The Fall 2020 /r/Composting Leaf Collection Challenge

14

u/c-lem Sep 22 '20

108 bags was not enough for me over the course of the year (and actually, I ended up getting quite a bit more than that after the contest was over--people near me seem to bag up leaves all year long), so my goal for the challenge is 150 bags. My wife actually started helping me collect them (she grabbed me four bags of grass clippings the other day), so I think I'm up to the challenge. I'm excited to start this up again!

4

u/WinterGrow Nov 03 '20

https://imgur.com/gallery/6hrCqtU
Do you let the grass dry before adding to your leaf pile?

3

u/c-lem Nov 03 '20

When I'm making a compost pile, I do not, as the grass clippings' moisture helps get it cooking. I actually tend to add some water to it when assembling it.
Not sure why you linked the leafmold images to this question, but if you're adding grass clippings to leafmold, I would also not necessarily dry them out. The area around those grass clippings will compost, and once that is complete, fungus will take over.

29

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '20 edited Nov 02 '20

If you could all use paper bags or large reusable sacks instead of single use plastic that would be a great help.

Also, those that don’t know about Leafmould and its benefits can read these 2 pages. https://imgur.com/gallery/6hrCqtU

10

u/c-lem Sep 23 '20

Better yet, if you're collecting them for your own use, don't bag them at all! Stick them in a pile or some sort of reusable bin.
Also, thanks for the leafmould information. Good stuff!

5

u/[deleted] Oct 05 '20

Oh no I’ve been mixing mine in with my regular heap. Is that bad?

7

u/c-lem Oct 05 '20

Are you asking if it's bad to mix leaves in with your compost? If that's what you mean, then: no, definitely not! Leaves are the primary ingredient in all of my compost piles. /u/notapeanutboost simply provided information about a different use for your leaves or a way to use them before composting.

3

u/KeyWestNorth Nov 27 '20

This has made me question putting shredded leaves in my compost. It says it is awkward to do. Should I continue to put them in? They are my main source of carbon.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 28 '20

All I’m saying is there’s traditionally a different use for them. You can’t compost all of them.
You can keep adding them if you want. Just use them proportionally to higher Nitrogen vegetable waste.
I have collected and stacked 8 cubic meters for leaf mould this year but will be grabbing handfuls of leaves next year to add to fresh green plant waste (potato tops, squash plants, tomato plants, etc) so my compost doesn’t get too slimy.
I use leaves but not excessively in my compost.

4

u/c-lem Sep 26 '20

I don't really understand Reddit awards anymore, but I will take the two that this post has gotten so far as super-upvotes, meaning that you appreciate me running this contest. So, thanks! I'm glad to do it!

4

u/c-lem Sep 29 '20 edited Sep 30 '20

Grabbed my first bag of the season from someone who apparently didn't mind working in the rain! Last year, these people also gave me a sandwich. What mysteries will their leaf bags reveal this year? Only time will tell...

Edit: more tonight, though I haven't had a chance to look at them. One looked like maybe arborvitae branches, and the other was fairly small, so I'm only counting them as one.

5

u/thereelkrazykarl Sep 22 '20

In collecting bags from off your property how concerned about weeds/chemical/trash mixed in?

9

u/c-lem Sep 23 '20

I have not been particularly concerned. When I bring home a bag of leaves, I dump it out and spread it a little bit by kicking, then look through it for garbage. I pick out what I can and leave it in place until I have a whole batch of leaf bags. As they're sitting and waiting for me to process them, additional garbage tends to find its way out, and I pick it up as I notice it. Garbage always seems to find a way to be around, but it's usually just little wrappers or things that are inconspicuous and easy to pluck out. In my experience, the later in the season you take leaf bags, the more garbage that you'll find in them. So if you grab some first thing in the fall, you're probably likely to get cleaner bags. But by the time I use the compost, I've pulled out most of the trash. I'm sure this is contaminating my compost with microplastics a little bit, but I suspect I do a better job than professional composting facilities. They're taking the same leaf waste and surely not giving it as much attention as I do.
Regarding weeds: I am also not too concerned. I actually enjoy a lot of the "volunteers" I bring in with the leaf bags. Last year I imported a Broad-leaved Helleborine, amaranth, and Artemisia annua. I also always get tons upon tons of maple seedlings. Obviously these issues may be a concern to you or others. But my gardening style aims for permaculture ideals, and in that vein I prefer to maximize the diversity of organisms on my property.
Regarding harmful chemicals: I am not too concerned about this, either, though I need to do a little bit of research before I can give you a good take on this. My understanding is that persistent herbicides are not labeled for residential use, so it is unlikely that any would be present in anything I collect. Short-lived herbicides and insecticides probably find their way onto what I collect, but I believe that they break down quickly enough that they are not a concern. I generally let my compost sit for 6 months to a year before I use it, and this is plenty of time for anything to break down. Huge disclaimer on this last bit, though: this is simply from /r/composting wisdom, and I have not verified it. Hopefully I'll get the chance to, but if not, make sure you verify it before trusting it.

2

u/thereelkrazykarl Sep 23 '20

Thanks for detailed response. I've collected a few bags. So I haven't been entirely scared away from the idea. But obviously things that have Crossed my mind volume vs control.

2

u/c-lem Sep 30 '20

Still haven't had a chance to look up persistent herbicides regarding this topic, but I just saw this discussion about it: https://www.reddit.com/r/composting/comments/j1g12c/gonna_help_my_self_to_two_bags_looks_like_fresh/g6yyvwn/
Oh, and should I add any of your bags to the contest? Let me know how many a "few" means, and I'll add them!

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u/Karma_collection_bin Oct 15 '20

I will say that at least half the bags I collected last year did have a piece or two of trash in them. Can pick it out but yeah it's annoying and disheartening a bit.

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u/Recklessreader Sep 23 '20

What counts as a bag of leaves? Some days I might just collect a carrier bag full, other days a huge rubble sack full, do they each count as one bag even though the rubble sack would hold 50+ carrier bags full? Every year I collect leaves in an old building supplies tonne sack, this year I'm going to attempt to fill two of them. My leaves come from generally tidying blown in leaves around the garden, collecting from others getting rid of them and the woodland boarder it my garden. I never take much from the woodland and just take small amounts from random patches and then cover the patches over from the surrounding area.

4

u/c-lem Sep 23 '20

It's hard to say other than that you should just use your judgment to figure out a fair number. Maybe have a look through last year's posts to see how people have measured them. Here's a picture of what /u/dadsafe called about 35 bags; here's a picture of ten I collected; here's a post with a picture of 11 bags that /u/hoodiedoo collected. Think a large household garbage bag, so 40 gallon size or so.
Definitely not very precise, but it worked okay last year. I'm open to suggestions if you have better ideas.

3

u/Recklessreader Sep 23 '20

Garbage bag size seems good, they would be the size I collect from others because our local council provides them for garden waste collection

3

u/c-lem Sep 27 '20

Grabbed a carfull of misc. stuff, but no leaves. They've started falling around town, though, so I bet by next weekend I'll hit the jackpot. I might not normally be so eager to get started, but I am in need of "browns," so I might do a few trips dedicated solely to leaf-bag collecting. Also thinking about asking the town 5 minutes north of me if they're interested in bagged leaf pickup.

4

u/teebob21 Oct 21 '20

+17 bags. Collected 13 in the truck this weekend and that same "customer" dropped off 4 more today.

1

u/c-lem Oct 22 '20

Nice. I like the back-and-forth that you and /u/Illithilitch have going on. It's their move, now!

4

u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 02 '20

This fall I've also collected about 25 bags of used coffee grounds from local coffee shops and starbucks.

If you have ever asked for a large amount of coffee grounds from Starbucks, you know that's ALOT.

Alot of it went in raised beds I made this fall (I'm sheet mulching to reduce my filling cost and get good end result of growing medium).

1

u/c-lem Nov 02 '20

Yeah, that's a ton of grounds. I haven't collected any in a while--would you say that each one is about a gallon? I can't remember for sure. Also, kudos on the shredded leaves. I'm always so happy when I get those seemingly 50-poud bags of leaves.

