Would em fermentation even work for this? IME bokashi'd food scraps look exactly the same as when they went in. Assuming that the same would happen with leaves.. TJ
TJ I'm going from memory on this but at Gypsy's mess there was a fairly in-depth discussion about creating leafmold and it's my recollection that lacto cultures like EM, Gil Carandang's BIM serum, et al. is a very good way to go. There were a number of legitimate cites to bolster that argument. That's my best recollection...... CC
Yep. I was going to use lactobacillus serum, but decided to go with the bokashi because it contains fungal species, which are more efficient at breaking down high lignin materials compared to bacterium. Who knows if it'll work, but I'm looking to increase the speed of this process somehow. The seasonal warm period here is so freakin' short... Bringing it "indoors", where I can at least benefit from the warmth created by the sun in the winter/spring. Do you have enough leaves to try a few bags INSIDE? You know, for science...
Why yes I do guess I'll have to dust off the 'ol lawnmower and see if I can't shred 'em up a little bit huh? Man, having high quality composting materials on hand is really exciting lol. Leaves! Wonderful leaves! TJ
What is the significance of the coffee grounds in regards to the leaves? Is it just for the nitrogen source or is there something more to it? I have a decent amount of used coffee so I am curious now. Thanks.
The gentlemen in the video back at post #1171 suggested the use it, IF one were so inclined to include ANY other materials with the leaves in order to build leaf mold/compost. Just an educated guess here, so don't quote me on it, but... Personal experience using coffee grounds with all sorts of different composting techniques dictates that fungal species REALLY like coffee grounds. I see mycelial blooms in them all the time when they've had the opportunity to sit around awhile before use in my compost piles. You can also see them in worm bins if you add the coffee in piles or clumps on top of the bedding. Fungal species are better at breaking down and sequestering carbon from organic materials. The lignin and cellulose that make up cell wall leaf structure is more effectively degraded by fungus, when compared to bacterium. So coffee grounds serve as an excellent fungal inoculant to kick start your leaf composting process off right. For reasons that I can not currently remember, it us suggested NOT to use coffee grounds that have an overabundance of green or black molds growing in them. I notice these species when coffee grounds have sat around for a really long time, and have not had access to fresh air. Perhaps the greens and blacks are anaerobic species? In a high heat thermophilic composting situation, I wouldn't worry about it at all. In a low heat mesophilic situation like leaf composting (which as things get broken down and more compacted I would imagine becomes "oxygen depleted" as well), probably not a good idea. I guess it all depends on what degree of aerobic environment you plan to create for your leaf mold composting.
I've read before that caffeine accelerates mycelia growth.... lemme see if I can find something on it.. TJ
Didn't find much specific to caffeine, but I did find this'n. http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=KR2013000351 Acceleration of the Mycelial Growth of Trametes veriscolor by Spent Coffee Ground Trametes versicolor, a common inhabitant of dead hardwoods in temperate climates, belongs to one of the important medicinal mushrooms. In this study, spent coffee ground(SCG), instant coffee powder(ICP) and instant decaffeinated coffee powder(IDCP) were examined for their effect on the mycelial growth of T. versicolor. Adding SCG was proven to be significantly beneficial at the concentration as high as 10%. ICP and IDCP, both containing concentrated polyphenols, were also beneficial at low concentration less than 1%. 1% SCG culture resulted in ten-fold increased yield of dry cell mass compared to the control culture. Adding coffee substances was recommended as a useful tool for accelerating the growth and strengthening the physiological activity of the mycelium. TJ
Whats more is the particle size, water retention, and acidity aspects of used coffee grounds are optimal for composting.
Lol, at the neighbors asking me why I am shredding the leaves with the mower and collecting them rather than just blowing them into the woods.
Man o' man! I just got finished prepping 25 gallons of sifted compost (with worms!) mixed with 5 gallons of buckwheat hulls for my worm bin. After properly hydrating, that 30 gallons of aerated compost turned into over 40 once it went into it's temporary storage in a 50 gal' Smartie! I've got about the same amount of wormy compost yet to sift. And another 50 gal' Smartie... I think I'll have enough material to get through the winter.
Got all my tomato cages lined up next to my compost pile, now just waiting for those bags of leaves. I'm already soliciting all my friends and family for their leaves. If only I could track down a leaf blower that sucks, too. I saw one advertised on the boob tube that mulches the leaves when it sucks them up, but it's an electric one and looks like it will break in about 2 uses...
My friend has had one of these for years. He loves it. I bought one and only used it once so far, but non stop for about 4 hours. It works great! Got mine at HD... http://www.amazon.com/Toro-51609-Variable-Speed-Electric-Impeller/dp/B007POATV4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415119615&sr=8-1&keywords=toro Two blower bags full of shredded leaves will fill a 30 gallon garbage bag perfectly. 4 bags was enough to provide ALL carbon material needed to build one ~ 3' x 3' x 3' (a little bigger, actually) compost pile. And the shredder on this thing is no joke. If your leaves are good and dry, this thing will literally turn them to dust. You may already know this, but if you use the blower to pile the leaves up before sucking them up right off the ground, the work goes a hell of a lot faster...
yeah i got some looks for "watering my leaves" this year lol.. hey dude.. do you cover your compost pile come winter time? gave mine one last turning.. and man there had to be 1000++ worms in there, it looked like the whole inner part of the pile was moving when i turned it. Thought i was having one of those dead show flashbacks for a second.
was surprised to see so many with it getting cold at night.. i took a big scoop of worms and unfinished compost and threw it into the worm bin. and yes i do wish lmao.. can't say i ever had one.