Own compostis a real treasure of gold for every gardener. And in addition to the natural organic waste from the kitchen, it is your garden that provides you with the best materials for this. One of the biggest jobs in the fall is undoubtedly picking up the leaves, especially if you have a lot of trees in the garden. There is also the recurring question “Where do the leaves go?”. The municipal garbage collection and recycling center are an option, but they come with additional costs - and unnecessary ones at that, because we think it would be better if you composted your leaves. Not just to save money. Leaf compost is really valuable for some of the common garden plants. But how do you compost leaves and which plants benefit from autumn leaves? We'll explain it to you!
Composting leaves – does it work like other organic waste?
No, unfortunately it's not that easy, but it's not necessarily difficult either. What you should keep in mind, however, is that the process is not as quick as with other biological waste. If you want to compost leaves, you should first know that leaves rot more slowly. However, you can speed up the composting of leaves by, among other things, chopping up the leaves.
After you chop up the leaves, you should not compost them alone. You can quickly compost the leaves by, for examplewith the last lawn cutmix the season. The result is also a higher quality fertilizer. As a guide, you can simply follow the rule that the proportion of leaves should not be more than 20% when making leaf compost. After you compost leaves, you get an acidic fertilizer that particularly appeals to ericaceous plants. These include, among othersthe rhododendronandthe hydrangea.
Composting leaves – this is how it’s done
First of all, you should chop up the leaves. This is particularly necessary for oak, beech and chestnut leaves, as they have a stable structure and therefore rot more slowly. You can shred the leaves with a lawn mower (check for hedgehogs and other animals that like to hide in the leaves first!). This then collects the leaves in the basket (and mixes them with the lawn) so that you can more easily transfer them to the compost heap. You design this as follows:
- It's best to use a mix of different types of leaves.
- Instead of just throwing in leaves, create a layering system, e.g. a layer of leaves, a layer of kitchen scraps, a layer of lawn clippings, etc., each 30cm thick.
- You can also add a layer of algae lime, stone dust, horn shavings or coarse compost between each layer. The whole thing not only improves the future fertilizer in terms of nutrients and pH content, but also accelerates rotting. The leaves immediately collapse, which slows down rotting because there is a lack of air. If you were to compost the leaves alone, you would have to move them around every 6 weeks (which is of course also possible). This guarantees good ventilation, which is important for the rotting process.
- Once you have layered your compost heap, cover it with grass, straw or leaves.
- Make sure the compost pile is moist and loose.
- If necessary, you can add a compost accelerator.
- By spring the pile collapses significantly. Then you should implement it.
- Depending on the weather and the types of leaves used, soil forms after several months.
- Leaves that have not completely rotted can also be used in the garden as mulch.
Area composting as an alternative
Another variant with which you can compost leaves is so-called surface composting. For this purpose you can simply leave the leaves lying in the garden. BUT: Not everywhere where it fell to the ground naturally. This would only ruin your lawn and create slipping hazards on paths. And you have to do that firstCollect leaves. Then you can use it as mulch. Spread the chopped leaves about 10 cm thick under bushes, trees and on tree slices. You can then leave the leaves there, where they can rot in peace over the next 12 months and release nutrients to the plants.
Compost leaves in bags
It is also possible to produce leaf compost in black plastic bags. To do this, collect your leaves in the garden or chop them up and put them in the bags. You then close the top opening loosely by simply screwing it in. Then place a paving stone or other heavy object on top and poke holes in the sides of the bag. This allows air to circulate between the leaf pieces and compost the leaves. After 6 to 12 months you will receive the valuable soil.
Use leaves as fertilizer in raised beds by mixing them with the new substrate. The chopped leaves are also very suitable as frost protection in the vegetable patch. To do this, simply create a thin layer of leaves. So if you have more leaves than you can compost, you can also “dispose” of the leaves in this way. Building chicken wire cages around your containers and filling the gaps between the container and the wire with leaves will also provide wonderful winter protection for your potted plants.
