I have gathered bags and bags of leaves from all around the
neighbourhood and I want to get as much composted as possible before
Spring. Any suggestions on how I can hasten the process? I have
brought a gallon of Medina at a local DIY store, but it seems
expensive to buy more of that... Anything else I can use to jumpstart
the composting process?
Also I wanted to mix some cow manure to the dried leaves, any place
where I can get some of this around Austin?

Thanks.
-kn

In article ,
(kn125) wrote:

Anything else I can use to jumpstart
the composting process?
Also I wanted to mix some cow manure to the dried leaves, any place
where I can get some of this around Austin?

Thanks.
-kn

I know Home Depot and Wallmart have cow manure at about $1 a bag. Throw
in a few shovels of soil from your garden to start the process and keep
the pile moist and turned frequently.

Roland

On 30 Dec 2002 10:57:50 -0800, (kn125) wrote:

I have gathered bags and bags of leaves from all around the
neighbourhood and I want to get as much composted as possible before
Spring. Any suggestions on how I can hasten the process? I have
brought a gallon of Medina at a local DIY store, but it seems
expensive to buy more of that... Anything else I can use to jumpstart
the composting process?
Also I wanted to mix some cow manure to the dried leaves, any place
where I can get some of this around Austin?

Nitrogen is key to speedy compost. Nitrogen feeds the bacteria
responsible for aerobic decomposition, and will fairly dramatically
speed up the composting process. Grass clippings are an ideal source,
mixed one part to every two parts leaves. Or a little fish emulsion
(or even ammonium sulfate) sprinkled throughout.

Save your Medina for the soil. Nitrogen is the principle rate-limiting
nutrient in a compost pile, and Medina to my knowledge is a low N
product.

"kn125" wrote in message
om...
I have gathered bags and bags of leaves from all around the
neighbourhood and I want to get as much composted as possible before
Spring. Any suggestions on how I can hasten the process?

I do the same thing. This year I bought two bags of rabbit food from
Callahan's for $5, soaked overnight, incorporated it into the pile and
watered it heavily for a couple of days. It's been steaming for about three
weeks. The pile is about 10' x 6' x 4' and I probably could have gotten by
with one bag. Pretty cool.

I have
brought a gallon of Medina at a local DIY store, but it seems
expensive to buy more of that... Anything else I can use to jumpstart
the composting process?
Also I wanted to mix some cow manure to the dried leaves, any place
where I can get some of this around Austin?

Thanks.
-kn

"animaux" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 30 Dec 2002 22:36:00 -0600, "cat daddy"
wrote:

I do the same thing. This year I bought two bags of rabbit food from
Callahan's for $5, soaked overnight, incorporated it into the pile and
watered it heavily for a couple of days. It's been steaming for about
three
weeks. The pile is about 10' x 6' x 4' and I probably could have gotten
by
with one bag. Pretty cool.


Or, a nice bale of alfalfa hay or alfalfa feed cubes will do it too.
However,
if you just pile the leaves up and do nothing, they will decompose and
next year
you will have this wonderful, slightly acidic leaf mold which is really
good for
the soil and plants.

That's what I've always done in the past; just seasonal additions to the
pile and rarely turning it. In the Spring, I rake out the "not-yet-done"
part, incorporate grass clippings and sift and spread the rest. But, my
neighbour was delivering a dozen bags of leaves a week for a while, and I
decided to speed up the process. I was in danger of overflowing the compost
heap.
I will be cussing the luck when I have to wheelbarrow the stuff around
the yard in a couple of months..............

"animaux" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 31 Dec 2002 10:51:30 -0600, "cat daddy"
wrote:


That's what I've always done in the past; just seasonal additions to
the
pile and rarely turning it. In the Spring, I rake out the "not-yet-done"
part, incorporate grass clippings and sift and spread the rest. But, my
neighbour was delivering a dozen bags of leaves a week for a while, and I
decided to speed up the process. I was in danger of overflowing the
compost
heap.
I will be cussing the luck when I have to wheelbarrow the stuff around
the yard in a couple of months..............

I just don't seem to hit it right this year. Either nobody is raking
around
here, or the trucks are picking up the bags before I get to them. Maybe
I'll go
into town where raking seems more prevalent. If you have too many, and
the
leaves are not maple, you can use it to mulch your garden. Maple mats
down and
is hard to penetrate air or water.

I kept hitting it right this year and still drove wistfully by lovely
packaged clippings and leaves. There are still three huge bags of halfway
composted stuff that are so heavy I can barely lift them, two blocks away.
An empty house across the street has thick St. Augustine that needs mulch
mowing as a favour........... }:-)

Sugar, speeds and feeds microbes! in the form of feed grade dried molasses
it also adds traceminerals. take what you don't use on pile and spread as
you would fertilizer on yard, say 15 lbs per 1000 sq ft. and water in
David H

"cat daddy" wrote in message
...

"animaux" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 31 Dec 2002 10:51:30 -0600, "cat daddy"
wrote:


That's what I've always done in the past; just seasonal additions
to
the
pile and rarely turning it. In the Spring, I rake out the
"not-yet-done"
part, incorporate grass clippings and sift and spread the rest. But, my
neighbour was delivering a dozen bags of leaves a week for a while, and
I
decided to speed up the process. I was in danger of overflowing the
compost
heap.
I will be cussing the luck when I have to wheelbarrow the stuff
around
the yard in a couple of months..............

I just don't seem to hit it right this year. Either nobody is raking
around
here, or the trucks are picking up the bags before I get to them. Maybe
I'll go
into town where raking seems more prevalent. If you have too many, and
the
leaves are not maple, you can use it to mulch your garden. Maple mats
down and
is hard to penetrate air or water.

I kept hitting it right this year and still drove wistfully by lovely
packaged clippings and leaves. There are still three huge bags of halfway
composted stuff that are so heavy I can barely lift them, two blocks away.
An empty house across the street has thick St. Augustine that needs mulch
mowing as a favour........... }:-)

Speaking of...found this on /. of all places
http://www.weblife.org/humanure/default.html

Fred