With the leaves from over 500 trees carpeting our property each Fall, it is natural that I should develop a great interest in a compost pile and composting methods.
In 20 years of composting, we have developed a system of our own and also some clear ideas as to what can be done with compost.
If our system seems too simple, I can only plead the lack of time for processing and the fact that it works.
Our compost bin is located on one side of the kitchen garden, close to the greenhouses; it is screened off from both by suitable shrubs.
The bin is 120’ feet long and 12’ feet wide, with the 20’ feet nearest the greenhouses divided off. A 9 -foot roadway on one side of the bin permits a trailer of leaves to be brought in.
Of Simple Construction
The bin itself is constructed of a one-inch pipe, screwed together with appropriate fittings.
Upright pipes are 4’ feet long, 2′ feet below ground, set in holes made with a porthole digger, and then filled with concrete.
Posts are nine feet apart, and 1-inch mesh chicken wire is strung between them, reinforced with two strands of number nine wire. This bin has been in use for many years.
Composting begins about the end of October when the upper long bin is empty. I do not pick up any leaves until there are enough down to make it worthwhile. Then, we take them where they lie thickest, not attempt to clean up until all leaves are down.
Using an Activator
We pile leaves into the bin until we have a thickness of about two feet, so we sprinkle on an activator.
For an activator, we use a complete fertilizer, 100-4 for lawns and a light sprinkling of ground lime.
Fifty pounds of fertilizer covers an area of 1800 square feet, slightly watered into the leaves. Then we proceed to add another 2′ feet of leaves, followed by another application of fertilizer and lime.
This time we add water until the pile is wet through but not wet enough to wash away the fertilizer.
As the leaves begin to ferment, they are packed down as fast as we can get additional leaves into the bin with their periodical dressing of lime and fertilizer. Finally, the bin of leaves is left flat or slightly hollowed to catch rainwater.
The Fermenting Process
Fermentation goes on till near Christmas and then stops. The following April, we turn the pile over, turning the outsides into the middle and the whole mass down toward the bottom of the bin. Fermentation begins again, and in July, we turn the whole once snore.
At this time, the bulk is reduced to about one-quarter of the original material. In early October, we turn this into the first small bin, which is available for use through the following year. Then, our big bin is again ready for a new crop of leaves.
Handling Garden Trash
One post space at the top of the bin is reserved for trash, such as weeds, clippings, and discarded plants, which are kept separate from the leaves.
Trash is thrown on this heap as it is available, and the heap is dressed occasionally in fertilizer and lime and watered but never turned.
We obtain many barrow loads of excellent soil from the trash pile each spring. The leaves produce a dark brown, fluffy compost; if fine-screened, the substance closely resembles leaf mold.
For Soil Improvement
We use the products of the pile for all purposes in the garden. I use four parts of soil from the trash pile for greenhouse benches and one part of unscreened leaf compost. I use screened material from both heaps, half and half, plus a little sand for potting soils.
For soil improvement in the garden, I use leaf compost, applying it steadily year by year in the Fall and digging it in. In this way, poor soil derived from gray mud shale has been completely transformed.
Ideal for Roses
Roses thrive in leaf compost. I dig new rose beds two feet deep and replace the good topsoil along with quantities of leaf compost and trash soil worked in throughout the bed.
Both composts can be used without stint or fear; neither will burn the roots or injure the plants in any way.
I use the leaf compost also for mulching lawns, lilies, roses, and perennials. In the fall, mulches are dug in for soil improvement.
Compost and Fertilizer
Some say composted material contains everything necessary for the growth of plants. Much as I depend upon my yearly compost harvest, I would not care to garden with compost alone. I use fertilizer applications in my garden, regardless of the amount of compost used.
I find that compost improves the soil, making it more friable and, at the same time, more retentive of water.
Compost stimulates the activities of beneficial soil bacteria, provides some plant food, and establishes healthy growing conditions under which plants can make more use of extra plant food supplied by fertilizer. Compost and fertilizer work together. Neither doe’s its best work alone.
44659 by Francis C. Wilson