Composting Leaves

Keep Your Leaves

By Amy McDowell

Asters, mums, and plump orange pumpkins are adorning our porches and perching on our steps.  There are corn stalks, straw bales, and gourds – evidence of a generous fall harvest.  It’s beginning to look a lot like autumn – everywhere you go.

This is a great time of year to begin that compost pile you’ve been thinking about.  Composting is simple, and it keeps valuable resources on your lot that you can never replace, no matter how much money you spend.

Healthy soil is loaded with organic matter – that is, decaying plant debris – and all kinds of microscopic organisms. One gram of healthy soil will have 37 billion bacteria and 4 million fungi, plus larger organisms like protozoa, paramesei, and nematodes. Healthy soil means healthy plants, whether they are flowers, shrubs, trees, or turf.

Composting can be as simple as raking your fall leaves into a pile and tossing a few shovels full of soil on top. The leaves will break down more quickly if you shred them first. There are several styles of inexpensive leaf shredders on the market, or you can shred the leaves by running over them with your bagging mower. Shredding the leaves is not necessary, but it is helpful and speeds up the composting process.

If you are wondering where to get the extra soil, consider digging a shallow pit for your leaves and leaving the excess soil around the edges to sprinkle over the top.

You can always till leaves directly into your garden or spread shredded leaves across the surface if you don’t want to make a compost pile. Whatever your method, the key is to keep your leaves, grass clippings, and all of your yard waste except sticks and branches.

Why is your yard waste such a valuable resource for your yard?  In the soil, bacteria and fungi break down plant debris into smaller and smaller pieces for microbes to feed on.  With no plant debris, there is no food source. The soil is unhealthy and barren. In the typical urban environment, the soil is starving because there is no organic matter. Chemical fertilizers are a temporary fix, and they cannot replace precious organic matter.

If you live in an area where the soil has been disturbed by new construction, rest assured that the soil can recover, but it may take decades. The more organic matter you can add to the soil, the more quickly the soil organisms can heal the damage.

As the trees are beginning to shed their leaves, now is a wonderful time to begin composting and recycling your yard’s priceless resources.

Amy McDowell is an Iowa Certified Nursery Professional. She has an associate’s degree in commercial horticulture and has worked in the field for ten years. She lives and gardens in Polk County.