How long it would take would depend on the C:N ratio, particle size, and moisture level of the material. Whole leaves will take longer to get digested than shredded leaves. Moist leaves will get digested faster than dry leaves. Even adding urine on a daily basis, if that is all the moisture and Nitrogen going in, will not speed things up much because the moisture will probably evaporate before the N can do much to feed the bacteria.

I think fluffing up the pile now and then will help. Impenetrable mats of leaves can take a while. Some of my leaf piles were gobbled by earth worms and disappeared relatively quickly, others lasted much longer and never seemed to have much worm activity (even here in the worm-overrun northeast there are some spots where worms are less populous). Maple leaves seem to go slower than most others. I would guess that it will take you at least a few months if not a year.

Adding used coffee grounds would speed up the process and not attract wildlife. If you have access to manure, that would get your pile of leaves going. Perhaps a nearly farm has cow patties, goat pills, etc. you can add.

I get coffee grounds from a local restaurant since I'm 40 miles for the closest Starbucks.

Peggy

Thanks everyone for your input. I'll see if I can find some additional nitrogen sources to add. Bob64, fluffing it periodically should not be a problem.

I'm in AL in one of the severe drought areas. We're on private well water and aren't actually governed by any city or county restrictions but conserving well water is a concern so I try to only water things that are absolutely necessary and unfortunately the compost pile isn't one of them. I collect a/c runoff and bath water to water my plants with and try not to use the well water for the yard unless it's absolutely necessary. We have a pretty deep well and I actually managed to pump all the water out of it below pump level 2 or 3 times watering the garden whereas before this year that never happened. Maybe if and when the rains return and water my garden for me or most of my plants die back for winter I can spare that water for my compost pile but right now I won't be able to keep it as wet as it should be.

Danielle

Sorry to hear about the drought. It sounds like the drought is your biggest priority right now although compost would help mitigate drought effects. Maybe use the next batch of leaves as mulch to help with the drought effects?

Id suggest that you spread them out as far as possible rather than make it as high as possible. I had a pretty big pile last year and it was all gone by May. Course we get alot of snow/rain in the winter. good Luck!

Both fluffing and lots of water are needed, or water added to every part of the pile. If the pile has very large dry areas of whole leaves, they can last a LONG time (years). Ultimately it will all break down but not necessarily in your time frame.

Have you considered ways to do some shredding? That just makes a huge difference.

Another option is to kind of divide this area into sections--even just visually-- and devote more effort to one section, with the idea that you will not till and plant the whole thing in one season. Sort of akin to an area still accumulating, an area getting more water to it and more fluffing, maybe even concentrating some "greens" in a smaller area.

bob64 -- thanks for the sympathies. Still I know alot of other folks are worse off so we can make due. The good news is we had an unexpected thunder shower pass through a few hours ago, yay and chance for more tomorrow!!! Didn't hang around long but gave all my beds and compost piles a decent drink.

dorisl -- I'm curious why you recommend spreading them out more horizontally than vertically. Wouldn't that kind of pile dry out quicker than a big thick one (assuming I can actually get it moist to start with of course)?

Frankie -- fluffing shouldn't be a problem but moisture could be tough. Will do the best I can though. There's no dead-set time frame, I can be patient. I was just wondering if it would be possible to work it in and plant it next year. I wish shredding were an option but I have no lawn thus no lawn equipment of any kind (mowers, blowers, vacs, weed eaters, etc..). My father-in-law's mill isn't too far from here and he has a big ole' kubota field mower but it's not like I can load it onto my pickup. They would have to trailer load it and tow it over here and they're very busy so I doubt that will happen anytime soon. Maybe I'll take your advice and focus more of my efforts a smaller area.

Thanks guys and gals. Danielle

Hi!

I was thinking horizontal for a couple reasons. The leaves rot at the bottom first. Last year we kept huge piles and the deepest ones took longest.

You make a good point about the moisture tho, The bottom of a tall pile would stay wet the longest. On the other hand, if it does rain, how far down a deep pile can the water make it?

so, I guess I dunno!!

hee

Thanks dorisl, I see now. Guess I should go out and check how deep last night's rain went through the pile.

Danielle

Leaves can be pretty good at making a mat and not letting water through. You might try and make the top shaped like a bowl so that water falling on the leaves will be funneled into the pile instead of running off the outside. Stabbing a matted layer of leaves may also make some nice drainage holes into the pile. (this all depends on the types of leaves though, some are more likely to mat than others.)

Good sources of water for your compost when things are really dry include dirty dish water. We used to use our dirty dish water to clean out the compost buckets after we emptied them. That way you can save the bath and laundry water for the planting beds.

2 Years,

I composted leaves, which I cut up using a lawn mower with a vacuum attachment, with nothing added else except some lime and water and it took 2 years to completely break down.

Drafted--I'm curious why you added lime to the leaves. Isn't one of the uses of lime to retard decomposition?

Leaves are a high carbon source. If you want to add something to them to speed decomposition, you want something that in nitrogen (grass clippings, coffee grounds, manure, etc).

many people are under the impression that you need to add lime to compost to balance the acidic elements. This isn't usually necessary as compost tends to wind up closer to neutral than any of the ingredients would lead one to expect. It is generally better to add lime or ashes directly to your garden instead of your compost.

Here in California where it never rains in the summer the leaves fall in the fall and so does the rain. Starting now I collect leaves into a large pile 6 to 8 feet high by about 15 to 20 feet diameter. During the winter I add leaves about three times as they don't all fall at once. I turn the pile about once a month until June when the rains stop. Now I move the pile which has reduced about 50%. During the summer it gets sprinkled about twice a week. After going through another winter it is ready to use, wonderful compost with a PH of about 6 1/2. Reduced to between 3 and 4 yards. Al