It’s fall. The leaves are on the ground. Don’t waste them!

Leaf compost is the BEST kind of compost. (I learned that from professionals at Longwood Gardens!)  It is just compost made from shredded leaves. We have a tractor and shredder attachment, but most of you don’t have tractors. You might be able to mow over the leaves with a lawn mower to shred them, or just put them in whole. Try out what you want to.

To make the compost even better and get some wet ingredients in it, my dad went to Starbucks and picked up some of their used coffee grounds. Coffee grounds are good for compost, but be prepared for a big bag and don’t leave it in your car for too long, or it will make your car smell like coffee. They are free because they would have been thrown away otherwise.

We don’t know how much compost will come out of this, or if it will even work, but leaf compost is expensive from stores, so at least something will come out of it!

This is our new compost area in the middle of the garden:leafcompostbin

(See my earlier post on compost for more composting tips.)

Pick up those leaves and see you next week!