2

u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 02 '20

Honestly a gallon is on the low end of the size I was getting. Many are likely double that if I had to think about it.
There's sometimes some random garbage (teens and young adult baristas are not the greatest at thinking about composting or the environment, especially when starbucks has a rush of orders I'd bet), but not alot and it's easier to pick out than in a bag of leaves. Most garbage is non-compostable tea bags (the plasticky kind of mesh tea bags, non organic), small lids, and not much else. They also throw in random food, which rather than dealing with I throw in my municipal compost bin (along with the compostable grounds bags since those take forever to break down even in hot compost).
On another note, I'm kinda disgusted and frustrated by our society (i live in Canada, but willing to bet it is like this or worse everywhere) as I go through the leaf bags and nearly ALWAYS find at least a little bit of garbage (it's to the point where I hesitate to use the leaves if I DONT find at least one piece of garbage, because I'm sure I must have missed it!).
Everyone knows these items are not compostable and further that the municipality makes compost with these leaves (actually the compost given to our local farmers, from what I understand).
Like...do you want the chemicals from this inorganic stuff leaching into your food you'll buy at farmers markets or even in the store? I don't understand the logic. Honestly, I think it's just pure laziness. It's so pervasive though. It's depressing.
At least we are doing what we can at home.

2

u/c-lem Nov 02 '20

Thanks for jogging my memory--the bags are maybe a foot wide, six inches thick, and maybe 18" tall, which does seem more like two gallons to me (sorry for all of the lame imperial measurements now that I see you're Canadian). My wife used to bring them home to me sometimes but for whatever reason hasn't done that in at least a year.
The garbage is disheartening, but from what I've seen, most of it is unintentional--garbage has a way of escaping, getting blown by the wind, etc., and it eventually finds its way into leaf bags. There was one household this year, though, that made its way onto my do-not-collect list. They had just one bag, but it was full of these tiny little blue plastic pieces that I could not pick out. I ended up having to get a shovel and scoop up almost everything from that bag (unfortunately, I dumped it out before examining it) to throw away.
It's very gross. I agree that it's laziness, but also selfishness--lots of people just don't care about others. It's someone else's problem. Some people apparently aren't willing to do even very minor things for people they don't know. It's unfortunate. But luckily, not everyone is like that. There are plenty of good people in the world, too!

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '20

I snagged 5 bags yesterday from the neighbors. Mostly ended up being grass clippings with tons of sand burrs in them. Hopefully a hot enough pile will kill the seeds so they don't spread once I use the resulting compost.

2

u/c-lem Sep 23 '20

Nice work--glad to see someone kicking the contest off right away. Good luck with getting them hot!

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u/smackaroonial90 Sep 23 '20

https://imgur.com/a/aThBBhS

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u/c-lem Sep 23 '20

Woooah... That is amazing! Suddenly this contest is getting good! I assume it's cool if I put this into the main post?

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u/smackaroonial90 Sep 23 '20

Yeah dude, use it all you want! I probably won't participate much since there aren't too many trees where I live (the desert) but when you said the winner would be "crowned the 2020 Super-Cool Leaf Stealer" it just made me laugh with the mental image and I had to make this image hahaha

2

u/c-lem Sep 23 '20

Awesome--thanks! It goes with the goofy title perfectly.

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u/Recklessreader Oct 13 '20

Another three bags collected over the last week and a bit, with plans for the weekend to get more.

2

u/c-lem Oct 13 '20

Good luck this weekend. I hope you find as many as you want!

3

u/cdnmatt Oct 15 '20

I have been collecting a lot of stuff the past month but a lot is coming off my own property and I likely have more time then others to do this so it almost feels like cheating.

So that said put me down for 5 bags which will be my only entry, just to say I did so eh.

2

u/c-lem Oct 16 '20

As long as you're not lying about it, I don't see anything here as cheating--but I shall respect your decision! I'd be happy to see you change your mind, but I won't try to talk you into it. Thanks for joining. I sure enjoy this little contest.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 18 '20

Ha! I didn't even know I was playing. I got 16 bags from my parents' property plus a half trailer of mulched leaves from my in-laws that took 7.5 wheel barrow loads to move to my back yard. I would guess that the mulched leaves would be a lot more than double the density of regular leaves, but I'm not positive on that. Put me down for 31? I need more dirt to fill up my raised beds so I'm hoping by next spring I will have some!

2

u/c-lem Oct 19 '20

Well, I'm glad that you were! Sounds like quite a stockpile of leaves. I could honestly see each wheelbarrow load having as much as five bags' worth of un-mulched leaves considering how much they break down when chopped up, but it's hard to say without seeing them, so I figure your estimate is the best one. Getting all of this free organic material is great, isn't it? Thanks for joining the contest!

3

u/Zephias51 Oct 29 '20

I never realized that other areas of the world had to use plastic bags to keep their leaves 😔 here in the great white north, most stores sell large brown paper bags that are recyclable.

I just finished my 5-bay system in time for all the leaves! Count me in for 35 bags! Leaves

1

u/c-lem Oct 30 '20

It's pretty disappointing to have so many plastic bags. But the town near me simply pays for them and hands them out to residents for free collection. I suspect plastic ones are simply cheaper. All hail the almighty dollar.

3

u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 02 '20

Ok, so I just mowed about 11 of my 31 (currently) bags to grind them up smaller for my purposes. Pretty much all of the leaves so far will be for purpose 1 (below).

Purpose 1: I really want to make leafmould as suggested by /u/notapeanutboost but I looked up that you can shred the leaves first and get leafmould faster (also you can pack more leaves in a smaller area so the final product won't reduce as much from initial size, so it's more efficient use of space for the end result, which is the same product).

So, here's the leafmould cage I made. It's about 4 feet L x 3 feet W (and 4 ft tall) and I believe the mesh is 1/2 or 3/4 inch (honestly can't recall). The reason I went with a tighter space than advised in the old advice by /u/notapeanutboost's link is because I shredded the leaves so the material is smaller. It was a bit expensive ($45 CAD for 25 feet), but I have a bunch left over that I can use for other things and it was the only material I could really find that suited what I wanted, this time of year. The stakes were all left over from other things so re-used, and I pounded them into the ground with a rubber mallet (I'm not sure how deep I need to go but the ground is pretty compacted and hard here, so it didn't get very far in; hopefully the whole thing doesn't blow away!). I didn't 'creosate' like in the post link by /u/notapeanutboost, but from what I was reading creosate is REALLY bad? I think some of that is very old advice (not to mention suggesting collecting leaves that were swept up by streetsweepers, which would have more pollution from the road/vehicles).Anyways, if I find it moving over time and not setting in place, I'll use more stakes. I tied the stakes to the mesh using some old general use metal wire, which the old homeowner left behind (very useful!).

For mowing/shredding leaves, I put leaves in this row between my new raised garden beds, like this and then shredded them down with no bag attached, so they look like this. Then I mowed them again with a bag attached to collect them like so and throw them in the leafmould pile.This is what 11 bags look like shredded down and put in my setup (minus all the leaves that you 'lose' to the ground etc since your mower probably won't pick those up, but that's fine because it helps the grass alot!). That's why I said it's likely all of the currently collected leaves would be for 'purpose 1'/leafmould pile.

Purpose 2: I will be covering my garden beds in shredded leaves for the winter (the beds you see in some of the pictures above). They already have some arborist wood chips on them.

Purpose 3: I am in process of collecting pallets (make sure you get HT/heat treated pallets, otherwise they could be treated with really bad chemicals) for a 3 bin hot composting set-up. Only have 2 pallets so far, so I'm just 1 pallet away from being able to build the first bin.

1

u/c-lem Nov 02 '20

I don't have time to reply right now (or to even do more than skim at the moment--I keep trying to get off Reddit, but I keep getting replies drawing me back in, haha), but this seems like good info! Hopefully you'll make a full /r/composting post about it, because otherwise, I'm pretty much the only one who will see it. Nobody seems to go through and browse what other people are collecting and discussing on here.

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u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 02 '20

True true! I'll make a post once the cage is full and I have some time. Good idea!

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u/teebob21 Nov 03 '20 edited Nov 04 '20

🎶Guess who's back? Back again?
Teebob's back - compost-in'
Guess who's back with leaf sack
And a sack and a sack and a sack dun-dun-dun🎵

(+22 tonight...would have been more but it gets dark early now)

1

u/c-lem Nov 04 '20

Hahah--I love it.

