Just shred and bag the leaves, then "bank" them in the garage or a corner of the yard. Use them as needed in compost throughout the year. (Make sure there are air holes in the bags.) Even if they never make it to the compost pile, in two years you will have leaf mold, the ultimate compost. French gardeners swear by the stuff.

Leaves have a C:N ratio ranging from 40:1 (fresh) to 80:1 (old) so if the moisture level is there they will start composting right away whether you add a source of green or not. I have had newly fallen, shredded, leaf piles get quite warm (indicating bacterial activity) with no additional Nitrogen source.

I have also mulch mowed leaves into the lawn and have seen those leaves incorporated into the soil in 3 to 4 weeks. But I have also stockpiled bags of leaves, no holes in the bags, and had them available in the spring for composting. Paper bags tend to not last until spring while plastic bags will, usually.

kimmq is kimmsr

Like Tox, I have one 6' diameter hardware cloth bin that I use to stockpile the leaves until spring but right now it has about 2' of finished compost in it that I need to use or move so I can start filling it again. I also try to fill 15-20 bags for spring use and to use for chicken run bedding over the winter and following year.

I need quite a bit of compost to put a 3-4" blanket on my 4 Asparagus beds which total about 150 sq. ft. but that won't be until around Thanksgiving when I cut the ferns down. I am trying to avoid handling this compost more than once but I don't think I will be able to. Piss poor planning on my part as I should have used the compost in the 6' bin first when I amended my fall garlic beds.

Is it possible that I have too much compost? Nah!

If you have space, just move that bin off the pile and set it somewhere else. I do that with my leaf bins, some of which are nearly 8' diameter, but then I have 16 acres to play in. :-]

Good idea! I have a little over 5 acres so I do have the space but the bin is currently in a handy spot close to a lot of the trees therefore the fall leaves.

First thing I need to do is get my wheel barrow back from a friend that borrowed it 2 weeks ago.

I'd been looking for some sort of leaf-mulcher on craigslist and I finally found one! So this past weekend I shredded-up 4 bags (into one) of last years leftover leaves and 4 bags of this years leaves,also down to one bag. Looks like it going to take a lot of the mulched leaves to mix a hot batch in my 3'x3'x4' bin. Found a good source of horse manure too. Can hardly wait to put it all together!

Debating whether to turn my pile as much as last year. Don't have a 2 or 3 bin system so to turn it I've had to shovel it all out of the bin and then back in again - twice as much work! Love to be able to build a second bin next to the first but haven't got the space.

Have many of you had much success (with a hot pile) by just poking the pile with a piece of re-bar in order to help get air into the pile when it starts to cool down?

Harry

I've done what you suggest - aerating a pile using a big steel bar (pointed for breaking up ice). I wouldn't count on it being able to keep the pile hot but it will help get more air in there. However, keep in mind it will not be as effective or as uniform as turning over an entire pile - particularly towards the bottom of the pile, where the mass of the pile and the 'poking' will compress things and it will tend to dense and wet and anaerobic. But it may help delay the complete 'dig out and turnover'. So not ideal, but if you're not in a big rush, I think it can help.

Speed is overrated in composting. It reduces nutrient density. If you have the space just leave it for a year and let nature take its course. Save your back.

Agreed...especially if you can start a new batch and let the last one finish. I turn my compost between zero and two times before it's done and I almost always have compost ready to use. It's usually the same year though - spring and early summer compost is ready by fall, more is ready in spring, and the cycle continues. I'd say mine goes for about 6 months. The sooner you use it the better as it does nothing but slowly lose volume and nutrients.

Harry - "Have many of you had much success (with a hot pile) by just poking the
pile with a piece of re-bar in order to help get air into the pile when
it starts to cool down?"

We built a few piles with a big perforated drainpipe (the 4" white stuff with pre-drilled holes) tube acting like a chimney and water insertion point. In our climate it was not much advantage. You place the tube in the bin and fill around it.