Transforming Leaves from Trash to Treasure - Gardenista
Reduce your curbside trips and enrich your garden by composting your fall leaf harvest. Is this the Fall to consider composting leaves on their own? Accordingly, some gardeners shred their leaves with a mower before dumping into their storage spot. Do you have any tried-and-true composting secrets to share? Photograph by Justine Hand.. If you have the space, wire compost containers are considered the best bin for the job because of the airflow they provide. For US gardeners, the Bosmere Wire Compost Bin of long-lasting coated steel wire holds up to 15.6 cubic feet of compost; $53.54 through Amazon. Simple chicken wire compost bins are an easy DIY project (see Sunset’s Chicken Wire Compost Bin Instructions). Another favored method of composting leaves is to fill a basic black plastic garbage bag with the leaves, tie, poke holes in the side to let in air, and ignore for a year. If you need to leave the bags in visible spot, consider an attractive and eco-friendly alternative: a biodegradable jute Leaf Composting Sack that becomes part of the soil conditioner. Want to accelerate the process such that your leaf compost might be ready to dig into the soil come spring planting time? Image via Burgon and Ball. For rakes, see “High/Low: Steel Leaf Rake.”