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It being the
middle of fall, my yard has a ton of leaves that I need to get rid
of. In past years I've burned them, but a friend told me that isn't
very good for the environment. Do you have any suggestions?
Your friend was right. Burning leaves releases gasses into the air that help lead to global warming. There is another easy way of getting rid of leaves that you may want to try. You may have heard of it on our website; it's called composting.
Composting is a way to turn organic materials like leaves (and others, such as grass clippings and vegetable scraps) into a healthy mulch and soil additive by accelerating the natural decaying process. Normally it may take a couple of years for leaves to decay. With composting, that natural process can be sped up to as fast as just a couple of weeks.
Some people avoid composting because they think it's a lot of work.
In truth, it is really quite easy and, for those with a green thumb,
it can even be fun. To get started, select a location in your yard
approximately six feet by six feet that will not be a bother to you
or your neighbors. Construct some sort of a "bin" that will prevent
the leaves and other materials from blowing away. Suggestions for
how to do that can be found at: http://www.greenworks.tv/special/composting/yourown.html
You need about 3 to 4 cubic feet of materials to get the decomposition
working properly. Once you have that much, simply mix your leaves
with an equal part of "green" material, like yard clippings or vegetable
scraps. Chop it all up with the edge of a shovel or pitch fork, because
the smaller the pieces are and the more bruised they are, the faster
they will decompose. Then all you need to do is add a shovel-full
of soil to introduce some microbes, and add some water so that the
pile is moist. 
From there, you could just let your pile sit. But to get it decomposing quickly, you really should turn the pile every few days. Composting requires oxygen, so turning the pile frequently will help aerate it. How frequently you turn your pile is really up to you though.
In anywhere between a few weeks and a few months, your compost will become crumbly to the touch, dark brown in color, with a rich, earthy smell. When that happens, your compost is ready to use. You can spread it like mulch around shrubs and trees to help keep down weeds and retain moisture. It can also be added to garden beds to help increase soil porosity. Fine compost can even be used for potting plants, or spread over your entire lawn.
For more information, check out our "Composting
for Beginners" website.
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