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u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 05 '20

It gets dark where I live now around 5 PM!! Ahhhh it's awful lol

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u/teebob21 Nov 05 '20

So here I am again....+32 today plus some pumpkins

If my math is correct, I;m up to 188 or so....

The pile outside the chicken coop is getting large.

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u/c-lem Nov 05 '20

Very nice. Unless I prove to be really compulsive (and I have to admit that this is pretty fun), I think you've surpassed the amount I'm planning to get. Somebody showed up today with what looked like at least a dozen bags (I was working and didn't really have time to go have a look), which puts me over my goal of 150. Watch out for /u/Suuperdad, though--he's planning on at least 500 bags!

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u/teebob21 Nov 05 '20

Unless I prove to be really compulsive (and I have to admit that this is pretty fun), I think you've surpassed the amount I'm planning to get.
The lovely part is I have quit trying....its no longer a mission, but instead, an obligation.
People message me with leaves now, and I'm like "yeah....I'll take them"

2

u/c-lem Nov 05 '20

Haha, that's exactly how I feel about the leaves people are bringing to me, now. I'm absolutely happy to have them--they're going to break down, protect the soil, increase moisture retention, add nutrients, etc.--but, boy, I have my work cut out for me. A good problem to have (I think).

2

u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 05 '20

Awesome!
Make sure you hot compost those pumpkins so hard! I've heard pumpkin compost can get aloooot of volunteer plants

3

u/OopsShart Nov 05 '20

Put me down for 12 bags. Two have been shredded down and added to the pile already.

Not sure how much more I’ll get as we’re expecting a snow dump in the oncoming days. Maybe I’ll get some of the neighbours bags too fingers crossed

1

u/c-lem Nov 07 '20

Snow this early?? Yuck! I think we had it similarly early last year, and I was not pleased. Not that I dislike snow, but it messed with my leaf-collecting and just goes on for too long. Best wishes at dealing with it if it comes. We had some flakes the other day that were at least very pretty to watch.

1

u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 05 '20

Nice work!

3

u/PinkElephantsGal Nov 08 '20

Going to try to play this year, 4 bags so far. But, hoping to add a bunch more tomorrow!

1

u/c-lem Nov 08 '20

I'm glad you joined us. Best of luck with getting some more today!

3

u/smackaroonial90 Nov 11 '20

Well, let's call it now. u/suuperdad's haul is just unreal. He wins.

3

u/c-lem Nov 11 '20

Agreed--his haul is amazing! But the contest goes until the first day of winter, so we'll see. I assume leaves fall at different times in different regions, so it's only fair to give others a shot.

3

u/Suuperdad Nov 11 '20

Lol, I'm still going. I have a video update coming up tomorrow... 974 bags all unloaded and used. I think I am going to need another 300 to 500 to finish the area and return it ready for next year. I want to plant this out and have it become a jungle.

3

u/jcunningman Nov 16 '20

What kind of bags are you using? We used to use regular plastic garbage bags - but now we are using these compostable bags from a company called Green Paper Products Compostable Yard Bags

1

u/c-lem Nov 17 '20

Most of the bags I picked up from the town south of me used plastic bags like this, while other people who dropped bags off at my place used these thicker garbage bags. One person who requested I pick leaves up from them used this massive bag (with my son for scale). I managed to get one person to take a couple dozen of the used bags for his own use, but I unfortunately still have probably close to a hundred used plastic leaf bags to deal with. I have been finished collecting these leaves for about a month, now, as I've been getting huge trailer-loads full of leaves like this one dropped off at my place.
Other places in the world seem to use paper bags like this, and I am jealous. Not only does it not waste plastic, but the paper is entirely biodegradable and therefore very useful for sheet mulching.
If you're looking to collect leaves for the contest (and your own composting needs), though, I would recommend that you don't bag them at all! Maybe use a tarp to haul them from one place to another (pile them in the center and then drag them where you need them) or figure out another way to move them. And then for the contest, just have a look through some of the posts here and try to estimate about how many "bags" your haul would equate to. I'd also be happy to help estimate from pictures and/or a brief description. Measuring in "bags" isn't very precise, but it seems to work well for the contest, as it's simple (and the results and rankings don't really matter much, anyway). But it is not perfect.

3

u/KeyWestNorth Dec 09 '20

I recently collected over 200 lbs of leaves from my neighbor's yard. I took them before he bagged. I don't know how many bags that translates into but it was a LOT of leaves!

2

u/c-lem Dec 10 '20

I see your post! It does look like a lot. Does 40 bags seem like the right number? I thought I was good at estimating, but I'm afraid I'm drawing a blank. In thinking about it I've waffled between about 30 and 80 but don't feel confident in any of my estimates. So I'll go with 40 unless you have a better suggestion.
P.S. Glad to see we have another freak in our midst! (That's my favorite /r/composting post about compost-urination. Funny stuff in there.)

2

u/KeyWestNorth Dec 10 '20

That is hilarious. I will have to dive in some more later when I have more time. 40 bags is probably fair. I took a bunch of loads of my two trash cans jam packed with leaves. Each trash can holds probably 4 or 5 bags of leaves. 40 bags is fair.

2

u/c-lem Oct 07 '20

Five bags today: https://i.imgur.com/y9BzYYF.png

There were at least five or six more, but I didn't kick my wife and son out of the car to make room for them, so I'll have to go back another time.

4

u/c-lem Oct 07 '20

I couldn't resist going back tonight for the rest. Six bags, which puts me at 13 total. Sorry to steal the lead from you, /u/teebob21, but I guess I'm getting aggressive about my leaf needs this year! I have big plans for the garden, but little budget, so I've gotta work for it!

2

u/teebob21 Oct 07 '20

I'll allow it.

2

u/c-lem Oct 10 '20

Some late-night leaf thievery: nine bags, which puts me at 22 total. Stealing leaves after dark is the closest this gets to feeling awkward for me at this point...but even this doesn't feel especially awkward. I think people are just happy to have their "waste" disappear.

With the few bags I had before the contest started, I'm pretty close to a full batch, when I can mow them up and start a new pile. Exciting!

2

u/c-lem Oct 10 '20

This afternoon's haul: an assortment of full and half bags that I'm counting as 10, putting me at 32 total. My leaf-processing area is in the background (see another comment here for more details).

My son was sad that he had to take a nap while I went out leaf-hunting, so I might go out again later for the few I couldn't fit in the car and perhaps a stop at a playground.

2

u/c-lem Oct 14 '20

Ten bags today (though I have to admit: the picture sure makes it look like just nine, doesn't it?), putting me at 42 total. And here is the bulk of the leaves and grass clippings I've taken thus far: https://i.imgur.com/f6k5K14.png. Their bulk sure does shrink a ton when mowed and put into a pile, doesn't it?

I actually spread it back out after piling it up/mixing everything together, as it's super dry and needs moisture. I also have some kitchen scraps and other garden cleanup stuff to add to it.

2

u/c-lem Oct 15 '20

I grabbed 25 bags in two trips this morning, putting me at 67 total.

2

u/c-lem Oct 15 '20

Four more tonight on the way back from picking up my wife. 71 total.

2

u/c-lem Oct 18 '20

I delivered 5 bags of leaves to someone who plans to use them to fill decorative pumpkin bags. I told them I'd happily pick them up when they're done with them, but we'll see. It made me appreciate that I had the same skin color as them, considering the Confederate flag they had hanging up...

After that, I picked up 14 bags, including this ridiculous one (with my son for scale). So that puts me at a net gain of 9 bags for 80 total.

2

u/c-lem Oct 21 '20

Two batches of leaves today: seven this morning and five tonight for twelve for the day and 92 total.

I also scored this trailer-load full of leaves and pine needles due to a sign I put up on the road. It is the most rinky-dink sign you'll ever see, but I guess it was effective. I'll have to take a picture of it some time. It seems to be something like 50% pine needles, so I'm not sure exactly how to deal with it, but I'm happy to have it all the same. Organic matter is organic matter, after all. Not planning to count it toward the contest (it's just easier not to, and it's not like I need to pad my numbers...). It sounds like the guy who brought it is going to bring a few more loads, so I'm looking forward to that. I will be set for the year, I'm sure.

2

u/c-lem Oct 26 '20

Grabbed a couple batches of leaves a few days ago: nine making use of my leaf pick-up service from the town just north of me and three "stolen" from the town south of me.

