Has any one had success doing this? I've tried on several occasions with very little compost and lots of leaves looking like they just fell yesterday after a year's time. I've tried adding water after filling the bag and bagging wet leaves. I use partially shredded leaves from my mower.
Cheryl Southern NH
Air is a very important part of compost production. To make compost you need: equal part green, brown air annd water. When you bag the compost you make it very hard for the air to reach the leaves. The water that you added will be enough for a while but the bacteria will comsume it over time. If you were able to get compost working in the bags, the heat from the cooking compost maybe too much for the bags to take.
Why do you feel the need to make compost in bags? There are really nice compost bins on the market that are rather cheap. Good luck.......
occasions with
fell yesterday
bag and
mower.
Composting in bag will result in an anerobic process, which will tend to be smelly.
Try mixing in a sprinkle of dirt to innoculate the leaves with the necessary bacteria. Mix in some lawn clippings to help it along. Better yet, do it in a bin so air can get at it.
Bob
I've only tried doing this as I tend to A. Fill up my bins quickly B. Can't resist when I see all those leaves already bagged and waiting on the street. and C. I keep reading, in magazines, online, etc, how easy it is to bag it and let in rot. I think I've even seen the method in the book "Let it Rot".
I guess I really need to find a new spot for another bin/heap, but it's getting harder, I've got 1 large bin, an "Earth Machine", a tumbler (waste of money for me) and 2 heaps.
Cheryl
Cheryl
Cheryl Isaak wrote in news:BDA6B6A8.40DDC% snipped-for-privacy@adelphia.net:
If they are already in a plastic bag, that's one thing, but I wonder if using paper bags for overflow (when your regular bin is full) is a good idea or a disaster waiting to happen.
I guess the bags would last long enough (moderate/dry climate) even if you poke a couple of holes in them that you could heave them in the regular pile without needing to buy new shoes once the old stuff has rotted enough for there to be room. But that's just speculation.
I've had about the same success with paper bags - not much decomposition after a year. I did find a paper bag I had heaved in the brush after 3 years
- it still hadn't rotted down to lovely compost, but it wasn't dry leaves.
I begin to wonder how much of my trouble with composting is a lack of the "proper" weather - more summer heat, longer spring and fall, milder winter.
Cheryl
Ye Olde Rotted Oak Leafe:
Find a stand of oak trees under which a thick layer of last years' leaves have fallen. I like to simply suck up several trash bags full using a lawnmower with bag attached. (Have a snappy comeback for passersby inquiring, "Why are you mowing the forest?") Depending upon the mower, you may have to dump the bag and suck them up again to get the leaf particles suitably shredded. Dump the now shredded oak leaves into black plastic garbage bags. If the leaves are dry, spray water into the bag until they're moderately damp. Tie off the bag, and poke several tens of holes into it (I just use my car key or chopstick). Place the bags where they will receive all day sunlight. Every once in awhile, give the bags a good swift kick!
In six to ten weeks, you will have lovely dark rotted oak leaf.
Dave
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That assumes I'd attempt to grow roses here! LOL - if it needs winter pampering I don't do it!
But, the rest of the trick is worth a try! Cheryl
Last fall my neighbor had 15 bags (if I remember right) sitting in her yard waiting for someone to take them to the curb for pickup. She does not use weed killers or other chemical on her lawn, just well water. I ask for them; we were both happy. I took them behind the storage shed, poured a bit of nitrogen fertilizer, a bit of garden soil and some manure, poked holes in the bags. last month i emptied most of them on the lawn and those that did not break completely down, we ran over with the mower and they nearly all simply settled down into the lawn. The ones that broke down well, I spread as mulch on garden areas. One of them was the last baging of lawn clippings and autumn leaves last fall from our lawn and it broke down to really good compost which went on a special garden area. It seems to work pretty well! Our lawn, which for past 20 years has been grossly neglected does look a lot better. This is our second full fall season here. I am old and unable to turn a compost heap so this is a workable solution for me. lee/leo
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