"Pam - gardengal" wrote in message
news:jddcc.190467$Cb.1727081@attbi_s51...

Properly composted ANYTHING will result in a product that has nearly
neutral
pH and you would need an awful lot of uncomposted material like pine
needles
to significantly alter soil pH. At the most, uncomposted pine needles or
other acidic debris will slightly modify surface pH, but not
substantially.
Oak leaves are perfectly suitable to add to compost - they just tend to
take
longer to breakdown due to the amount of tannins they contain. But unless
they are the primary ingredient in your compost, once that process has
been
completed, you should still have a nearly neutral product.

pam - gardengal

For what it's worth, I have a chipper-shredder and shred huge quantities of
oak leaves every fall. I don't incorporate them into a compost pile but keep
them in covered bins so they don't get wet and use them as mulch the
following spring. It works great around peonies and other flowers, peppers,
onions, corn, etc., and has the advantage of being easy to place around
small plants. A 2-3 inch layer keeps down weeds and keeps in moisture just
as well as wood mulch and doesn't have the weed seeds found in straw or hay.
It forms a layer that is dry on top and crusty on the bottom.

The best part is that it can be worked into the soil in the fall as humus.

John