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Consider making leaf mold if you don't want to make a leaf compost pile but want to get all the nutrient benefits. "Create leaf mold by letting piles of leaves break down for six months to a year ...
Leaf mold is not high in nutrient content but is an excellent humic soil conditioner because its structure and moisture retention provide a good growing medium for seedling roots. Leaves collected from roads and pavements may be contaminated by pollutants which can become more concentrated as the leaves decompose into a smaller volume [ 11 ]
Consequently, dead animals decompose more rapidly than dead leaves, which themselves decompose more rapidly than fallen branches. [64] As organic material in the soil ages, its quality decreases. The more labile compounds decompose quickly, leaving an increasing proportion of recalcitrant material called humus.
While whole leaves mat down and can smother plants, shredded leaves allow air and water exchange and decompose more quickly. They enrich soil and feed plants while providing all the other benefits ...
Too much carbon will result in a drier compost pile that will take more time to decompose while too much nitrogen will result in a more moist, slimy, and pungent pile. To obtain an effective ratio for decomposition, include two to four parts brown compost to one part green compost in the pile. [2]
Leaf rakes with long handles and wide heads clear big areas fast. They’re also typically heavier and require more effort to manage depending on their materials.
Things like vegetables may degrade within days, while glass and some plastics take many millennia to decompose. A standard for biodegradability used by the European Union is that greater than 90% of the original material must be converted into CO 2 , water and minerals by biological processes within 6 months.
Some experimentation on plant litter from marcescent trees indicates that keeping the leaves above ground may increase the amount of photodegradation the leaves are exposed to. Because some marcescent species' leaves do not decompose well, the increased photodegradation may allow them to decompose better once they finally fall off the tree. [20]