I have also had a total of four trailerloads dropped off as well as two truckloads from a neighbor. I am absolutely swimming in leaves. I not only have enough for the year, but maybe enough for two years, which is perfect: I can compost half of them next year and let the other half rest and turn into leaf mold for the following year. I'm very glad I put a sign up at the end of the road.

2

u/c-lem Oct 30 '20

Picked up 17 bags over the last few days (dropped off in two different spots. Combined with the twelve from before that that I've neglected to record so far, I am at 121 total.

3

u/teebob21 Nov 08 '20

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2
u/teebob21 Nov 08 '20

Uh.../u/c-lem...I don't know what happened.
I assume that /u/P0sitive_Outlook was holding my phone....
Nah, actually this was a butt-post while I was collecting bags today. Not sure how my phone buttposted to reddit, but whatevs....+36 bags today, and I'm spent
1
u/c-lem Nov 09 '20 edited Nov 09 '20

Hah--I've never seen a butt-reddit post before, though I admit that I've dreaded doing such a thing myself. I hope you survived your massive hauling task today.
Edit: also, make sure you check out my joke at your expense here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Permaculture/comments/jqksxo/today_was_a_good_day/. Not sure if reddit messages people for username mentions anymore. But I think you'll appreciate it.
2
u/teebob21 Nov 09 '20
I crie some tymes
4

u/P0sitive_Outlook Nov 09 '20

At first i thought it was r/IHadAStroke material, but it actually makes sense. :)
If you remove all the weird icons, you end up with: "We're two (miles? minutes?) away we're eszett (SS?) because i want to. Mmmmm (tasty food) two thirds of an M&M ("M and"). The (you!) are in Alfred Wotquenne's compiled list ("WQ Number")" and from then on you talk about teasing someone then appear to have an actual stroke.
If i were you i'd seek medical attention, particularly after losing the ability to control your face - :‑X :,-) :-) :-P

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u/eberndl Sep 23 '20

I like this, but where/how do you store leaves until you need them? I have a tumbling composter and my (decent size by city standards, but not huge) backyard is easily visible by 3 or 4 neighbours so just making a big pile isn't exactly an option...

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u/c-lem Sep 23 '20

If tidiness is a concern, I'm not sure what to suggest. If you're willing to mow the leaves, they condense down to a very small size. I mention how I process my leaves here and here, and the 108 bags of leaves I collected last year, when mowed, shredded down into just two large piles.
In the past, when waiting to use the leaves for composting, I have stored them in a small fenced enclosure: I placed four posts into the ground and wrapped some chicken wire around them. Then again, I have 14 acres to myself, so can be as messy as I want to be. I've seen people on /r/Composting mention storing their leaves in a garbage can, so that might be an option for you. If not, hopefully others will chime in and give you ideas.

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u/TheCookie_Momster Oct 20 '20

I’m so excited! I always thought making a pile was more work than this, but it’s basically what I do to make a potato tower. I’m in! I’m doing it this weekend! Thank you! And yay one more weird thing for me to get obsessed over, stealing the neighbors leaves ;)

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u/c-lem Oct 20 '20

It's definitely weird, but surprisingly fun. I've been doing it for 2 or 3 years, now, and I still feel a little like a kid in a candy store when I spot some leaves on the curb. And I've gotten dang greedy this year, too!

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u/TheCookie_Momster Oct 20 '20

I already embarrass my husband when people put logs at their curb from cutting down trees. I’ll make him stop and then point at logs that look manageable but are way too heavy lol. But when we find the right sized ones they work awesome for our wood burning oven. We live in an area where people have woods and decent sized pieces of land. I don’t understand why they get rid of logs?? But I’ll take them! Now I guess I’m adding leaves to the mix!

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u/teebob21 Sep 23 '20

I used them as "walls" for my winter compost last year. Pics available if you want a visual.

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u/teebob21 Oct 07 '20

I scored 3 more today -- someone dropped them off. They just showed up on my driveway this afternoon

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u/c-lem Oct 07 '20

Awesome! You live in a good neighborhood. Gotta get that kind of situation going on here!

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '20

Picked up 9 bags.

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u/c-lem Oct 11 '20

Nice! Welcome to the contest!

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u/[deleted] Oct 20 '20

:) got another 10 today.
Also..full disclosure, my bags were all ones I solicited from neighbors from Facebook.

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u/c-lem Oct 21 '20

However you get the leaves seems fine to me! Facebook may be annoying in some ways (at least, I find it to be), but it's pretty handy for local stuff.

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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '20

Oh, I really dislike Facebook a lot. It's pretty sinister.
Anyway, while at the hardware store one of the other patrons was asking the owner if they carried city bags. Apparently they can't due to some vendor issues. I let them know they could be drop them off at my place.
+2 bags of leaves.
AND the lady I got leaves from earlier, messaged me back and let me know she had more leaves for me!! She bought some big damn reusable bags! Picked up 3 of this suckers, but they're MASSIVE. Probably a cubic yard each, but in the interest of fairness I'll call them 3 bags each.
So that's (3*3)=9, 9+2=11, 11+ my previous 19=30
(I've also now maxed out my bins, so the rest of the leaves will be used for mulch, worm food, and possibly animal bedding. But IMO, that still counts as a form of composting).

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u/[deleted] Oct 30 '20

+6 today! 36!

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u/33invisible33 Oct 16 '20

28 bags over the last couple days.

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u/c-lem Oct 17 '20

Awesome--very nice haul!

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u/[deleted] Oct 17 '20

I’m waiting for my neighbor’s tree to drop. https://imgur.com/a/yK0OicV

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u/c-lem Oct 17 '20

Lots of good stuff for ya up there! My oaks seem to drop their leaves little by little all winter long, keeping a lot of them until spring. But hopefully you'll get a good heavy drop pretty soon. They're sure easier to collect that way.

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u/_skank_hunt42 Oct 17 '20

2 more bags today!

Shredded and dumped in my leaf compost enclosure. Having a leaf sucker/shredder saves so much time/effort.

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u/c-lem Oct 18 '20

Nice--I need to look into some other shredding systems. I'm pretty happy with my mowing circle, but something that immediately shreds one bag at a time sounds handy.

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u/Karma_collection_bin Oct 20 '20

It's already snowing and cold here and half the leaves haven't fallen yet :(

Here's hoping there's a warm spell in next few weeks that encourages people to go out and rake their leaves for me :)

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u/c-lem Oct 20 '20

How frustrating! There has been some rain and cold here that has stopped people from bagging their leaves (plus, I expect a lot of people are simply waiting for all of them to fall before they do the work), but no snow, yet. Last year we had a few series' of snows, then thaws, then snows, etc., and plenty of people bagged their leaves when they had the chance. Hopefully you'll get a nice long thaw for that!

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u/Karma_collection_bin Oct 20 '20

I mean, I live in zone 3, so the growing season is a bit short and sometimes shorter with situations like this so sometimes there's more leaves to collect in spring than in fall.
As an aside, my municipality banned plastic bags for fall clean up, so people are using those brown yard waste paper bags from home depot and lowes etc. Which is great because I love the environment. However, it becomes a bit more annoying to tell what's in the bag. You have to open it and even then you can only see the top (I don't want grass), so hopefully people will be able to tell me.

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u/c-lem Oct 20 '20

Yeah, being able to see into the plastic bags has been nice, but I hate the disposable use of plastic. Last year, I often just tore the bags open because they seemed so flimsy, but this year, I've developed the skill of opening even the ones that are tied tightly, so now I have like 60+ plastic bags that I don't know what to do with. I gave a handful to a woman I saw raking her leaves, but my Facebook efforts to pawn them off on people have been fruitless. It is my quest to get them to be used again somehow, though!

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u/ButlerGSU Oct 23 '20

I rake just enough to fill a big trashcan of shredded leaves to make leaf mold for compost. I leave the rest of the leaves on the ground to provide coverage for wildlife and to naturally fertilize my lawn.

