In autumn, the leaves of many trees turn bright colors. This makes them look very beautiful, but also means that your yard will be littered with fallen leaves. You can avoid this by raking the leaves and putting them in bags, but this may be a lot of work. A better solution is to buy specially made bags meant for leaf collection. But you can’t just dump the leaves in a regular garbage can. The leaves contain a lot of water and a lot of air, and they easily get soggy. The leaves also give off an unpleasant smell. So, how do you get rid of those leaves?
Fall leaves make great compost! The leaves are rich in nitrogen, which is great for plants, and the leaves will decompose quickly. Over the winter, they will feed your plants in the spring.
- First, rake them up and discard any that don’t look right. When you rake them, separate the leaves from the twigs. The twigs will make your compost smell bad, and you don’t want that.
- Next, put the leaves into a pile. You will need to add water periodically to keep the pile moist, but don’t worry; the rotting leaves will act as a natural water source. Add a couple of inches of leaves to a bin, and cover the leaves with a layer of smaller twigs. The twigs will decompose quickly, releasing the nitrogen from the leaves.
- Next, add some small sticks or straw to help aerate the pile. Sticks are cheap, and you can recycle them. Straw is great, too; it will provide a good carbon base for your pile.
- Finally, put the pile in a shaded area. This will keep the pile moist. In about three months, you will have a compost pile that is ready to use.
