Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Stop paying for compost and start making your own. Learn how to turn yard waste into nutrient-rich soil with this easy step-by-step guide.
Making Compost From Leaves Is Not Hard To Do
Let me show you how easy it is to turn your yard waste into compost so you can stop paying for it yearly.
Often, we overlook gold just because it’s dirty or too grimy of a job, but why buy city compost when you can make it yourself?
It’s that time of year when the leaves have already turned color, and there’s a good splattering over most people’s lawns that have fallen.
So is now the time to save some money?
Sure it is, and here’s what I do to save some money this spring so I can use my garden budget for other purchases.
Understanding Compost
What is Compost?
Compost is organic matter that has been decomposed in a process called composting.
This process recycles various organic materials otherwise regarded as waste products and produces a soil conditioner.
Compost is rich in nutrients. Wikipedia
Raking The Leaves For Compost
What do I do to save money in the Fall?
I take what I have and turn it into gold.
Every year, I collect the leaves from the trees in plastic bags, wet them, and tie them up with a couple of holes punched in the sides.
I store them over winter down the side of the house (mainly because my compost heap is already entire); you could start compost heap number two if you like, depending on the size of your garden.
In the spring, I’ll empty roughly two-thirds of the compost bin, pots, and baskets for use around the garden.
I’ll then re-fill the compost bin with the leaves from the garbage bags interspersed with other roughage.
The half-rotten mixture will take no time to rot down once the weather warms up, and you’ll have gorgeous soil.
Purpose Of Bagging Leaves
Why should you put leaves in plastic garbage bags?
I don’t throw the leaves away in brown yard waste bags because of the number of nutrients they’ll add back into the garden for next year.
If you’re able to grow your vegetables or just like gardening, you’ll appreciate the benefits of recycling waste products from your garden and your house.
We try to throw as many fruit and veg odds and ends in the compost bin rather than the “green bin” as it will add “Free” goodness to the garden.
If you’ve got a wood-burning stove or fireplace, you can add the cold ashes to the heap, too.
Just remember that ashes will be high in calcium carbonate, reducing the acidic level of the soil.
If you’re unsure what type of soil you’ve got, get a test kit.
My soil is acidic because the Rhododendron grows like a weed, and the Hydrangea has a blue flower hue.
Have you just finished taking your yearly hanging baskets apart?
Here’s what you do now.
Put the compost and annuals back into the compost bin/heap.
I remember when I was younger, my gran used to be able to grow an enormous amount of fruit and vegetables in her garden without fail.
The soil was dark and fertile, probably because her house was a Victorian semi, and over the 90-year lifespan, everything bio-degradable was thrown onto the garden.
When the city compost truck comes to collect your leaves or even your green organic bin weekly, what do you think they do with it?
They might not use it themselves, but they do sell it. Why?
Someone’s making money from it; how?
They let it rot down and sell it back to you in a bag; how’s that for a money-maker?
Yes, that city compost you buy is from the leaves you give them, which they sell to a company.
Brilliant.
Oh, and we also pay the city workers to pick up the leaves that we buy back.
Beautiful Dark Soil Made In Your Compost Bin
If you add a good mixture of ingredients into your compost heap and let it rot down properly, you’ll have something just as good, if not better, than you can buy in the store.
You can buy soil for $0.99 a bag, but it’s terrible. Trust me, I bought it and regretted it.
What I get from the compost heap is top quality, well-rotted compost that would cost you $4.00-$5.00 a bag, but I get it for free.
I got inspired by a man called Alan Titchmarsh, a horticulturist who ran a TV program on the BBC (The Beeb) called “Gardeners World” but he also went back to basics to teach/inspire a new younger generation with another TV show.
How To Make Good Garden Compost
ingredients for a good garden compost are:
- Annual weeds
- Tops of Perennial Weeds
- Spent bedding plants (yearly flowers that have finished)
- Uncooked vegetable peelings, crushed eggshells and teabags
- Grass clippings (they’ll add nitrogen)
- Soft hedge trimmings, soft prunings, and spent flowers (from the deadheading)
- Dead Leaves
- Shredded woody stems
- Shredded paper, cotton, and wool fabrics
I probably wouldn’t throw in meat, fish, and other cooked foods for fear of being invaded by the ubiquitous raccoon.
Don’t get me wrong, the furry guy will love you to death, but your neighbours will be more than mildly annoyed.
For a new compost heap/bin, add a couple of shovelfuls of fresh manure from sheep or horses to get it started.
Once you’ve got it going, add waste and water to keep it wet. If it dries out (especially in the summer), it will stop.
Collecting Rain Water
I usually add water from the rain barrel as rainwater is a natural source of nitrates (a form of nitrogen) plants require to grow.