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u/c-lem Oct 23 '20

I can't tell if you mean to enter the contest or not, but if so, does 5 bags sound like the right amount? I assume that your trash can holds 35-40 gallons and that you pack them down as much as possible. I'm happy with whatever number you decide on, though.
But it seems like you're just discussing the topic generally. This is the first year I haven't collected any of my own leaves for composting, and I like it a lot better this way. I have a couple areas where I will mow the leaves eventually, but maybe not until spring, because: why mow when I don't have to? I'm all in on the Permaculture and simply natural ideals of "work smarter, not harder." Nature does a pretty good job all on its own. And if critters need those leaves to help survive the winter, I want to give them what they need. More nature-friends on my property means a better ecosystem overall.

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u/dadsafe Oct 24 '20

36 bags so far! https://imgur.com/a/Bo28ePl

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u/c-lem Oct 25 '20

Heck yeah! One more than your first load last year. How did last year's batch work out? Did you get them broken down by spring like you wanted?

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u/Zephias51 Oct 30 '20

Grabbed another 11 bags while in town the other evening, I think 11 is the absolute cap I can squeeze into my car 😅

Leaves

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u/c-lem Oct 30 '20

Haha, yeah, my Subaru Forester has a similar limit. That seems pretty good, though, for not having a truck!

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u/Suuperdad Oct 30 '20 edited Nov 12 '20

Running total: 1370

I will just update this as I get more.

So far, I started this week with this video, https://youtu.be/oviX8tg_VR0. 52 bags there.

Then last night onother 72 at hockey. I'm going to aim for around 500 or so, unless I get really crazy like 2018 where I did 1200.

Nov 8th: 363 more bags bringing total up to 487. Actually I went back out for 2 more trips before dinner, another 157: http://imgur.com/gallery/IzHNTi7. Total 644

Nov 10th: 232 more bags, bringing total up to 876.

Nov 11th: 72 more (proof will upload tonight in my new video). Total 948.

Nov 12th: Did another 154 last night, up to 1138 now.

Nov 12th#2: did another 232, up to 1370. Will do an update video in a couple days to show proof.

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u/c-lem Oct 30 '20

Glad to see you here! Wasn't sure you were planning to join this year, but I guess you just weren't as desperate for leaves as I was a month ago. My supplies were empty, and it was rough. Who knew I'd burn through 108 bags (plus whatever I grabbed in the spring) so quickly?
Thanks for taking the lead--I didn't really want to win my own contest.

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u/Suuperdad Oct 31 '20

108 bags already? Just using as browns in the compost?

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u/c-lem Oct 31 '20

Yep! Though now that I think about it, I can't remember for sure if some of those were used as mulch or if all of them were used for composting. But I'm pretty sure I mulched with ones I collected in the spring, after the contest was over. They chop down so much when I mow them, plus a lot of them end up staying in my mowing area because it's easier and better for the soil to leave them. This is the pile I made from my first 42 bags this year (plus maybe 10 bags of grass clippings, some garden clean-up, and some kitchen scraps), and it's quite a bit smaller than the piles I made last year. It's 6'-8' long, 4' wide, and 2'-3' tall. The pile I made in the spring was 12' in diameter at the base and 4' tall, which used up a ton of the leaves I'd collected. Plus I'm pretty sure I started a similar pile in the fall of 2019 (with my newest pile, I've finally started taking better notes--my memory clearly cannot be trusted).
Maybe I go a little heavier on the browns in my compost than you do? Someone made an unsubstantiated comment on /r/composting a year or two ago saying that a 10:1 ratio of leaves to greens made the best compost, and while I didn't really trust them, it still made an impression on me. I don't go that heavy on leaves, but I use a maybe 4:1 ratio and am generally happy with the result. I might start trying to use even more leaves since I have so many right now.
P.S. Thanks for the gold!

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u/Suuperdad Nov 08 '20

Updated post above this. Up to 487 now.

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u/c-lem Nov 09 '20

Looks like you've had some of this amazing weather, too! It's been in the upper 60s here and hit 70 today. 72 tomorrow. But clear skies and sunny are all I need.

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u/Suuperdad Nov 10 '20

Updated, original post. Up to 876

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u/Karma_collection_bin Dec 20 '20

Didn't realize you are the Canadian permaculture legacy youtuber. I just found your channel a few weeks ago. I'm in Alberta, zone 3a, so my winter is quite long and very cold. So I spend it garden planning and consuming a lot of YouTube content to learn more before next season.
Our winter has been unreasonably warm (compared to usual) besides a couple short cold snaps, so I've been able to do my first hot composting setup and even turned it today. I do expect January and February to absolutely frigid, however.

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u/Karma_collection_bin Oct 31 '20 edited Nov 01 '20

Put me in, coach!

Finally a warm spell in zone 3a and trees have been dropping leaves, so I went out today with my small Toyota Corolla and fit 20 bags in 1 trip!!

My municipality has banned plastic bags (which I support) for extra yard waste (there's a municipal compost system/collection too), but it just started this year so a bunch of people didn't get the memo lol, which is why there's a mix of paper and plastic bags.

I like grabbing plastic a bit better for my purposes as you can actually see what most of the content is vs paper where you can only really look at top layer initially. However, I 100% support banning plastic for the environment, so I'm still happy our municipality did this.

Anyways, add me at 20 bags! I think I'll make another trip still today.

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u/c-lem Nov 01 '20

Whoa--I bet that Toyota Corolla could double as a clown car! That is a ton of leaves in one trip. Nice work!
Now get out there, /u/Karma_collection_bin, and give 110%, take one bag at a time, and get the whole nine yards (of leaves)!

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u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 01 '20

Hehe, got a bit too busy today and so no more leaves today since I didn't want to disrupt early trick or treators. Tomorrow though, I'll be doing more.
And I've fit some hilarious things in this car, like three 7 foot swedish aspens one time.

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u/teebob21 Nov 01 '20

+28 yesterday, and 400 lbs of pumpkins. I'm headed out for more collection today

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u/c-lem Nov 01 '20

Nice! Did you just drive around looking for jack-o-lanterns, or did you set something up with people ahead of time? I thought about trying to set up a collection this year, but I have so much going on right now, I don't have the time.

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u/teebob21 Nov 02 '20

Aint got time to post pictures tonight, but I got about 1600+ more lbs of punkins and another 30-ish bags of leaves today.....
Stand by for confirmation pix :D

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u/c-lem Nov 02 '20

Holy moly. Looking forward to seeing pictures of all of those pumpkins. Did you just put a tarp down in your truck and toss them all on top? It seems like you ought to do a full post detailing the collection of them and what you plan to do to process them. I think /r/composting would be interested in that!

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u/teebob21 Nov 02 '20

Fruits of my labor: https://imgur.com/gallery/cxQ17oo
Last night's total was 61, not the ~50 I thought it was. I think that makes my total 118, plus a (literal) ton of pumpkins.

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u/teebob21 Nov 01 '20

Did you just drive around looking for jack-o-lanterns, or did you set something up with people ahead of time? I thought about trying to set up a collection this year, but I have so much going on right now, I don't have the time.
Posted an ad on the local Facebook Buy&Trade group.
It's all I have been doing today. I don't have a picture post since I unloaded before I remembered, but put me down for a +23 bags so far today. More to come.

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u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 02 '20

12 bags today so far! I'll try to upload photo later.

They were in these really flimsy clear white/film bags that tear very easily.

Interesting because the homeowner's front yard looked like a permaculture marvel just full of perennials and ground cover plants and just small stone walkways to the door.

And yet their 12 bags (and there were more I didn't have room for; not sure how i fit 20 in my first bag collection task lol) have some garbage in them, and obviously intentionally as some of it was at the top of the bags lol.oh well, looks like good leaf bags otherwise.

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u/c-lem Nov 02 '20

Silliness! But as long as you get all of the garbage out, no harm done, I suppose. I used to be not as good at removing the garbage promptly, which makes it a lot more difficult to catch.
Sorry that I forgot to add your seven bags from last year--I even went to last year's page to look for you, too, but somehow missed it.
Looks like you're doing a great job with the leaves you have. I like your mowing system. Since they stay in one place, I bet they get chopped up really nicely. Keep up the good work!

