I started my first compost pile last fall, mostly leaves mulched with my
mower. I turned it several times, but given the limited time, it's not
yet compost - mostly just leaves.

Anyway, I'm planning to use raised beds this season, and I was hoping to
use this "compost" in the raised beds. I was planning to rototill this
compost into the first several inches of soil, then install the raised
beds, add some more of this compost, and finish off with some local
topsoil from the local nursury.

Am I missing something? Will this leaf-compost be problematic? Should I
swap the topsoil planned for the raised beds for something else.

Any guidance for a newby would be greatly appreciated.

DB

On 3/7/10 7:30 AM, DirtBag wrote:
I started my first compost pile last fall, mostly leaves mulched with my
mower. I turned it several times, but given the limited time, it's not
yet compost - mostly just leaves.

Anyway, I'm planning to use raised beds this season, and I was hoping to
use this "compost" in the raised beds. I was planning to rototill this
compost into the first several inches of soil, then install the raised
beds, add some more of this compost, and finish off with some local
topsoil from the local nursury.

Am I missing something? Will this leaf-compost be problematic? Should I
swap the topsoil planned for the raised beds for something else.

Any guidance for a newby would be greatly appreciated.

DB

Toss some good garden soil on top of the pile and rinse it into the
pile. This will provide some of the soil micro organisms that promote
composting. Also add some high nitrogen fertilizer since composting
leaves requires nitrogen. Make sure the pile remains moist.

DO NOT add to your raised bed. The composting leaves will deplete
nutrients from the soil until they are fully composted.

Like yours, my compost pile is also almost entirely leaves, especially
oak and ash. When I have my back lawn mowed (ornamental red fescue,
mowed only once a year) I add some of the clippings to the pile. It
took about 18 months to start from scratch. It works well now, taking
about 4-5 months to produce a great leaf mold from autumn leaves. When
I sift the pile, I always leave some fine compost to ensure that the new
leaves in the pile are "inoculated" with the necessary organisms.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

In article ,
DirtBag wrote:

I started my first compost pile last fall, mostly leaves mulched with my
mower. I turned it several times, but given the limited time, it's not
yet compost - mostly just leaves.

Anyway, I'm planning to use raised beds this season, and I was hoping to
use this "compost" in the raised beds. I was planning to rototill this
compost into the first several inches of soil, then install the raised
beds, add some more of this compost, and finish off with some local
topsoil from the local nursury.
Sounds OK. What is the base soil that you will be placing the raised
beds on? If not clay, you probably don't need to turn the ground. The
decomposers ( ameba, fungi, bacteria) have already enter the compost, so
blending the compost into the soil is no problem. Compost shouldn't be
more than 10%- 15% by volume of you soil. Since you will need to
fertilize the bed anyway, add chicken manure at the rate of 18 lbs/100
sq. ft., which will also address the nitrogen demands of the brown
organic material that you add, and add the microbes that the soil may be
deficient in. You could always use the bottom portion of you compost
pile to make a compost tea to increase the population of soil microbes.
The other possibility would be to spray a dilute mixture of molasses or
sugar on the bed, once it is preped, which will set off a population
explosion among the mirobes.

Am I missing something? Will this leaf-compost be problematic? Should I
swap the topsoil planned for the raised beds for something else.
There is little true topsoil for sale. There is always the worry that
the soil may be contaminated with herbicides or heavy metals. If you
have soil that you can use, top or not, just blend it with organic
material. If your soil is mostly clay, you may want to blend in some
sand as well. Ideal soil composition should be 30%-40% sand, 30%-40%
silt, and 20%-30% clay. As I wrote, 10%- 15%, by volume, of you soil
(the above) should be organic material.

Any guidance for a newby would be greatly appreciated.

DB
--
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html

David E. Ross said

Toss some good garden soil on top of the pile and rinse it into the
pile. This will provide some of the soil micro organisms that
promote composting. Also add some high nitrogen fertilizer since
composting leaves requires nitrogen. Make sure the pile remains
moist.

I added blood meal last fall. I had quite a hot pile till this miserable
winter took over. Spring is almost here!

DO NOT add to your raised bed. The composting leaves will deplete
nutrients from the soil until they are fully composted.

