A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Wet leaves?

I'm new to composting but have done much reading and so far I think I'm doing alright but I still have soooo many questions!! So here's one. I found a garbage bag full of leaves behind my shed that had been sittng there since last Fall!!! They're soak n wet and smelly! Are they still okay to throw in the compost?? I've always read "dry leaves".
Also, when using twigs, branches, etc...how small do they need to be chopped up? And is there an easy way to do this??

Absolutely use them! Water is one of the most important ingredients in a compost pile. I use one of those leaf shredder/vacs from Craftsman to chop up my compost materials. It has a 1.5" chute for chipping up small branches. The bottom line is all twigs and branches will become compost eventually, but the smaller you chop them up the faster it will happen. Twigs can be chopped up with your mower, but I wouldn't recommend it for branches.

If you put the twigs thru the mower, as John suggests, you can use the bigger stuff as a base for the compost. It will allow air under and into the pile and help with decomposition.

Oh, run with that bag, and get it into
the pile Christina......
Wet leaves, dead leaves, dried leaves, chopped leaves, tea leaves, any kind of leaves you can get your hands on, put them in....

Yes, I do the same thing with my bins...
I put some larger twigs under them for air flow...

I read an article about a man that would drive around his town in the fall and take everyones bagged leaves for his compost. I think he made sure they didnt have a dog first though.

Yep I get my leaves and my neighbors leaves and if I had transportation I would probably get some extras from father away too.

I get grass from my landlord who has several rentals.

Wrennie, who ratted me out? The gathering of fall leaves is a ritual of mine. Someone else has done all the work of raking and bagging the leaves, and then they're nice enough to leave them by the side of the road for you. All you have to do is drive by and pick them up. How could anyone resist that offer?