Comments on: November issue of Sustainable Gardening News is Up

By: Ed Bruske

Ed Bruske — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 19:18:19 +0000

One of the biggest–and most highly regarded–compost operations in the D.C. area is Pogo Organics, where acres of shredded trees and branches compost in huge mounds. Not only will wood compost on its own, but leaves will too. But quickly? Quickly in my book is within a few months. I recently opened bags of leaves I collected a year ago and there was no sign of decomposition at all. Thus, unless you have plenty of room, and lots of time to wait, I cannot recommend composting leaves by themselves if you are really interested in making compost. Mix them in a 1:1 ratio with grass clippings and you will get compost quickly–within three or four months. You might want to let it “cure” a few months longer before using.

I would only recommend putting food scraps into a fairly “hot” composting heap, that is, a pile with green (grass clippings) and brown (fallen leaves) mixed together to generate some heat. Otherwise, the kitchen scraps may not readily break down and simply make a meal for whatever rodents and scavengers you have in the area.

You don’t need a specific shreed to break up leaves. You can use a weed wacker (line trimmer) inside a garbage can, or you can run over the leaves with a lawn mower (preferably electrice to save the planet).

By: Pat Leuchtman

Pat Leuchtman — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:52:24 +0000

Leaves compost perfectly well by themselves. In fact you will be amazed at how quickly they break down. No shredder needed. Just keep adding leaves and pushing them down. A wire fencing ‘container’ only three feet in diameter and 4 feet high will hold dozens of trash bags of leaves. Add them as you collect them. Don’t worry about having to turn the compost. You can add spring clean up leaves. It all breaks down. Let Mother Nature do the work. You can also dig the partially finished compost into the garden in the spring. It will finish rapidly.

By: firefly

firefly — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:37:19 +0000

I got a 3-bin wire leaf composter as a birthday gift (yes, I have finally gone over the edge) and would appreciate more specific information on how to manage a leaf pile especially if you already have a compost bin full of garden bits and kitchen scraps.

It sounds like just letting the leaves go by themselves isn’t going to cut it. I threw some old potting soil into the layers as I filled the bins, but I wonder whether that will help.

Should I segregate stuff, like garden trimmings in the leaf bin (which is open to animals), and kitchen scraps in the covered bin (which is not)?

Can I mix leaves into the regular bin, say in spring after a season of snow? Or will they mat down? I don’t have a shredder.

On a completely geek note, check out this online manual of leaf composting by the State of New Jersey:

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/dshw/rrtp/compost/toc.htm