MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — As the days get shorter and the cool air descends upon us, it is time to collect fallen leaves. If you have a compost pile at home or are thinking about making one in the spring, do not let this great source of carbon scatter to the wind!
Once the giant maples drop most of their leaves and the sun is shining, I invite my young sons to play in the leaves as I rake and gather the piles. These leaves will be my main brown additive throughout the winter. An easy thing to store near my active compost pile.
Often when we talk about compost, we refer to materials as browns and greens. ‘Browns’ are the items we add that have a higher carbon to nitrogen ratio, such as leaves, straw or sawdust. ‘Green’s still have carbon present but are more nitrogen rich, coffee grounds, manure and food waste are all good examples of ‘greens’. To maintain happy microorganisms (the MVP of your compost) you need to add both greens and browns to your pile. An optimal ratio of carbon to nitrogen for your pile is roughly 30:1. You want 30 times more browns in your pile as greens!
Browns aren’t as appetizing as our veggie scraps to animals and act as a way to minimize critter theft. I try to add a layer to cover my greens every time I dump them. Once winter hits, if I don’t have those leaves handy, I shred up newspaper, cardboard and toilet paper rolls or I go without. In the cases when I don’t cover my greens, I am reminded of how many critters live around my compost. I don’t mind sharing, but sharing doesn’t seem to be on the mind of a hungry creature. Making sure my scraps are covered with two inches of leaves each time cuts down on critter traffic. If I do run out of browns, I will have to add and incorporate more come spring when temperatures warm up.
At this time of year, I like to use my finished compost on my plants, trees, and garden beds. This rejuvenates my soil and reduces my pile size so I can add many leaves to my bin. I have a pallet compost system and I blanket my compost with leaves until my bin is full. This is great for helping maintain heat for the microorganisms in my pile. You could take it a step farther and use carpets, cardboard, hay bales etc. I however do not, I am okay with letting my pile slow down it’s pace. Store your leaves where they can be kept dry, if possible. This helps them from getting matted and makes them easier to spread.
I do not turn my pile in the winter, I just keep layering it as best I can. It is not recommended that you turn your pile during the winter months. The MVP’s of your compost flee to the middle where they will slow down. If you want to give the microorganisms a chance to get some work done on colder days, it is recommended that you cut your food scraps smaller. This gives them more surface area to work with and they will continue to break down items where the pile is between 90-140 degrees.
If you don’t have any leaves to harvest, perhaps look to friends, neighbors or family who bag up their leaves for yard collection. Offer to give them some of your rich compost when it’s ready and they may just start saving leaves for you every year! Leaves are a wonderful brown addition to your pile and since they literally grow on trees, why not use them to make a beautiful soil amendment?
Have a compost or gardening question? CCE Madison’s Ag Team and Master Gardener Volunteers are here to help! Email us at madisoncomgv@cornell.edu or call the Master Gardener Volunteer helpline at 315-684-3001 ext. Be sure to follow us on Facebook @CCEMadison or sign up to receive class lists, program updates and more by calling 315-684-3001 ext. 108
–Julie Poplaski
CCE Madison County Master Gardener Volunteer