Compost Leaves-Reduce Carbon Footprints

We collect leaves in fall. Garden waste trucks haul them away. Then we buy fertilizer to feed our lawn, our garden. See the carbon footprint here? Wondering why forest thrives without us fertilizing it? Because the fallen trees and leaves stay there.

Compost leaves and yard waste,  feed your garden with the nutrients from our own yard, reduces the carbon footprint.

Leaves are hard to compost since they are considered browns (Click here to read Browns and Greens for compost pile). You need to mix some greens so it’s easier for microorganisms to break down the mix. You might not have enough greens handy when the leaves fall. Just save them and mix with the kitchen waste later. Large compost bins are the best to save the leaves. Check out more compost bin ideas on our Pinterest Compost Bin Idea board. Even a large garbage bag will do.

Is leaf blower a must to collect leaves? No. The energy used to run and make leaf blowers leaves heavy carbon footprint. A leaf rake works just fine. The trick is to use leaf scoops for fast leaf removal. Inspired by leaf scoops on Amazon, I found a baby snow shovel in the garage to pair with the leaf rake. Works perfect. My 86 year old mom helped me. She said it was easy and fast.

This is a large compost bin. The bottom half is already turned into compost.

A Wire compost bin under the apple tree. We just keep throwing yard waste in the bin. The compost at the bottom are washed out by the rain and the apple tree is happy.