Leaves
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 349
Likes: 0
From: oxon hill, MD U.S.A
got a 3-in-1 mower so i just pick them up with that and the county takes them on monday. the only down side they only do it once a year with a vaccum then we got to bag the rest A lot of 44gal bags
Postmaster
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 2,680
Likes: 1
From: Montreal Canada
Originally Posted by 76supercab2
Yes, shredding helps them compost. Just piling up leaves won't compost well. It may even take a couple of years to fully compost. However, if in the spring you take those half rotten leaves and mix them with your lawn clippings in a 4 leaves to 1 grass clippings ratio by volume, you won't believe the composting action you get. The pile will heat to 140 - 160 degrees overnight. To keep the reaction going you have to turn the pile every 2 or 3 days. In 14 days you will have compost ready for the garden.
I got a Compostumbler. Expensive but it works very well. If you load it with the proper ratio of green to brown, you can easily turn the pile a couple of times a day and have compost in 14 days.
I got a Compostumbler. Expensive but it works very well. If you load it with the proper ratio of green to brown, you can easily turn the pile a couple of times a day and have compost in 14 days.
Postmaster
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 4,043
Likes: 4
I use a 5 gallon bucket to measure with. I usually mix 3 to 4 buckets of leaves to 1 bucket of grass clippings. What you are doing is creating the proper 'diet' for the microbes and bacteria that do the composting. The organisms need 4 things to do their work efficiently. Protien, Carbohydrates, Water, and Air.
Green waste (grass clippings, manure, kitchen scraps) is your protien.
Brown waste (straw, dry leaves) is the carbohydrates.
Water is self explanitory but you don't want the pile sopping. More like a damp freshly rung out sponge. In fact, with the moisture in the grass, and the moisture in the leaves (they've been out in the rain for over a year now right?) you may not need to add any additional moisture.
Air comes from turning the pile. Anything you can do to mix it up. Garden spade, pick-mattox, garden tiller, front end loader, shovel, etc. When you turn the pile, you are giving the organisms a breath of fresh air and they can contiue working. If you have a ground or compost thermometer, the most efficient way to turn the pile is to watch the temperature. When you first build the pile it will heat to around 150 degrees. That will hold for a couple of days. When the temperature starts to drop, that means the oxygen is being depleted. Turn the pile. It will re-heat as the microbes contiue to work.
Continue turning the pile until it doesn't re-heat anymore (approx 2 weeks). When the pile doesn't heat again, it is finished and ready to be used on the garden. The finished compost should have a pleasant, earthy smell to it.
What I've described is the 'hot' or quick composting method. If that seems like too much work, then build the pile and turn it as often as you can. The more often you turn it the faster the comost will finish. Composting isn't hard and what you are doing now will work eventually. But if you want to speed the process, the above method is the best way.
Green waste (grass clippings, manure, kitchen scraps) is your protien.
Brown waste (straw, dry leaves) is the carbohydrates.
Water is self explanitory but you don't want the pile sopping. More like a damp freshly rung out sponge. In fact, with the moisture in the grass, and the moisture in the leaves (they've been out in the rain for over a year now right?) you may not need to add any additional moisture.
Air comes from turning the pile. Anything you can do to mix it up. Garden spade, pick-mattox, garden tiller, front end loader, shovel, etc. When you turn the pile, you are giving the organisms a breath of fresh air and they can contiue working. If you have a ground or compost thermometer, the most efficient way to turn the pile is to watch the temperature. When you first build the pile it will heat to around 150 degrees. That will hold for a couple of days. When the temperature starts to drop, that means the oxygen is being depleted. Turn the pile. It will re-heat as the microbes contiue to work.
Continue turning the pile until it doesn't re-heat anymore (approx 2 weeks). When the pile doesn't heat again, it is finished and ready to be used on the garden. The finished compost should have a pleasant, earthy smell to it.
What I've described is the 'hot' or quick composting method. If that seems like too much work, then build the pile and turn it as often as you can. The more often you turn it the faster the comost will finish. Composting isn't hard and what you are doing now will work eventually. But if you want to speed the process, the above method is the best way.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
