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Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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Posted by
Hagendean98 none (
My Page) on
Thu, Oct 13, 11 at 14:25
| I started a compost pile that is 95% oak leaves the rest is a little dead grass when I swept up the leaves. I did try to wet the leaves down while piling them up. After a week I turned the pile and noticed it has not heated up. Would it do any good to keep turning the pile about once a week. The pile is about 4 feet tall and about 6 foot across. I do not have access to any greens. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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| Without the greens, I think it's just a waiting game. I wouldn't think the additional aeration you get would speed it up to make it worth the effort. If you can get the used coffee grounds from starbucks.. Or other easy greens (mow you neighbor's lawn for free, ask a grocery to collect their old scraps, set up a beer garden in your backyard and use the leaf pile for all liquids, etc� there are some crazy ideas on this forum) They will cook down the leaves fairly well within a winter's time. Other's might have more sound advice. |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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| Leaves make a great fluffy humus (leaf mold) but they do break down rather slowly by themselves. So slowly in fact that the process does not outpace the natural rate of air infiltration, so you don't have to turn that often. Some people don't turn their leaf piles at all, and get great compost after about a year. Doesn't hurt to turn them though. |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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| About how long would it take? I plan to use my mulching vac to collect and stockpile leaves to use as garden mulch next year. I hope for them not to break down much at all before spring when I start my garden for the season. Joe |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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| i don't think much at all. My father has been mulching with last years shredded oak leaves for 40 years in all of his gardens. Each year he just adds on a nice layer and they slowly break down over the year. no acid problems and no extra fertilization has ever been required. |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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shredding them might help... I collect mine with a mower and pile them up separate from my other compost piles because i have so many leaves. i just add them to the other compost piles, along with my grass clippings, as i mow the yard.
From other threads on this site, i expected the composting process to be extremely slow for just leaves... I was pleasantly surprised at the rate of decay when shoveling up some leaves recently.
Maybe it's the shredding, maybe it the dirt that gets mixed with the chopped leaves when mowing...
I think a large pile of leaves would have decent compost, in the center of the pile, within 6 months (not bad for "cold" composting). |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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| What will cause the bacteria that will digest those leaves to generate heat is nearly a 30:1 C:N ratio, just the right amount of moisture, and the particle size. Smaller leaf particles are easier to digest if enough Nitrogen and moisture is in the mix. Turning may help, if the mix is close to optimal to make compost. If you want leaf mold all that is needed os to pile those leaves up and leave them alone for a year. |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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- Posted by pt03 2b Southern Manitob (My Page) on
Fri, Oct 14, 11 at 8:17
| "Would it do any good to keep turning the pile about once a week. " Probably lower your blood pressure, maybe help you lose some weight and sleep better but it isn't going to do much for the leaves. ;-) Lloyd |
Here is a link that might be useful: Benefits
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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I am also composting mostly leaves in a couple of my bins. I piled the leaves last fall and they are still there! They were shredded too!
Leaves do take a lot of time, but it's still worth it.
I have used bloodmeal on occasion to heat things up but that gets too expensive to do.
Just throw in your table scraps, banana peels, veggie clippings, used coffee grounds, whatever you have.
It'll happen, but will take time.
I'm hoping my pile will be ready now in spring (1 1/2 years to compost) otherwise I'll have to wait until next fall.
You can also just shred them and use them as mulch, that's what I do also. Plentiful and free, what could be better? lol |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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Without the nitrogen it will take a while. Fungus will do a lot of the work and earthworms will if you have them.
If you are in an area that has a significant winter it will slow down a fair amount during that time. |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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| The link below goes to a very good tutorial on composting. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Online Composting tutorial
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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- Posted by jolj 7b/8a-S.C.,USA (My Page) on
Sat, Oct 15, 11 at 19:24
I shred the leaves for compost & turn them when I have time
(I here it is good for the blood pressure).
They rot a little over the winter & I mix in coffee waste, about 25%.
I spread them & turn them under in Feb. or early March.
By the time I plant in mid to late April they are gone.
Last year I turned some small cherry/ birch size leaves whole & found none of them when planting.
I have planted my broccoli,cabbage,cauliflower,collards,garlic,lettuce,mustard,onions,sp
inach & turnips.
I will mulch as soon as all the seed are up.
I will use dry leave as a winter mulch & turn them after the winter harvest.
