What should I get at my local hardware store / Home Depot to add
Nitrogen?


On Mon, 02 May 2005 11:55:50 -0700, David Ross
wrote:

msterspy wrote:

I live in the Boston area and I have about 5 oak trees and two pines.
I get a lot of leaves and I recently contracted a guy to move all of
the leaves to the rear corner of the yard. $300 for probably 1/2 day
work. Everything is expensive in the Boston area. Anyway, it would be
very costly to have the leaves carted off to the dump. The yard slopes
away form the house and it would be cost a lot more to remove the
pile.
I would like to add something like lime to speed up the decompostion.
Is this a good plan? Is there any other beter way to speed up the
proceess. There will be a huge pile of leaves and it builds up every
year.

After reading various replies in this thread, here are a few
comments.

Oak leafmold is far superior to compost for growing camellias,
azaleas, rhododendrons, and other acid-loving plants.
Commerically, it sells for more than compost.

Don't add lime. Just add nitrogen. Stir on occasion to bring
fresh oxygen into the center of the pile. Make sure it stays moist
without being soggy. It may take longer to become usable than
regular compost. (My compost pile is mostly leafmold. It's about
1/3 oak with more than half the leaves from my ash tree.)

If the pile is large enough, chopping is not necessary. But
stirring is mandatory. As decomposing progresses, stirring will
not only bring oxygen into the pile but will also break up the
leaves.

After you spread the composted leafmold around your garden, then
you can add a little lime if your soil is already acidic. (My soil
is sufficiently alkaline that I keep using soil sulfur and
sulfate-containing nutrients.)