Freshly cut grass and dry leaves are a winning combo. They complement each other for successful composting. Grass clippings provide the compost with nitrogen. Dry leaves bring carbon to the mix.
You can add clippings to the backyard compost pile. Composting involves mixing grass clippings and other plant materials with a small amount of soil containing microorganisms that decompose organic matter. Grass clippings are excellent additions to a compost pile because of their high nitrogen content.
Bad leaves for compost: Bad leaves are those higher in lignin and lower in nitrogen and calcium. These include beech, oak leaves, holly, and sweet chestnut. Also, make sure to avoid using leaves of black walnut and eucalyptus as these plants contain natural herbicides that will prevent seeds from germinating.
"Leaves can take about six months to decompose, so it's perfect for our winter to pass and by the time you're gardening in the spring they should be ready (for nutrient rich soil)," Laurence said.
A well-managed compost pile (one that is watered and turned regularly) containing a mixture of shredded plant material should be ready in two to four months. A good compost pile contains a mixture of green materials, such as grass clippings, and dry materials like leaves and straw.
Decomposition Tips and Considerations
Turning leaves into soil for your garden provides important nutritional benefits, but adding too many leaves in garden soil may a produce nitrogen depletion in the soil as they decompose.
Decomposition will be complete anywhere from two weeks to two years depending on the materials used, the size of the pile, and how often it is turned. Compost is ready when it has cooled, turned a rich brown color, and has decomposed into small soil-like particles.
It will lose much of its value if materials are left to decompose too long. The more time compost is left to sit around, the more “colloidal” it becomes. In other words, it becomes more and more compact as the composting microbes continue to feed on the waste materials.
To promote decomposition, mix leaves with grass clippings or other materials high in nitrogen. If possible, shred the leaves prior to composting. The smaller the size of the material, the faster it will decompose.
Compost consists of decomposed plant material while composted manure is decomposed animal feces that have been heated sufficiently through the composting process to remove harmful pathogens. Composted manure contains lots of nitrogen and is also a good source of other nutrients like phosphorous and potassium.
Let's just start out by saying: putting egg shells in your compost is okay; they are a rich source of calcium and other essential nutrients that plants need.
It is very possible to spread compost on your lawn and very common. Spread a thin layer of compost over your lawn using a rake. Water the area lightly to help the compost settle into the grass. Mulching your lawn with compost can help improve the health of your grass and soil.
How can I compost grass clippings fast? To compost grass in the yard quicker, mow every five days! If you're composting grass in a pile, get the ratio right, turn your pile weekly and water when dry.
Anyone who has been gardening for a while knows that peeing in the compost is the thing to do. Uric acid speeds up the compost process and gets you to the end product faster. Even the National Trust in England provides “pee bales” in strategic places in public gardens and parks that the male horticulture staff can use.
Add easily digestible materials
Some materials compost more easily than others. Materials such as wood and leaves are high in lignin, which is difficult to compost, especially when this material is large in size. Other materials, such as grass clippings and shredded paper, compost a lot faster.
As a rule of thumb, actively decomposing materials should be turned every three to four days. Materials with slowed microbial activity can be turned less often. In tumblers, turning two times a week resulted in higher temperature and faster decomposition than turning once a week or once every other week (Figure 1).
They are drawn to the food waste which they help to break down naturally. If you want to reduce their numbers, leave the lid off your compost bin for 3-4 days. If you do this, make sure to cover the surface of the compost so it doesn't dry out.
Ideally, composting materials should be between 40 and 60 percent water. When conditions are too wet, water will fill the pore space needed for air movement, and anaerobic conditions can result. If conditions are too dry, the decomposition rate will slow down.
Composting becomes even easier without compost bins. Burying the compost directly in the garden bed reduces time and energy spent. Vegetable plants still get the same benefits of traditional composting methods.
Compost is ready or finished when it looks, feels and smells like rich, dark earth rather than rotting vegetables. In other words, it should be dark brown, crumbly and smell like earth.
Do I need to add worms to my compost pile? You do not need to add worms to your compost pile. Outside, composting happens with and without the help of earthworms. Worms will usually find their own way to a compost pile.