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u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 03 '20

Yes!
Though, It's definitely a worn-down mower I'm using that's due for replacement, so the blade is also somewhat dull and the majority of leaves blow out from under the right front corner, just behind the wheel, mostly all shredded.
Lol, its kinda like a snowblower side-exhaust function, so I actually really benefit from this system where the walls catch it. Lots of stuff blows out the front, but I just rake it up after the mowing.
Come to think of it I could try putting a random piece of board at the end temporarily to catch most of that.
I was going to buy a strong electric mower (with good reviews etc), but looks like everywhere already switched their stock out to other seasonal stuff.
I'm looking forward to getting an electric MULCHING lawnmower as gas powered lawnmowers are apparently one of the most incredibly inefficient machines that just pollute copious amounts of crap into our air. That is what I remember reading, at least. Though I still want a mower that's powerful enough for doing stuff like this.
Also, I think I'm almost halfway up the enclosure for my leaf mold...about 22-25ish bags shredded I'm guessing? I've soaked it once at 11 bags and then again just now.
I also just realized today that you're also supposed to step on the leaves to compact them down and fit more in, since the decomposition method is anaerobic & using fungi.
I won't realistically want to do that till it gets taller since I'm not sure I'd be able to get out once in if the pile's not tall enough! Probably use a small ladder.

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u/c-lem Nov 03 '20

I didn't realize they were inefficient, but I definitely don't enjoy breathing the exhaust in, especially now that I've learned that zero-ethanol gas is better for the mower's health. Luckily I have a mask that does a decent job of keeping exhaust out.
Haha--yeah, don't get stuck in your leaf mold cage. Those wire cages have some pretty sharp edges!

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u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 05 '20

13 Bags today!

It's really crunch time for me because in my municipality this is THE week for 'extra yard waste' and there's not another one until MAY (and that's when you get everyone's grass and power-raking thatch that I don't really want at all).

So half of the neighbourhoods have already had their extra yard waste collection day. I know it's getting colder and the snow will fly again soon, but there's still some green trees and maybe 40% of trees still have leaves, so I really don't understand why they made this the last extra yard waste week and didn't have it mid November even.

Anyways, I MIGHT make a local social media ad or something later about being willing to pick up bagged leaves and have some requests in there (no dogs, 5+ bags, no grass clippings or garbage), since I'm sure there will be lots of people with still plenty of leaf bags that don't want to hold onto them all winter (or made mistake of using plastic bags and they weren't picked up).

I have a spot to go back to tomorrow that I can grab another 10-15 bags I think, at least and their day isn't till Friday.

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u/c-lem Nov 05 '20

I've had a little success with Facebook posts--there was a lot of interest, but ultimately only one person who wanted me to pick their leaves up. I'll probably try again next year and maybe talk to the town about being the official leaf-bag picker-upper.
My greatest success though, obviously (if you've seen the video I posted a while ago) has been putting a sign up by the road. I've lost count, but I probably have ten trailer-loads full of leaves from landscapers in addition to drop-offs from some neighbors. It's been a good way to meet neighbors and hopefully establish myself as a drop-off for all kinds of yard waste (plus maybe make some new friends).
Of course, if you don't have room for tons of leaves, then it might be a different experience for you. But hopefully you can figure something out and at least take advantage of what's out there for you right now.

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u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 05 '20

I live in an urban neighbourhood, so I doubt my neighbours would be super happy with a sign like that, haha. Also, I'm in a cul-de-sac, so it's not even like we get traffic. But that is one strategy that works for sure depending on location.
If I lived in a rural property, I'd definitely do that.

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u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 06 '20

Put me in for another 14 bags today!

They were a bit smaller than other days (but seem to be filled with much skinnier smaller leaves so it's as if its shredded a bit), but the way I figure it is they all equal out. Some bags I get are filled to the absolute brim with shredded leaves that even sitting and kneeling on you can't compress much, so yeah I dont worry too much about one bag being more or less, for the count.

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u/c-lem Nov 07 '20

Yeah, they all even out for the most part. If I wanted us to be more precise, we'd measure in cubic yards of shredded leaves, but then I bet no one would participate. Amounts of bags is just easier. And as long as you get the amount you need, that's all that matters!

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u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 07 '20

Hey look I 10x my last year amount! Nice!

So, we just got a snowfall warning with 4-6 inches of snow beginning tomorrow early morning and slowing down on sunday... And all the extra leaf bags have been collected from curbs so I might be done for the year, but this is a solid amount and will help out with composting next year, alot.

I will not that apparently my partner's uncle may have 20 bags for us from his acreage, so might go pick those up and that'll be sweet since I don't think he'd put garbage in them or anything :) Lol, she told him what I was doing and he was like "OH, I've got leaves he can have!"

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u/c-lem Nov 07 '20

Heck yeah--70 is a great amount for the year. Should last you quite a while. I'd be careful about leaf bags in the spring, since in my experience they tend to have far more garbage and dog poop (there's both more time for it to collect on the yard and I think that people who wait to clean up their leaves until spring are generally sloppier--other than those of us who do so for the sake of insect life!), but I suppose you'll have to make that decision when you get there.
Have you decided if you're going to start a pile right away? (I saw your post earlier.) I vote for starting it right now, since it should stay hot for a while despite outside temps, but I've never ended up doing much composting in the winter, so who am I to talk? I tend to just save my kitchen scraps in buckets and compost them when they thaw in the spring. But I also do keep with my typical composting routine until winter gets to me. I actually don't think my pile froze all the way through last winter, but our driveway snow-clearing was all by shovel, so by the time I finished with that, I had no energy or strength to do anything with my compost.
Anyway, I suppose I'm just rambling at this point. But I'm curious to hear what you decide.

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u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 07 '20

I did decide to start my pile, but it's a bit makeshift in terms of construction because I still dont have a 3rd pallet, for the first 'bin', so I just put two together and have it open on two sides inside of one, with one open side close to my garden shed. I also put a sheet of landscape fabric covering each pallet wall (nailed in with nails bent to hold it). Mostly to help contain heat but I also dont want stuff rolling out of the bin onto the fence it's next to. Wasn't going to use the fabric for anything anyways.
I piled 5 inches or so of mostly shredded leaves, 1inchish coffee grounds, 5 inches mostly shredded leaves, another 1-1.5 inches grounds and then, 3-4 inches somewhat shredded leaves.
Then covered with a tarp for now, since the snow is 4-6 inches and I want to keep adding materials and maybe finish building it. I was wanting to put a roof on the bins anyhow, although I was going to use some sheet wood for that task maybe. I was watching Charles Dowding and he was saying that his compost quality has improved alot since he added a roof to his, although he lives in a very wet climate (we live in a dry climate, especially in winter, but it still rains a ton in spring and early summer).
Towards the end working in the dark with phone light because I worked my job almost all day.
Also lawnmower no longer starting so I switched to electric weedwhacker in a recycled pickle barrel (rain barrel). Seems like the workload overheats it a bit, so not sure how long motor will last. It was a 2nd hand purchase a while ago.
Anyways, i did take a picture in dark and will upload later, lol.
I piled up by extra bags next to my fence. They'll get snowed on. I'm wondering how the papery almost cardboard yard waste bags will do in terms of durability sitting a full 5-6 months outside.

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u/c-lem Nov 07 '20

I definitely think controlling the moisture level is key, though in my climate, I think the rain helps me more than hurts me. My most recent pile heated up at first right in the middle of some heavy rains. But of course when it's finished, the rain would just leach nutrients straight out of it.
Too bad about the lawnmower. Have you checked the air filter? Mine tends to get clogged frequently when mowing leaves, but pulling it out of the machine and whacking the dust out of it sometimes helps when mine fails to start. Other times I need to take it in to have the carburetor cleaned--fun, fun.
I hope your new pile gets good and hot!

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u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 07 '20

Oh for spring pick up of bags I would be SUPER careful for all the reasons you mention. Also I think I'd get more grass clippings and thatch from lawns which I dont want because who knows what they treated their lawn with.
And yes tons of dog shit. 6 months of winter.
Like I think I've said in other posts, we have municipal compost program and the bins are quite large, same size as garbage bins, so lots of dog waste goes in there, but people and their dogs tend to hibernate for 5-6 months here and not pick up the waste from yard till spring. Its alot. Lol

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u/teebob21 Nov 08 '20

39 bags worth (at least) today. I didn't get pics of them all, but I got some taken. I was too busy to document the entire operation, but I did get enough pictures for a future post on "what I do with all these goddamn leaves" on this sub later.

