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| I have a large pile of mostly maple leaves in my veggie garden. Is there anything I can put on top of them to help them compost faster? I was wondering about straight manure or some kind of chemical fertilizer to help the leaves break down faster. I am in the Pacific North West so will expect that there will be a lot of rain during the winter. With this rain, it is too late to chop the leaves up with mowers or leaf blower.Any thoughts? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Wed, Nov 9, 11 at 10:30
| We were just discussing this very question in a thread called "Hot Composting Browns Only". You might scroll down a bit and read that one. High nitrogen fertilizer will work, but I would definitely put a tarp or some kind of cover over the pile so it doesn't all leach away in your steady NW rains. Fresh manure would be even better, and probably cheaper if you can find some. Composted manure will not work. |
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| Bring leaves to Lloyds house, take home compost. Other than the four day drive it's about the fastest I know of. ;-) Lloyd |
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| I'm in a similiar climate & my son or hubby use the mulching mower with bagger on wet leaves right on top of the grass then take to veg. garden for me to spread along with manures and UCG from St*rbucks. Then I cover with burlap bags & by spring it's not fully broken down, but not a problem to rake lightly to level & plant or if desired fork through it. My dad helped plant the tomatoes this year & liked how he could dig holes with his hands! I have just begun to make layers this year and will keep as the leaves accumulate. Of course, it's easier when they're dry, but that is rare in our climate. If you don't shred the leaves or mix in manure or other high nitrogen it stays a leaf pile taking 2 years to decompose. The stems are the slowest! |
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| Ah, Lloyd...how I wish I lived closer. Val |
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- Posted by dottyinduncan z8b coastal BC (My Page) on Wed, Nov 9, 11 at 17:43
| Lloyd the visit is tempting, but there's a ferry too....I read the hot composting browns and think I have a plan. We have couple of buckets of urea which I might as well use. Also, donkeys live next door so I might have to follow them around a bit. Best of all, I'll put the grass catcher on the riding lawnmower and send DH out to the pasture to get me some grass clippings. I don't know if I'll be able to pull the pile apart to layer it with the greens, but I'll try. If the rain holds off for a day or so, it might work. Is the tarp just to stop the leaching? Thanks all for the responses. |
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| The wee bacteria that will digest those leaves will work faster if the material is smaller, ie. shredded. Some kind of readily available Nitrogen can help, too. The right C:N ratio will provide a nutrient (the Nitrogen) that will help those bacteria digest the carbonaceous material (leaves) as long as the right mix of air and water is maintained. Any type of readily available Nitrogen, animal manurtes, synthetic fertilizers, organic fertilizers (chemicals also) will work. |
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- Posted by tn_gardening (My Page) on Thu, Nov 10, 11 at 7:16
| I do think adding manure will help. Pacific NW? Any coffee houses around there? :-) Get some used coffee grounds. Even if it's just a hanfull a day from your neighbors and co-workers or local convenient store/restaurant. Urine |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Thu, Nov 10, 11 at 11:18
| Yes, the tarp suggestion was to reduce leaching, especially if you're using granular high nitrogen fertilizer, which is very water soluble. |
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| Just pee on it......often! And get some of the dirt mixed in with it. The tarp will make the worms happier - they don't like being out in the sun. So long as the whole mess is damp (not wet), then things will move along well. |
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- Posted by dottyinduncan z8b coastal BC (My Page) on Thu, Nov 10, 11 at 18:57
| We've had an absolutely beautiful day here in the Pacific NW! Fixed a flat tire on the riding lawnmower, attached the grass catcher, (not easy for a couple of old people that don't bend well), and sent DH out into the pasture to fetch me some greens. Catcher kept plugging up, grass too wet but I got a couple of wheelbarrow full to add to my pile. I'm decorated head to toe with stuff blown out of lm while clearing clogs. Doesn't matter, sun was shining, eagles singing, and my pile is happy. I'll see how it is in the next few days, then if I can't find any more organics, easily, I'll add the Urea. Can't get DH to cooperate on the peeing dept. He's sure all the neighbours will see him. Interestingly, I was surprised by how far up in the pile the worms were. At least 12 inches up in the pile. |
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- Posted by novascapes none (My Page) on Fri, Nov 11, 11 at 6:10
| I always hear about using coffee grounds. I look up the N content and it was only 2.28%. So how may lbs. of coffee grounds would be neded for a ,say a 3'X3'X3' pile of shreeded leaves? |
Here is a link that might be useful: sunset.com
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- Posted by tn_gardening (My Page) on Fri, Nov 11, 11 at 7:05
| I always hear about using coffee grounds. I look up the N content and it was only 2.28%. So how may lbs. of coffee grounds would be neded for a ,say a 3'X3'X3' pile of shreeded leaves? ==================================== I'ts too early for math. :-) If I had to guess I'd say quite a few pounds worth of UCG would be needed. It will eventually break down no matter what, so it really all depends on how fast you want it to happen. |
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| Go to this thread and find a post by gargwarb four posts down and use the handy dandy calculator he linked to. It is awesome. Lloyd |
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| Can anyone tell me why my compost pile of two years doesn't have any worms. It is a large one next to a Live Oak and enclosed on 3 sides with long logs that we've added shredded leaves, green stuff from the vegetable garden and topsoil to. Actually I think I can count on one hand the worms I've seen gardening here for the past three years. I did find one the other day in a low area of the yard under a bag of mulch. So I take it they like lots of moisture? I have been mixing that compost in a wheel barrow with some cheap topsoil and cow manure to use in the hole when I plant a new plant in my flowerbeds but the lack of worms makes me...sad |
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| No worms in pile? They go where the food is, so perhaps, your compost is cured & no longer food for them. A cold compost pile is a bit different from a worm bin, so they'll be more spread out. They're also under the top layer of mulch where it's moist & dark, so you have to search for them a bit. Seems like when my soil is rich in organic matter I have a lot more worms living in & around my plants. When I harvest chives I often have to rinse out the baby worms as they're mingling in the dying parts of the chives amidst the new sprouts. In the garden beds where I've amended with lots of compost & kept tucked in with mulch there are oodles of them when I use a trowel to move the self sown seedlings. In areas sheet mulched & covered with burlap bags I lift the bags to find lots of them squirming around. Perhaps, you just need to increase the goodies for them & they'll multiply enough so you can see them. An easy way to increase your supply is to bring in a worm rich partially composted source of manure. Horse owners have piles of the stuff around full of worms! Could it be too wet or too dry when you're looking? They move away from too much moisture & move toward moisture during dry weather. I can easily locate worms in my cold compost piles as well as under buckets in the vegetable garden or potted plants setting on the ground. They will be in piles on top of each other if in a compost pile or more spread out where the organic matter is less concentrated. |
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| "Actually I think I can count on one hand the worms I've seen gardening here for the past three years." There is your answer....worms are not everywhere. There are locations that do not have any natural occurring earthworms. Contrary to what some might lead you to believe, it is possible to have good soil and no earthworms. Likewise, compost can be achieved without any worms whatsoever (think tumblers). Lloyd |
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- Posted by novascapes none (My Page) on Sat, Nov 12, 11 at 6:00
| Could it be you have the wrong type of worm. I don't know a lot about worms but the ones in my compost are not the same as the ones native to my area. The native worms are there just under the compost in the clay. |
Here is a link that might be useful: worms in the garden
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