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Depending upon the size of the compost pile that you’re planning to create, you’ll need a large amount of leaves. As leaves decay, they tend to break down and shrink in size, so an amount of leaves that looks huge at first may end up losing half its size over 6 months. If you rake together a leaf pile that’s much smaller than 4 feet (1.2 m) across and 3 feet (0.91 m) tall, it won’t generate sufficient heat internally to kill off weeds and disease-causing organisms. These types of leaves are ideal to use in a compost pile. They have high calcium and nitrogen contents and will break down in less than 1 year. While you can make compost from any types of leaves, these varieties will break down the most quickly and yield the most nutrients for your compost. Other types of leaves that are great to use in a compost pile include:  Ash Cherry Elm Linden Leaves that have relatively little calcium (and other healthy minerals) can take as long as 2 years to break down, making them poor candidates for a compost pile. So, avoid using any thick or leathery leaves in your compost, including holly, magnolia, oak, birch, and beech. Also avoid leaves which can inhibit the growth of other plants (e.g., hackberry leaves). Oak leaves take longer to decompose than many other types of leaves. If you find that oak leaves comprise the majority of your compost pile, shred them more thoroughly than the other types of leaves to make sure they compost well. If you only have a few types of trees on your own property, visit wooded sections of your town in late fall. You’ll find large piles of leaves that will be bagged and thrown away, so you’ll do the city a favor by taking the leaves for your compost pile. Bring 4–5 large garbage bags with you and fill as many as you can.  Make sure to always ask for permission from neighbors before you start raking leaves off of their lawn. Try asking neighbors that you see raking if you can bag up leaves or take their bags of weeds. Do check with city or county park officials before you start raking leaves off of public lands. Many cities have their own composting programs and will use the leaves in the city or county compost piles. Leaves can take many months to decay, which isn’t great for your compost pile. To speed up this process, run a lawnmower back and forth over the leaf pile to grind the leaves into tiny pieces and slivers. Just keep in mind that the more finely shredded the leaves end up, the quicker they’ll start decaying.  Shredding the leaves shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes. If you’d like to speed up the process, try working with a friend or family member. Have the other person pile the leaves while the other person grinds. If you don’t have a lawnmower—or would prefer to use a faster, more efficient tool for the job—try shredding the leaves with a leaf shredder. If you were to let the pile of leaves decay on its own, it would take over a year. Adding in nitrogen-rich grass clippings will speed up the process. The easiest way to add grass clippings is to take bags of grass clippings from your lawnmower and add them onto the leaf pile. Mix in grass at a 1:5 ratio: 1 measure of grass for every 5 measures of leaves. Although grass clippings or grass mulch are the most accessible sources of nitrogen for many people, others may not have access to grass. In this situation, the next best option is to use manure. As with the grass clippings, add manure to your leaf pile at a 1:5 ratio. So, if you have 5 wheelbarrow loads of leaves, add in 1 wheelbarrow of manure. Purchase manure at any large landscaping or gardening-supply store. Or, if you live near a livestock farm or ranch, talk to the owners. They’ll probably be more than happy to let you cart off some of their manure. As the grass clippings and leaves decay, you can begin adding more organic material to the pile. For example, toss a handful of vegetable peels and coffee grounds into the leaf pile once a week. Make sure to mix the new organic material in with a pitchfork so it doesn’t remain on top. Avoid adding dairy products, dense breads, or meats to your compost pile.
Gather leaves into a pile that’s at least 4 ft (1.2 m) by 3 ft (0.91 m). Include maple, poplar, and willow leaves if you have access to them. Limit the amount of low-calcium leaves in your compost pile. Gather leaves from neighbors’ lawns and public parks. Shred your leaves with a lawnmower to help them decay quickly. Mix nitrogen-rich grass clippings into your leaf compost pile. Mix in manure as a source of nitrogen if you don’t have grass clippings. Throw kitchen scraps into your compost pile to add richness.