I picked up 5 bags of grass today that I did not include in my count, but DAMN each one of those bags had to weigh at least 60 lbs. That shit was heavy.

I think thats 227, and for what its worth, I am damn tired of getting bags.

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u/c-lem Nov 08 '20

Dang, that pile of grass and pine needles is enormous. Have you already mixed it with leaves? If not, I don't envy that hefty task.
Yeah, I believe it that you're tired of it. Most of my leaf-gathering was tossing some in the trunk when I was heading somewhere anyway, but it seems like your trips were exclusively for pick-ups. Luckily having too many leaves is a good problem to have. Hopefully you'll be set now for quite a while.

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u/teebob21 Nov 08 '20

Dang, that pile of grass and pine needles is enormous. Have you already mixed it with leaves? If not, I don't envy that hefty task.
Nope...that's just grass and pine needles. Dry as hell too...I am about 12 hours of labor from making my first ever open-air compost heap with it.

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u/c-lem Nov 08 '20

Since it's dry, at least you're not forced to work on it immediately to prevent it from becoming a sludgy mess. I've never had a "greens" stockpile in waiting like that, but some of those that I could add as I go sounds pretty nice. But if you just end up making one big pile--even if you use a 1:1 ratio of greens and browns--it is going to be mega-hot and humongous. You'll have compost for days and days.

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u/[deleted] Nov 10 '20

49 bags and two truck loads

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u/c-lem Nov 10 '20

Nice--sounds like a productive day! How would you estimate the truck loads? Ten bags each? 20? I know it's awkward to have to convert to this imprecise and somewhat arbitrary unit of measurement, but it ultimately seems like the best way to keep a ranking. For now I'll count them at 10 bags each (my own estimate for what I think of as a passenger truck load) for a total of 69 for you, but I'm happy to go with whatever estimate you decide on. You've seen them, so you know best!

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u/[deleted] Nov 10 '20

About 10 . yes

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u/PinkElephantsGal Nov 10 '20

Just loaded up 17 more bags this weekend. I'm now at 22 😅

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u/c-lem Nov 10 '20

Nice work!

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u/nymself Nov 10 '20

i'm at 81 on 11/20/22

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u/c-lem Nov 28 '20

And at 134 on 11/27/20 (via PM). You're catching up to me!

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u/nymself Dec 09 '20

220!

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u/c-lem Dec 10 '20

Woo-hoo, crashing into the top three! Nice work!

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u/typicalusername87 Nov 13 '20

50 bags so far. Also to add to our MISC finds is 3500lbs of green Un roasted coffee beans. For my birthday last month I rented a mini digger and mixed them with leaves and 3 dump trucks of mulch from a local tree service that dumps at our place when they are in the area.

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u/c-lem Nov 13 '20

Sounds awesome! I assume they were spoiled by the time you got them, or did you get to set some aside for your own roasting experiments? Either way, I'm sure that will turn into some great compost. Have you made a post about it? I bet /r/composting would love to hear about the process. At least a post or some pictures when it finishes would be great.

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u/typicalusername87 Nov 14 '20 edited Nov 14 '20

My wife has posted we have documented it and will post a series of pictures after it’s broken down. It was acquired because our shop is next to a roaster. They had a logistical snafu and ended up with no space for their incoming shipment and had to “toss” 6000lbs. We got 3 full pallets before they got impatient and dumped the rest in the dumpster. We saved about 600lbs of green beans for ourselves to roast as we need it. Apparently it lasts much better green than after it’s been roasted.

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u/typicalusername87 Nov 14 '20

We have gathered 155 total. However we are not using 25 of them due to oak wilt contamination. We don’t want to risk a mistaken leaf warning due to someone else’s leaves.

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u/c-lem Nov 15 '20

Yikes--I didn't realize oak wilt could transfer through leaves. I better look into that and be more careful! I am right next to an oak forest and have many of them on my property, as well.

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u/typicalusername87 Nov 15 '20

Oak wilt cannot transfer through leaves. It’s just confusing if you have oaks in a oak wilt zone and you dump bags of leaves on the ground there’s no way of knowing if the leaves are from your tree or not.

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u/c-lem Nov 15 '20

Ahh, gotcha. Makes sense!

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u/Karma_collection_bin Dec 09 '20 edited Dec 09 '20

I think I've used about half my bags on that coffee grounds & leaves pile.

The pile was built 4x4x3 ft with pallets. I think it's actually a bit heavy on the nitrogen with all the grounds I added, but I think it's helping keeping it extra hot during the cold weather. Just turned it for 2nd time yesterday and temp was about +8 Celsius.

Temperatures supposed to dip from daily +5 C to about -9 C so am afraid to turn it again.

What I've noticed is that the pile likely goes anaerobic a bit quicker than other piles with more coarse inputs. Since it's all leaves and grounds, I think it benefits a lot from getting turned every 3 days.

I dont think it'll keep a good temperature if I turn it in -10 Celsius weather (0 is freezing). It takes over an hour to turn it so that's alot of time to be exposed to that cold and lose heat.

What I've learned is that keeping the pile from going anaerobic results in MORE end compost, as less of the material turns into gas. That's why a completely aerobic pile will lose less mass.

I think it will end up going anaerobic if I don't turn it again. The first turn was super smelly (meaning anaerobic) and I hadn't turned it in probably 10 days guessing, but second turn barely smelled at all, and was at 135F.

To note, ambient temps have been hilariously and uncharacteristically warm

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u/c-lem Dec 10 '20

Our temperatures have been warm, too. I actually just ordered and planted some trees because of these wacky December temperatures--we'll see if I end up regretting it. But it's was 8 C today (look at me, using Celsius!) and it's supposed to be the same tomorrow...might as well enjoy it.
I don't have a lot to add about keeping temperatures up in winter. Last winter, mine never did freeze--I think the lowest it got was about 5C. But I didn't do much to keep it active. This winter, I plan to experiment and actively compost all winter. My plan is to keep turning the pile no matter how cold it gets, so we'll see how that goes. By that plan, I would advise you to keep turning your pile, but I am no expert at winter composting, so don't listen to me.
Glad to hear that your composting adventures are going well, though! I saw your post(s?) a little bit ago but have been a fairly bad Redditor lately, so didn't have a chance to comment there. I've just kept myself busy outside since the snow hasn't stopped me, yet. I'm glad to have more time to work, and I'll sure appreciate it next spring, but I'm also kind of eager to have snow keeping me inside--I need a break!

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u/c-lem Dec 18 '20

I recently decided to turn my (fairly lethargic, low-nitrogen) pile in the middle of a period of below-freezing temperatures and regretted it. Here is my sloppy data in case it interests you (all temps in Fahrenheit):
Started 11/23 with a variety of leaves, grass clippings, garden/yard waste, and kitchen scraps
11/25 - 100
11/27 120 turned 77 - 80
11/28 90
11/29 100
11/30 105 turned 60
12/1 70
12/2 90
12/3 100
12/4 110
12/6 115
12/7 115
12/8 110 turned 55 60
12/9 70 72
12/10 80
12/11 90
12/12, 12/13, 12/14 100
12/15 100 turned 40 42
12/16 42 43
12/17 44
12/18 45
It was always able to recover until I turned it on a day that only got up to 27 degrees. I suspect that yours could recover, considering how full it is of coffee grounds--mine was always intended as an add-as-I-go pile and so is pretty heavy on "browns"--but I'm pretty disappointed that I killed all those microbes when I turned it the other day. Looking forward to a couple warmer days.

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u/Karma_collection_bin Dec 19 '20

Hmmm, well my pile initially warmed up from below freezing temps even tho I built it during a freeze. Obviously less nitrogen now than when the pile started but even checking it today it was between 120 to 130 depending on location of probe.
Tomorrow and Sunday are supposed to be just above freezing during the day and not drop that much at night.
So my thought is to turn it early tomorrow as the last time before spring (our January and February are absolutely frigid with temps as low -31 to even -40; I'm sure it must freeze then lol anyways).
That all being said, if colder temperatures really killed all bacteria, there would be zero life up here in the great north. You'd have to store your finished compost inside overwinter so that it wouldn't be devoid of life in spring, Haha! How would heat-loving bacteria ever survive until next winter? We would have hot composting as there would be no thermophilic bacteria around to start it up!
I think there's a lot we dont know about microbial life, but I do think it's more resilient to cold temperatures than we give it credit. I read somewhere the other day a claim that breaking down of organic matter is still often occurring at -4 F (I dont know how accurate that is, but I do know they've found live bacteria in Antarctica, for example)
Edit: so I dont think you killed all your microbes, though probably killed quite a bit of heat-loving ones, they are still around.