Like yours, my compost pile is also almost entirely leaves,
especially oak and ash. When I have my back lawn mowed (ornamental
red fescue, mowed only once a year) I add some of the clippings to
the pile. It took about 18 months to start from scratch. It works
well now, taking about 4-5 months to produce a great leaf mold from
autumn leaves. When I sift the pile, I always leave some fine
compost to ensure that the new leaves in the pile are "inoculated"
with the necessary organisms.

My present compost pile is on top of my garden, I planned to turn it in
to the soil. I think I'll set up a dedicated compost pile and continue
this process. So, I am I to understand your mature pile processes all
you leaves in 4-5 months? This would be ideal.

Billy said

In article ,
DirtBag wrote:

I started my first compost pile last fall, mostly leaves mulched
with my mower. I turned it several times, but given the limited
time, it's not yet compost - mostly just leaves.

Anyway, I'm planning to use raised beds this season, and I was
hoping to use this "compost" in the raised beds. I was planning to
rototill this compost into the first several inches of soil, then
install the raised beds, add some more of this compost, and finish
off with some local topsoil from the local nursury.

Sounds OK. What is the base soil that you will be placing the raised
beds on? If not clay, you probably don't need to turn the ground. The
decomposers ( ameba, fungi, bacteria) have already enter the compost,
so blending the compost into the soil is no problem. Compost
shouldn't be more than 10%- 15% by volume of you soil. Since you will
need to fertilize the bed anyway, add chicken manure at the rate of
18 lbs/100 sq. ft., which will also address the nitrogen demands of
the brown organic material that you add, and add the microbes that
the soil may be deficient in. You could always use the bottom portion
of you compost pile to make a compost tea to increase the population
of soil microbes. The other possibility would be to spray a dilute
mixture of molasses or sugar on the bed, once it is preped, which
will set off a population explosion among the mirobes.

My soil is good old Indiana clay. I think I'll add a bit of the leaf
matter to help break up the soil and get a mess of chicken manure as
you suggest.

Am I missing something? Will this leaf-compost be problematic?
Should I swap the topsoil planned for the raised beds for something
else.
There is little true topsoil for sale. There is always the worry that
the soil may be contaminated with herbicides or heavy metals. If you
have soil that you can use, top or not, just blend it with organic
material. If your soil is mostly clay, you may want to blend in some
sand as well. Ideal soil composition should be 30%-40% sand, 30%-40%
silt, and 20%-30% clay. As I wrote, 10%- 15%, by volume, of you soil
(the above) should be organic material.

Thanks for your guidance. I'll try to achieve this ratio

mmmm, I can almost taste the tomatoes already....

On Sun, 7 Mar 2010 15:30:00 +0000 (UTC), DirtBag
wrote:

I started my first compost pile last fall, mostly leaves mulched with my
mower. I turned it several times, but given the limited time, it's not
yet compost - mostly just leaves.

Anyway, I'm planning to use raised beds this season, and I was hoping to
use this "compost" in the raised beds. I was planning to rototill this
compost into the first several inches of soil, then install the raised
beds, add some more of this compost, and finish off with some local
topsoil from the local nursury.

Am I missing something? Will this leaf-compost be problematic? Should I
swap the topsoil planned for the raised beds for something else.

Any guidance for a newby would be greatly appreciated.

DB


Use the parts that have composted. I have three wire compost bins,
each at varying decomposition stages. Leaves alone will take much
longer to compost, turning into leaf mold (a valuable organic material
but maybe not typical "compost"). Maybe your leaf pile is cold--try
mixing in some green material until you see some steam coming off of
it. When that happens the pile will decrease in volume, turn dark,
and break into finer pieces. A live compost pile works like magic.

Phisherman said

On Sun, 7 Mar 2010 15:30:00 +0000 (UTC), DirtBag
wrote:

I started my first compost pile last fall, mostly leaves mulched with
my mower. I turned it several times, but given the limited time,
it's not yet compost - mostly just leaves.

Anyway, I'm planning to use raised beds this season, and I was hoping
to use this "compost" in the raised beds. I was planning to rototill
this compost into the first several inches of soil, then install the
raised beds, add some more of this compost, and finish off with some
local topsoil from the local nursury.

Am I missing something? Will this leaf-compost be problematic?
Should I swap the topsoil planned for the raised beds for something
else.

Any guidance for a newby would be greatly appreciated.