An alternative to adding nitrogen to your compost is adding nettles.
Consequently, an excellent homemade plant fertilizer can be made from the common stinging nettle Urtica dioica due to its large amount of nitrogen.
Nettles are native to North America as well as Europe and Asia.
Hard Work Equals Big Savings
If you use a rake, because rakes are cheaper than leaf blowers and cost zero, you’ll get some exercise out of the deal, too.
A bit of hard work is always more beneficial than convenience.
“There is no substitute for hard work” Thomas Alva Edison…yes, the inventor.
An old saying from northern England is entirely appropriate at this point, “Where’s there’s muck, there’s brass.” Quite simply, where there’s crap, there’s money!
Discussion: Do you compost your leaves in the Fall?
Please leave me your comments below.
Mr.CBB
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That’s such a great idea! I was totally expecting something “crafty” when you said using the leaves, but this is even better! LOL, Thanks:)
Me, Crafty.. haha.. not, then again I surprise myself sometimes. I love everything about gardening… Cheers Julia! Mr.CBB
I need to be better at using my personal composter. I recycle well and use my green bin but suck at composting for personal use!
It’s worth it to us and we use less bin bags as well.
Nice post. Thankfully we don’t have a whole lot of leaves to worry with. Our neighborhood is new enough not to have huge trees that produce a lot of leaves. What we do have we tend to throw in our compost.
It’s worth it if you have the bin.. I mean they just sell you back the crap you give them so why not make it yourself lol… Cheers John! Mr.CBB
A few more posts of this nature and even this clumsy gal will have developed her very own green thumb. Makes me want to collect leaves down the street and get some composting/soil going for next year’s projects. What a GREAT inspiration this was!
Heck if my neighbours offered me their leaves I’d take a few bags or help them rake them up.I’m all about saving money so if this simple free task will do it, I’m in!!
We have two composters but right now they have been taken apart to clean out and I’m hoping the boys can get things cleaned out and back together before things freeze up. We don’t have the land for trees but we have the trees around us land on our grass. The local raccoon population can’t get into our composters as we used cotter pins to hold the lid on and we put the garbage can up out of reach too…… They are not happy about that… too bad….so sad…Lol!!
Oh the poor racoons.. lol.. ya using the compost bins were a smart move for us but I did the same thing in the UK. You can’t go wrong with free right? Cheers Christine. Mr.CBB
This is great advice! We really want to have a garden for the first time so any advice is appreciated! Thank you!
I just can’t get over how many people toss out their leaves and come spring have huge bags of soil dropped to their house and pay over $100 for it for a yard… free is better. Cheers
Great idea. I now have a garden that is green 12 months a year and know I’ll miss the seasons. I love autumn when leaves fall down. Such a beautiful time of year. Guess I’ll have to get creative with compost!
Oh ya that’s right, you’re living the one season life now. How’s things going for you?
Doing great so far, I am using those green leaves to thatch my roof! I am going to town tomorrow to buy some seeds and start at least the herb garden (basil, mint, coriander…) although I have no idea what grows well around here. What do you have planned for the week?
Gosh no thatched roofs around here that’s for sure. We just got back from IKEA was looking at kitchens. I’m in the midst of renovating the bathrooms. It’s been raining most of the day here but to me it’s no different than being home in the UK, blah and uninteresting… I have chives and parsley we brought in for the winter and they are doing perfect indoors. All year round would be great, snow fun has worn off.. lol
This is great! I have always wanted to do this, but I don’t have very much room.
Do you find that it smells at all? Seeing as I live fairly close to my neighbors I wouldn’t want to offend them with any foul odors.
If it does we don’t smell it as it far away from our yard… most of our neigbours have one and we don’t smell them at all. It’s worth it. Thanks for dropping in mate.
I love how thrifty you are. I’m always trying to absorb things like this for when we have a house .
Thanks Daisy. That’s just it, learning all these tips will save you some money. It’s crazy the things we used to spend money on and we don’t any more like.. making our own fabric refresher…. fabric softner, baking soda and water… doh! Cheers mate. Mr.CBB
This is so cool! My aunt does compost with her food…never thought to use leaves before!
hello CBB! Have liked and shared with our https://www.facebook.com/ABCouponers fan page…got to think gardening now that the weather is FINALLY warmer..here in the Praries
Hi Marie! thanks for sharing this post and popping around to let me know!! Cheers Mr.CBB
The leaves from the big oak trees here in Florida are very acidic. We burn them first to help break them down and then spread them around our acid loving plants. Crepe myrtle and azaleas love ashes!
Thanks for sharing that information Cynthia. I had no idea about them being so acidic.