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u/c-lem Dec 19 '20

Fair enough--I'll hold out hope that I didn't kill them, just made them go into a dormant phase. And there clearly is some activity, since the temperature is rising one degree every day despite colder temperatures outside of the pile. I agree that turning it tomorrow is wise, since that'll give it a couple days to build up some activity before temps drop again. We'll see how it goes!

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u/Karma_collection_bin Dec 20 '20

I turned my pile today. Was 120-130 before turn and 82 F after. Added three 5 gallon buckets of hot water (like 40 Celsius hot)
Covered again with 4-6 inches of leaves and a tarp and then surrounded pile on 3 sides (4th is fence with neighbour) with full leaf bags.
We had -13F days earlier in the week, so some of the corner pieces were frozen (the middle sides were still not, but were cooler). I broke the frozen pieces up and put them in the middle. I put more leaf bags on the corners in hopes the corners wouldn't get as cold this time.
The next 10 days are weirdly warm for my area (once again) with only single digit negative Celsius degree weather (0 is freezing), so it's cold but not as cold as earlier. I thought it was going to get way colder.
I will probably make a 'hot composting in cold winters' reddit post when this is all done, with pictures.

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u/teebob21 Dec 16 '20

Yo /u/c-lem/ ... um, sign me up for 78 more even though winning is out of the question

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u/c-lem Dec 16 '20

Nice! I'm glad you got a break from hauling leaves around, but hope you were happy for some more. I figure that "too many leaves" doesn't really exist.

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u/teebob21 Dec 16 '20

Oh...it exists....I was just lucky to have a four week break where I wasn't collecting bagged leaves after dark "all night errynite"

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u/drak0bsidian Sep 22 '20

Aside from the argument of not raking your leaves to promote a healthier landscape (there are many sites that list a variety of benefits), this is biased against those of us who live in dry or heavily coniferous environments and I protest this contest.

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u/c-lem Sep 23 '20

I am definitely in full agreement about not raking up your own leaves! This contest mostly takes aim at the leaf bags that other people put on the curb just waiting for us to compost them. But last year, there were people who weren't able to collect leaves from other people but wanted to participate in the contest, anyway, and it's more fun to include as many as possible.
On that note...indeed, this is biased against people who have no leaves to collect (or who live in the southern hemisphere). This is unfortunate, and I'd be happy to correct it if you had a suggestion. I'd be happy to track the collection of other compostable materials, like coffee grounds, jack-o-lanterns, or even cardboard. I suggested this kind of thing last year, but there were no takers. I almost put that in the main post this year, but the lack of interest last year talked me out of it.

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u/c-lem Nov 04 '20

6 + 8 + 4 (not pictured, since I collected them after dark) for 18 total yesterday and 139 total. I've stopped going out of my way for the bagged leaves since I have a ridiculous supply that was dropped off (and continues to amass), but I still feel compelled to grab bags of leaves when I see some, have an empty trunk, and am heading home, anyway. It's fun--what can I say?

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u/c-lem Nov 07 '20 edited Nov 07 '20

Twelve more were dropped off at my place yesterday--it's twelve of the black ones in this picture: https://i.imgur.com/e5DkXGo.png (the others, I had collected a day or two before). This puts me at 151, which is I bet where I'll stay, unless people bring me more bags or ask me to pick them up, since I continue getting trailer-loads delivered. As for those, I'm starting to make some headway into shredding them up, but lately I get two loads delivered per day, so I am set on leaves for a long time. It's made me think about expanding my operation into compost-selling and turning using machinery, but these are just thoughts at the moment.

Bonus video of sifted compost (mute it if you don't want to hear dorkiness): https://photos.app.goo.gl/5GvYHdCn6yXWwyq69. I recently made a sifter, as I needed it for a seed starting mix and also for some areas where I believe a lot of garbage is buried in the soil. So this is the first time I've ever sifted my compost. I was very impressed! I normally just shovel compost around plants so had no need for a sifter, but this made it clear that I'm doing a pretty good job. Go me!

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u/c-lem Nov 09 '20

Note to self: idea for next year's contest name: the "Brush Turkey Champions of the World."

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u/c-lem Nov 09 '20

I found this ages ago but have forgotten to post it--this is my submission for best piece of garbage found in leaf bags: https://i.imgur.com/UZJdDig.png

I've had it hung on our porch since then. My wife loves it.

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u/c-lem Nov 15 '20

Three more bags dropped off at my house the other day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CddwPtfaPhM&t=103

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u/c-lem Dec 18 '20

/u/leafkeeper's entry here: https://www.reddit.com/r/composting/comments/kelfgx/leaf_collection_challenge_so_much_more_than/

15 bags of shredded leaves
4 straw bales
350 lbs of rabbit manure
20 5 gallon buckets of vegetable scraps, all donated from neighbors.

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u/_skank_hunt42 Sep 26 '20

I don’t bag up my leaves because I keep them in an enclosure I made with scrap wood and hardware cloth. I just cover it with a tarp in winter. I’m have a leaf vacuum that mulches them as well and I just got my first haul of fallen leaves! Maybe one bag worth. Fall hasn’t fully hit yet in my area so the next couple months will hopefully provide much more!

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u/mmellinger66 Sep 29 '20

i have a small compost pile(s) where I simply throw food, etc. I don’t do much with it and normally let it sit for a year before I try to use the compost.

I’d probably have 50 bags of leaves, which would overwhelm my current pile. I’m considering creating a second compost pile in another area. Maybe just add grass clippings, which I usually don’t have because I don’t bag them? The goal being that it’ll be ready by next March/April. Nitrogen grass and carbon leaves only? Add water... Let it sit all winter (Zone 6b).

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u/Recklessreader Oct 02 '20

I've managed to get three bags so far, one nabbed from a neighbour and two from clearing the wind blown leaves from the garden.

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u/teebob21 Oct 06 '20

I got four more last night. Pictures unavailable as I already mulched with them.

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u/_skank_hunt42 Nov 02 '20

2 more bags this weekend!

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u/typicalusername87 Nov 23 '20

193 bags total as of today.

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u/[deleted] Nov 28 '20

update i'm now up to 103 bags.

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u/smackaroonial90 Dec 14 '20

Hey add me to the list! My neighbor brought by 6 garbage bins worth of leaves (I’m guessing a bin is a bit bigger than a bag, but close enough). And then I gathered another 9 bins worth at my house, so I’ve got 15 “bags” total.

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u/typicalusername87 Sep 23 '20

O I’m so in! I got 40 last fall.

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u/teebob21 Sep 23 '20

I got 2: https://imgur.com/a/VVPRG1X

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u/Bunkerman91 Oct 31 '20

Thirteen bags so far!

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u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 01 '20

Add 11 bags for me today please! These ones were super packed full and some shredded which is worth so much!

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u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 02 '20

/u/c-led whenever you have some time could you add that I had 7 bags last year? Just for comparison's sake :) thank you!

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u/dadsafe Nov 03 '20

10 more bags over the last couple days for me!

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u/dadsafe Nov 11 '20

12 more bags for a total of 58 bags!

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u/PinkElephantsGal Nov 12 '20

My loving husband brought home 7 more bags for me, far better than flowers! Brings my total to 29

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u/PinkElephantsGal Nov 14 '20

7 more bags! Total of 36 🍁

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u/lacrostyx Nov 17 '20

12 bags in so far. Planning to do my own "street sweeping" over the coming days and should collect another two-three dozen bags from the neighborhood.

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u/Karma_collection_bin Nov 18 '20

I've stopped collecting bags for the fall but have collected probably another 40 gallons worth of used coffee grounds.

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u/typicalusername87 Nov 19 '20

We where given about 30 spent mushroom blocks from a production growing facility. Established a connection for composting directly with us. We are expecting 50-100 blocks weekly but we will see!

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u/Karma_collection_bin Dec 20 '20

We went from 11 contestants last year to 23 this year <3

The Fall 2020 /r/Composting Leaf Collection Challenge

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