Composting Leaves for Beginners

Today, I’m sharing gardening tips on composting leaves for beginners. Fall is a great time to start preparing  garden compost for backyard vegetable gardens.  Having rich soil is essential in for growing flowers and vegetables.  I started composting several years ago, so I could have readily available compost for my veggies.  

I started c0mposting with 2 compost bins that I use for kitchen scraps, yard cuttings, grass etc.  The compost bins weren’t breaking down fast enough for me, so I started composting my neighbor’s leaves.  I’m not sure that I will return to the compost bins after seeing the results of the composted leaves. I love how the leaves break down and how fast they return black gold to me.  The leaves are easier to compost, and they don’t require any work unlike the compost bins.

 

composting leaves for beginners

 

 

Composting leaves is simple, just leave the leaves in lawn bags and let them do their thing.  My neighbor brings me 15 – 20 bags each fall. However, there are other uses for the leaves too.  For example, the top picture is a bag that I use around my garden plants as mulch.  This year I created paths in the garden to keep the weeds down with them. Normally I use straw, but I didn’t purchase any this year so I had to use my leaves.

 

composting leaves for beginners

 

The above bag of leaves is in the mist of breaking down.  You can see where the leaves are decomposing in the bag.  Because I have 5 – 10 bags of black gold for the next year’s garden, the other bags can sit and decompose throughout the year.  So, stop burning those leaves and find a spot for them to decompose.  It’s easy!

Tips for Composting Leaves for Beginners:

1.  Remove large sticks, pine cones etc. from the leaves.
2.  Use inexpensive lawn bags to house them.  I purchase cheap ones from the Dollar Store.
3.  Crumble the leaves as much as you can before placing them in the bag.  Because my neighbor gives me her leaves, I have to open the bags and crumble them myself.  If you have kids let them crumble them.  It gets them involved in gardening. Or, use a weed wacker to break up the leaves.
4.  Wet the crumbled leaves thoroughly, seal the bag and place it in a spot where they won’t be disturbed. I use a stick and punch a few small holes in the bag so it will get water from the rain and snow during the winter months.


The picture below is a bag of leaves that have completely broken down into what gardeners call black gold. Every gardener wishes for black gold. This bag is beautiful and full of worms. It took a few years for the leaves to break down to this state, but it is so worth it. The compost in the bins isn’t close to being this rich.  I must say that I have not given the bins the attention that they require.

Compost bins must be heated up by using a certain amount of greens and browns, such as cuttings from the lawn, leaves, kitchen scrapes, newspaper, etc. It also requires water and turning.  My bags of leaves just require storage space, and nature does its thing.  I hide my bags behind one of my storage buildings.  The longer you leave them, the more they break down.  I love composting tips for beginners that are easy.  I thought you would feel the same.

 

composting leaves for beginners
 

Composted leaves will enrich your soil and help produce beautiful flowers and vegetables.  You can either till it into the garden or place a scoop into the hole before adding your plant. I also add a scoop around the base of my plants.  Simply use a small hand trowel to place the compost around the plant. Most importantly, the compost is organic and it’s free.

So, once the leaves have been raked and bagged it’s time to do fall lawn care.  Fall lawn care should include aerating the soil, fertilizing, over seeding and continuing weed control.  Aerating the soil is important, especially if you intend to overseed your lawn.  Aeration allows water, nutrients, and oxygen to get to the root of your lawn.  As a result, it also allows seeds to touch the soil and receive water when you overseed.

Finally, fertilizing your existing lawn is a step you should take in the fall.  The moisture on the lawn in the morning helps to absorb the fertilizer.  The fertilizer in turn, helps with the roots of the lawn.  Additionally, strong roots will produce a lush, green lawn in the spring.   We hope you found my composting leaves for beginners beneficial.

Signature

Comments

  1. Great idea, thank you!