DB


Use the parts that have composted. I have three wire compost bins,
each at varying decomposition stages. Leaves alone will take much
longer to compost, turning into leaf mold (a valuable organic
material but maybe not typical "compost"). Maybe your leaf pile is
cold--try mixing in some green material until you see some steam
coming off of it. When that happens the pile will decrease in
volume, turn dark, and break into finer pieces. A live compost
pile works like magic.


I did have a fair amount of greens in the pile, I also added some bone
meal, the pile did get hot last fall, but I think it cooled over the
winter. I turned it again, hopefully it'll fire back up. I'm going to
put in some more bloodmeal too. I clearly need a dedicated compost pile.

On 3/7/10 10:28 AM, DirtBag wrote:
David E. Ross said

Toss some good garden soil on top of the pile and rinse it into the
pile. This will provide some of the soil micro organisms that
promote composting. Also add some high nitrogen fertilizer since
composting leaves requires nitrogen. Make sure the pile remains
moist.

I added blood meal last fall. I had quite a hot pile till this miserable
winter took over. Spring is almost here!

DO NOT add to your raised bed. The composting leaves will deplete
nutrients from the soil until they are fully composted.

Like yours, my compost pile is also almost entirely leaves,
especially oak and ash. When I have my back lawn mowed (ornamental
red fescue, mowed only once a year) I add some of the clippings to
the pile. It took about 18 months to start from scratch. It works
well now, taking about 4-5 months to produce a great leaf mold from
autumn leaves. When I sift the pile, I always leave some fine
compost to ensure that the new leaves in the pile are "inoculated"
with the necessary organisms.

My present compost pile is on top of my garden, I planned to turn it in
to the soil. I think I'll set up a dedicated compost pile and continue
this process. So, I am I to understand your mature pile processes all
you leaves in 4-5 months? This would be ideal.

The major additions to my pile is in the autumn. I turn the pile as I
add more leaves. I generally count on the winter rains to keep it moist.

I wait until late spring to sift it. By then, excess moisture is gone,
making it easier to sift. I get a generous amount of compost (mostly
leaf mold). When I see that I have enough for my needs, I just stir the
pile. If I remember, I stir and water it during the summer.

My major use is in making my own potting mix. I also stir some into the
soil when planting in the ground. No, I don't use it to top any beds.
Instead, I use fallen leaves as a mulch in my beds. They soon become
compost, too.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

DirtBag wrote:

So, I am I to understand your mature pile
processes all you leaves in 4-5 months? This would be ideal.

The time varies considerably from 6 weeks to a year or more dependent on the
air temperature, moisture, size and content of the pile and how well it is
aerated. Look up "hot composting" and "cold composting" for details.

David

"DirtBag" wrote in message
...
I started my first compost pile last fall, mostly leaves mulched with my
mower. I turned it several times, but given the limited time, it's not
yet compost - mostly just leaves.

Anyway, I'm planning to use raised beds this season, and I was hoping to
use this "compost" in the raised beds. I was planning to rototill this
compost into the first several inches of soil, then install the raised
beds, add some more of this compost, and finish off with some local
topsoil from the local nursury.

Am I missing something? Will this leaf-compost be problematic? Should I
swap the topsoil planned for the raised beds for something else.

Any guidance for a newby would be greatly appreciated.

If you are making new raised beds, that will be permanent or in place for a
few years, you can use the partly composted material. Google up lasanga
gardening. This is the process of building gardens using whatever organic
matters comes to hand. You could bung the leaf mulch on the bottom of the
garden and build up over it. You need to have several inchs of gorwing
medium (soil or finished compost) at the top of the bed. Plant in to this
growing medium & over your spring and summer the leaf mulch will break down
and be available for the plants to take up. This way you get to use the
organic matter in your garden but don't have to worry that it is only
partially broken down. I built a raised garden and chucked any old stuff in
it, leaves - used coffee grounds - grass clippings - manure - and topped it
off with some soil and mushroom compost. The garden was good to go in the
first season and has been productive ever since. Savs you time and energy of
tilling the soil and digging it over. Do it a little smart & the soil
biology does the rest for you.

have a squiz at these, notice how they use any old organic rubbish
http://www.fbga.net/Lasagna%20gardening%202004.htm
http://www.ourgardengang.com/lasagna_gardening.htm

rob