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October 18, 2008
Leaves & Garden Clippings Compost/Recycling?
Longtime lurker, new poster here. I'm about to move into a new brownstone in Park Slope and there's an overgrown back garden I'm planning to pretty thoroughly attack in a few weeks--not to mention it's fall and I expect to have a lot of leaves coming down.
I've figured out how to dispose of the large branches we expect to prune, but looks like the department of sanitation has suspended their leaf composting program, and I really don't want to just bag up leaves and clippings and have them end up in a landfill. Any suggestion of where to get these composted? Or who to contact?
Thanks.
Comments
You can compost them in your own garden.
Posted by: vanburenproud at October 18, 2008 3:32 PM
This may not apply to your trees, but the city is still fighting a battle with Asian Longhorned Beetles. For information about safe disposal of trees and branches, see: http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/trees_greenstreets/beetle_alert/beetle_alert.html
As to compost, if your leaves are oak, there are many gardeners who would be thrilled to have them as mulch (because they lose their acidity as they decompose, and because their structure keeps them from compacting into a solid sheet). Many community gardens accept compost donations. Two links for more information are:
http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/urban/composting/basics.html
http://www.openplans.org/projects/compost/resource-sheet-with-other-locations
Posted by: vinca at October 19, 2008 9:22 PM
Oops! Meant to post this BBG compost link instead, and further below is another link with more information about garden pests, diseases and invasives:
http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/urban/composting/index.html
http://www.bbg.org/gar2/pestalerts/
Posted by: vinca at October 19, 2008 9:39 PM
I still think that composting your weeds in your garden is going to be much easier than dragging them somewhere.
All you really have to do is dig a hole, then put the weeds in the hole, then put the leaves on top of the weeds, and then wait. The hole is optional, even. You can just throw a couple of shovelfuls of soil in the pile of weeds and leaves.
In spring, you will have a bunch of your own compost for your own plantings, for free, with less effort than bagging and hauling your green waste through the house!
Posted by: vanburenproud at October 20, 2008 2:55 PM
I'm with vanburenproud, though I don't do holes.
Pull everything up and get your hands on some hedge clippers. Cut stuff down to size and let it break down over the winter.
Pile it to one side or spread it out and use it as a foundation for proper sheet mulching. I could advise you for hours, but seriously, if you have a yard and you're in the process of reclaiming it, you can use the compost and you can save yourself so much hassle by building a pile.
Posted by: serpentor at October 20, 2008 3:20 PM
Thanks for the vote of confidence. What's a proper sheet mulching?
Posted by: vanburenproud at October 20, 2008 3:44 PM
The opposite of a hole: you can make a cylinder out of chicken wire or "snow fence," depending on volume. Fill it up and then watch it get denser and richer over time.
As a tenant in a garden-floor apartment, what I really wanted to say was, "Come over to my house and get the compost bin my landlord doesn't use; I'm sick of looking at it!"
Posted by: altervoce at October 20, 2008 3:45 PM
Thanks all! I look forward to composting clippings in my garden, and fighting the great battle against the Asian longhorned beetle. Gaaaaaaaaah!
Posted by: lookin fer stuff at October 20, 2008 11:29 PM
Hey, how big is that compost bin your landlord doesn't use? I may be interested.
Posted by: BrooklynSteve at October 22, 2008 1:32 PM
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