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Leaves are an excellent addition to a compost pile. A good compost pile needs a mixture of organic matter that contains carbon-rich and nitrogen-rich material, and leaves are high in carbon. To balance out your compost pile, you’ll want to add in nitrogen-rich material like kitchen scraps or grass clippings. Once you layer your pile with nitrogen and carbon-rich materials, you’ll want to turn it over periodically to add oxygen and speed things up.
If that sounds too complicated, you can also try in-ground composting. To do it, you’ll dig a trench in your garden, add in shredded leaves, cover it up, and then just let it rest for a few months, after which you’ll turn over the soil.
You’ll want to shred your leaves before composting them to make things go faster. If you don’t have a shredder, that’s fine—you can get the job done with your lawn mower. Just create a big pile of leaves, then drive or push your lawn mower over the top.
