How much space does my garden need to store leaves?
from bags to riches
That all depends on your garden: Last year, at 6/15 Green, a space of 4′ deep, 20′ wide, 5′ high existed behind their already in-use compost bins (see photo on our facebook page). At East New York Farms this year (photos right and below), a snowfence enclosure of 4′x10′ currently holds close to 1000 pounds of leaves.
What if my community brings in more leaves than my garden can handle?
While securing a shredder would certainly help, we also have a patchwork of partners throughout the city, such as bk farmyards and Build it Green! NYC, who are able to assist us in the event of an overflow of leaves at participating gardens. If you know of any other groups that can accept/transport excess leaves, please email compost@nycleaves.org
What are the best ways to store the leaves? Is there a risk of attracting rats if my garden has a leaf pile?
1:4 hardware cloth
If rats are your main concern, you’ll be relieved to know that any configuration for leaf storage that you have can be retrofitted with 1/4″ hardware cloth, which is rat-proof.
We are reaching out to various vendors throughout the city to find sources (and discounts) for materials – all updates will be posted here and on our facebook page. Simple and inexpensive is the way to go for leaf storage – often just reclaimed lumber, pallets, chicken wire, snowfence, or even playground equipment will suffice.
raked
Leaves generally don’t attract rats, but if they are left in bags and mixed with bits of trash, they can create a problem over time. So please, if you’d like to accept leaves, encourage your community to separate out all non-leaf materials that may get into the mix.
I’m new to composting. How does leaf litter become garden gold?
For a detailed description of the ways in which you can use your fallen leaves – either as mulch, leaf mold, leaf compost, or as “browns” to add to the “greens” in your compost bin, please see this compost guide, though we will also have an ongoing conversation of uses for leaves on our facebook page, and we’ll keep updating this site with highlights!