Down to Earth Blog

Nature's Fertilizer: I just finished reading 'Mike McGrath's Book of Compost,' written by the host of National Public Radio's 'You Bet Your Garden.' He is also a former editor of Organic Gardening magazine.

In this new book, he stresses how great fall leaves are for making compost. Dry, shredded fall leaves, that is. Piled up, shredded leaves will make a great compost all by themselves. Or you can use them as a weed-suppressing garden mulch, according to McGrath.

He recommends getting a leaf blower that has mulching capability when put into reverse. I just got one and hope to bag a bunch of shredded leaves over the next week or so and add them to the compost bin. The ratio he says to use is four parts leaves for every one part kitchen food scraps (fruit and vegetable waste, coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells. No meat though!)  I highly recommend the book.

I'll let you know how it goes. Do you compost? Do you have tricks you'd like to share? Composting seems a simple way to create free fertilizer for your garden -- and thus avoid using chemicals. What do you think?

One alternative -- if you're not into making compost yourself -- is to get your workplace to set up a worm bin program like they have in California ("California Says 'Bring Worms to Work'"). Pretty progressive out there, aren't they?

Post your comments or e-mail me at downtoearthblog@aol.com.

Technorati Tags: Compost, Mike McGrath, Leaves, Mike McGrath's Book of Compost

|  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this

• #3 Comment from downtoearthblogEntry Author 
  10/24/06 6:09 PM | Permalink

  Thanks Sandra and GarlicGirl for your comments. I should note that the leaf blower I just purchased is electric; I didn't want the smelly gas blower, either. Mike McGrath also points out in his book that dry, shredded leaves are full of "minerals and trace nutrients essential for plant health, but completely missing from commercial chemical fertilizers ... "
• #2 Comment from keystoneschools 
  10/23/06 2:17 PM | Permalink

  Mike's advice re ratio of leaves to kitchen scraps is right on! I have been doing this for years and always get great composted soil to put back into my vegetable garden. It's worth raking up all those leaves and feeding them back to the trees.
  I do NOT recommend using a polluting and noisy leaf blower, however. UGH!Thanks!  Sandra
• #1 Comment from garlicgirl63 
  10/20/06 1:10 AM | Permalink

  I press leaves to put on packages sent to my daughter in Fla.The left over leaves go into my flower garden outside my window.(I have alot of left overs) I love collecting in autum!