me a big box of these beautiful and fantastic quality leaves. A lovely hardwood that smells really nice, these are great for all detritivores.
Like all of my leaves, these are hand sorted and top quality, harvested from pesticide free locations.
Quart - $5
Deep freezer sterilized.
Magnolia leaves -
These are awesome hides and food dishes for isopods, millipedes and roaches that break down into leaf litter and snacks over time.
The small ones are great for smaller bins or using as leaf litter in large bins and terrariums.
Large leaves are shown packaged in gallon size bags.
One Dozen Large or Small leaves: $7
Deep freezer sterilized.
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