"David Rose" wrote in message
...
I am "new" to leaves but I have 'a ton' of them this year, composting in
layers with other material. I know they should be left for 2+ years,.but
what is likely to be the end result for my crops, if I use the partially
rotted compost later this year? Simply failure to be effective? Or actual
crop reduction? And will there be any benefit in 2005 as the leaves
continue
to decompose?

David.

Leaves do indeed take longer to decompose
However if you fork out and over your compost every few weeks plus add
lashings of urine you should find when the weather warms up that the compost
is soon pretty usable
I find that the more you turn compost from one bin to another the better it
is