Composting Fallen Leaves

One of my pet peeves with urban living is the lack of options for disposing of yard waste, particularly leaves and grass.

Using some very simple composing techniques, you can make your lawn and garden almost completely self contained. You’ll rarely have to send bulky, guilt-ridden yard waste to the dumps and will have excellent, rich compost available for your flower and vegetable garden.

It only takes a few basic ingredients to get your successful sustainable urban composting project going, and most of them you probably have already. Find out the easy steps to turning lawn debris into garden gold, right here:

Ingredients:
- Bagger / Mulching Lawn mower
- Hose
- Dirt
- Vegetable Garden or a spot to put one in the spring.
- One big, honkin’ Compost Heap (3.5 CU Yards)

The one thing you probably don’t have is the big, honkin’ compost heap, so for very simple instructions on how to make one for yourself, visit my website at pacific sands.

One nice future of our cheapie heap is that it’s sort of portable between seasons. I’m seriously lazy, so I stick the thing in the middle of the garden for the winter so I don’t have far to haul the compost come spring. Note: if this is your first year in the process, you may want to toss a little straw or broken up corn stalks at the bottom of your heap to keep some air space in there and allow for drainage.

The first thing I do for fall composting is pull out all of the remaining plant stalks and toss them in the middle of the garden. Anything that looks hinkey or diseased goes in the garbage or out to the county to get burned. I’ve never had a problem with bad bacteria or fungi breeding in the heap, but why take the chance if you don’t have to. Now we apply the key urban composting ingredient -

The mulcher / bagger lawnmower.
Fire that mower up and run that big pile of dead garden stuff over until it’s all sucked up in the bag. Your mower is going to make an awful racket doing this, but you will be AMAZED at how small all that stuff gets. Dump the bag into the heap, scoop a thin layer of dirt over it and cast your eyes on all those leaves in the lawn.

MAKE EM SMALL. Run them over with the lawn mower, mulch them, bag them and transport them all with one simple tool. If you have a particularly thick layer of leaves, run the mower across the lawn a couple of times with the bagger unattached and get them a little smaller to start with. Your bag is going to fill up really fast, but don’t despair. Remember all the work you’re saving by not having to rake, bag, carry, etc. Dump them into the heap and add a thin layer of dirt every six inches or so. Don’t skip this step as the soil provides important bacteria that will vastly accelerate the mulching process. Water the heap thoroughly and pull up on the sides to keep it uniform and straight.

Add the usual kitchen scraps to the heap over the course of the winter and toss a little dirt over it once in awhile if you can. Between the garden leftovers, leaves, and whatever grass that came up with them, you should have a very evenly balanced compost that will be ready in the spring when it warms up to spread through your garden and put around plantings.

Read more: Nature, Lawns & Gardens

By Mick Wynhoff, an environmental products marketing consultant and self-proclaimed "Eco Geek."

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Jeramie D.

3:03PM PDT on Oct 19, 2011

thanks

send a green star

Susan B.

3:50AM PST on Nov 17, 2010

Noted,thanks.

Mervi R.

2:37PM PDT on Oct 5, 2010

We always compost all the leaves.

NO EMAILS P.

12:43AM PDT on Sep 17, 2010

thankyou

John M.

6:26PM PDT on Jun 25, 2010

I use a 55 gallon metal can with a lid.I drill holes in the can for ventilation.The animals can not get to the compost and it heats up and decomposes quickly.Some places give these cans away.

Sheila C.

3:32PM PST on Nov 15, 2008

I tried a compost heap with fruit and vegetable scraps, Leaves, grass, but soon I had skunks and possibly foxes in my back yard at night. My Cat got a face full of skunk spray one night. I have a fenced yard, but these animals can climb it. My greyhound might also meet a skunk, I fear.

Lucy J.

7:12PM PST on Nov 6, 2008

Can't find instructions for big honkin compost heap via that link...has it moved or is it me?

Roger N.

6:49AM PDT on Aug 31, 2007

I have composted in small towns, small cities and in the country for about twenty years and I have NEVER had critters in my heap. But if they did snitch some veggie scraps occasionally, what's the harm? You are more likely to attract vermin with bird seed in the house than a compost heap in the yard.

Liz L.

8:40PM PDT on Aug 30, 2007

NO meat or fats for the compost pile but coffee grounds and tea leaves are fine along with any peelings from fruits and veggies--or even spoiled ones. Along with the usual lawn clippings and leaves and small prunings. The hardest part is trying to turn it....
Betty L

8:14PM PDT on Aug 30, 2007

Linda R.
If they don't eat your garden they won't eat your comost.
I made a circle with a snow fence about 4' high and it keeps the animals out. Yes small one can squeez in but they are also the ones eating you garden.
EL