If you let the leave lay until Spring & add green grass clipping, then you should have compost in 6-8 weeks. |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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| If you really want to keep leaves to use next spring as mulch, put them in plastic bags so they don't get wet. they'll be the same years from now if you keep them dry. I used to do this to save them for spring to mix with grass clippings, but now I just put them in a big wire bin or make piles on the garden to let them get a head start over the winter. They are only half done by spring and are still a 'brown' for mixing with fresh greens. |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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| I am currently storing my mulched leaves in chicken wire bins, with no weather protection. Mind you I am in Wisconsin, where it will be freezing for many months, with plenty of below zeroness. I would have to imagine there won't be much composting action in those conditions. I even made a leaf collecting contraption, so instead of my mulcher vac filling the little bag, and having to empty it every 5 minutes, I now can go to town. I built an enclosure on my garden trailer for my tractor, which I connect a flexible duct to from my vac, so the leaves just fill up the trailer. Now I can just pull right up to the neighbor's roadside leaf piles and clean 'em right up. Joe |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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| Cool idea Joe. I have a shop dust collector, which has a cyclone pre-filter made from a metal trash can with a special molded lid that the 4" hoses fit into. The idea could be easily adapted to the leaf blower. Eureka! |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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| Gee, we could make beautiful compost together, I have too many greens! |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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| The bacteria, not fungi, that would be digesting those leaves and converting them into leaf mold do need some Nitrogen, some moisture, and air to function well. Turning can introduce more air, and is often done when the material gets too wet, but turning can also disrupt the process since the bacteria would be disturbed and will need to get back togther to work most efficiently. just as turnig compost has it advantages and disadvantages. |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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| I have a leaf mold question for you good folks. I live in the woods, and when the leaves are removed from the 1/4 mile driveway and yard, there is a huge pile, much too large to turn. So I let them sit, and after 2-3 years, they're completely broken down. I have a 1 Y/O pile and a 2 Y/O pile that I'd like to combine and speed up the process so it will be ready for a tropical plant bed next Spring. Would adding a high N commercial fertilizer, such as ammonium nitrate, speed things along? I don't have access to UCG or manure. This is a leaf of a Thai Giant elephant ear that was grown in 100% leaf mold this year... 
|
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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| A large leaf pile that is never stirred can likely have dry areas that will not rot until they are wet too....been there. |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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| My goodness ctnchpr, I can see why natives use those plant leaves as nature's free umbrellas. |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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- Posted by jolj 7b/8a-S.C.,USA (My Page) on
Tue, Oct 25, 11 at 18:34
Nice, ctnchpr!
Will that plant live in zone 7b without protection? |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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| @ jolj, No, they're not hardy in 7b. The lightest frost will burn the leaves, then the tuber must be stored in a cool, dry spot. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Good info
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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| I've been happy with my oak leaves' rate of decomposition. Last fall and winter I gathered probably 40 bags of mostly oak leaves from my neighborhood. These were mostly dry/crisp live oak leaves. I have 3 bins, 2 for leaves only, and 1 for compost, and the 40 bags was enough to fill all bins to overflowing. I did not even shred the leaves - I decided that was too much work. But I did turn them in the winter and spring - probably 3 or 4 times total. In summer it got too hot outside to turn. And it didn't rain either. The compost bin was generally layered...leaves and kitchen scraps. Today, almost one year later, I have a little less than a cubic yard of beautiful compost. I'd guess it now amounts to about 25% of the original volume, and that includes all of the kitchen scraps my family added continually throughout the year. I've read stable humus occurs at about 10% of original volume. I suspect that will take another year to achieve, and will likely involve worms, which aren't very common in warm/hot piles. I think turning helps. It certainly will help provide a more uniform product. It's really about how much time you want to put into it. The more you turn, the quicker you'll get compost, even with no greens. |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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- Posted by jolj 7b/8a-S.C.,USA (My Page) on
Fri, Oct 28, 11 at 10:39
Thanks dogwind.
Your down to earth answer is easy to follow.
I have done much the same in the past.
I mostly shred now, to make it easier to turn. |
RE: Would turning leaf pile hlep very much?
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| Can you get some coffee grounds? I had a similar problem with shredded leaves before I got the local Starbucks to save the used coffee grounds. Now, I have no problem getting my pile heated up. If you can't get large quantities of "greens" then it's probably going to be slow going. |
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