Home Gardener....Save Those Leaves!

Hey, it is already November: serious leaf season.  Leaves are turning color, drying up and falling all over your property.   I know many of you are out there bagging leaves or raking them into piles for the borough to suck up with the leaf vacuum.  Or you will be soon enough! You want them out of there and your lawn tidy for winter.  STOP! You are throwing away an amazing garden resource. Yes, those leaves make amazing compost for your garden, your shrubs and even the lawn.

If you just want to improve your turf, make loose piles of the leaves and run your mower over them a couple of times.  The finely chopped dried leaves will sift into your lawn and soil and decompose over winter to enrich the soil and help your lawn be more green and lush without the use of chemical fertilizers.  If you don’t chop them up they will tend to blow around and they don’t decompose nearly as well.

You say, "how do I make compost?"  Easy peasy: you can use any sort of container even just a ring of chicken wire held upright by 3-4 stakes or some boards nailed into a square bin.  You can buy a compost bin from any number of gardening websites or garden centers.  Just fill with chopped leaves and let nature take its time to turn those leaves into compost.  Keep the pile moist and some people even turn it regularly, I always forget to do that…

You should chop the leaves up with your mower or a leaf shredder and then put them into a compost bin along with any kitchen refuse you have.  If you don't chop them the leaves take a really long time to decompose so chop them up well to seriously speed the process up. The kitchen stuff like potato peels, cabbage cores or spoiled veggies and fruits doesn’t really do much; it is those leaves that are going to decay into the rich garden compost that will be like brown gold for placing around plants, shrubs and trees in the yard and garden.   Still, I like to put all suitable kitchen compostables in there; particularly coffee grounds and banana peels which add a lot compared to other kitchen refuse.  Make sure you don’t add and meat, fish, fats or dairy to the pile.  

You can read up on many garden websites on how to build and maintain a compost pile.  It is not that difficult and you don’t really have to spend a lot of money to create one. 

If you were wondering what the town does with the leaves they suck up; exactly what I describe above: they chop them up and pile them to decay and make compost that the borough gives away in the compost center.   You might be a bit concerned about any yard chemicals in the leaves of some of your neighbors; make your own compost and you will know what is in there chemical wise.

So, it is simple: chop the leaves with a shredder or your lawnmower, let some fall and lie loose in the lawn and put the rest in the compost pile or on top of your veggie garden.  The bits of leaves on top of beds will decay and mingle with your soil enriching it and making it loose and fertile for the spring growing season. 

Happy compost making season!