Welcome to Randy Lemmon's 
  "KPRC TALKRADIO Gardenline"
  Tip of the Week Text-Only Edition

  Date- October 31, 2002   Issue #46
 
  
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   IN THIS ISSUE
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    => Turn Autumn Leaves Into Golden Compost
    
    


   
   
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 Gardenline Tip of the Week - Randy Lemmon
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Autumn is here, and with it comes the yearly chore of 
keeping the lawn free of fallen leaves. They should be 
removed from the lawn, since a heavy blanket of leaves 
can smother a lawn if allowed to remain. In previous years, 
leaves were burned or hauled to the dump to be burned or 
buried. Air pollution controls have made the smell of burning 
leaves a thing of the past. Actually, leaves are much too 
valuable to burn. A better procedure is to compost them, to 
provide a ready source of composted soil for use in preparing 
flower and shrub borders, potted plants, and top-dressing for 
the yard.

The simplest method of composting leaves or other vegetable 
matter is to build up alternate 4- to 6-inch layers of vegetable 
matter with 2 to 4 inches of good garden soil. Sprinkling a 
commercial fertilizer on each layer of vegetable matter will 
hasten decomposition. One-half pound or one cupful of 10-10-10, 
10-6-4, 10-20-0, or the equivalent, per ten square feet of 
vegetable-matter layer is sufficient. Manure, if available 
and free of weeds, may also be added to good advantage to 
the soil layer.

The compost pile should be 4 to 6 feet wide, and of any 
desired length. The top layer should consist of soil, and 
the surface of the pile should slope toward the center, 
forming a basin to hold water. The layers of leaves should 
be watered thoroughly as they are spread out, and when the 
pile is completed, additional water should be added 
periodically to keep the material moist but not soggy.

The compost should be turned or mixed with a garden fork 
or shovel every three or four months, and within six months 
to a year, it should be ready for use. For those of you who 
don't have a compost pile, but would like to get one started, 
here's a couple of links to help take the mystery out of the 
process.  Or as I refer to it… "Pick yourself a spot and build 
yourself a pile of….." Or as my favorite bumper sticker says:  
COMPOST HAPPENS!

Some related links-

http://www.mda.state.mi.us/kids/citykidz/Compost2/Page_06a.html

http://www.mastercomposter.com/pile/bldapile.html

http://www.invisiblegardener.com/compost/piles.htm






Until next week, here's to Great Gardening from the GardenLine, heard exclusively weekend mornings from 8 to noon on Talkradio 950 KPRC.





              

 
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