How to Turn Autumn Leaves into Rich Compost in Just Five Days Using This Secret Solution!, by Harvest Mastery on YouTube. 26 min 27 s.
- Video length
- 26 min 27 s
- Time to do it
- 1 hour to set up, then 5 days
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Rake the leaves into a pile on a tarp or hard surface. Keep them dry until you are ready to build the heap.
Shred the leaves by running a lawn mower over them or passing them through a leaf shredder. Smaller pieces break down much faster.
Mix the shredded leaves with a nitrogen source. Aim for roughly two or three parts brown leaves to one part green material such as grass clippings or scraps.
Make the accelerator by mixing a handful of soil or finished compost with a spoon of sugar or molasses in a watering can of water. Stir well.
Build the pile in layers, sprinkling each layer with the accelerator solution. Squeeze a handful: it should feel like a damp sponge, not dripping wet.
Cover the pile with a tarp or lid to hold in heat and moisture. Check the temperature after a day with a compost thermometer or a metal rod.
Turn the pile every day for five days with a garden fork, moving the outside material to the middle. Add water if it dries out.
After five days the leaves should be dark, crumbly and cool. Let the compost finish for a few more weeks before spreading it on beds.
Tips and common mistakes
Too many dry leaves and too little nitrogen is the most common reason a pile stays cold, so add more green material if it does not heat up.
Keep the pile as damp as a wrung-out sponge and cover it in rain to stop nutrients washing out.
Do not add diseased leaves, pet waste or cooked food to a fast leaf pile.
Five days gives partly broken leaf mold, not finished compost, so screen out any tough stems before use.
Questions
What is the secret accelerator made of?
The video describes a simple homemade mix of water with a little sugar or molasses and some soil or finished compost. It feeds the microbes that break down the leaves.
Can I really get compost in five days?
You get fast, partly broken leaf mold in about five days if the pile heats up and you turn it daily. It still needs a few more weeks to fully mature before use.
Do I need a shredder?
No. Running a lawn mower over the leaves a few times works well and is often faster than a small shredder.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
