There used to a neighbor four doors down, who shredded his leaves before placing them curbside. Doesn't get much better than that.

Tell your DH that maple leaves compost real quick, so that you'll be looking for more leaves real soon. As I look around the block, I see maple, sweet gum, and oak. I use shredded oak as a topping to absorb heavy rainfall. Maple and sweet gum with a bit of fresh grass almost compost themselves.

Today the two piles average 110 to 125F in the core.

I'm jealous. I set up a 7.5 yd3 fenced bin to hold my leaves and the bottom is barely covered. I have materials for another bin ready to go but I won't need it unless I hit a couple bonanzas like yours.

I just wonder whether I should spread the whole maple leaves on the garden tomorrow and then wait for him to run the lawnmower over it, or sprinkle my organic coffee chaff on top and cover with burlap before Sandy gets here Monday?

I'm going to use the shredded oak leaves to mulch the brambles, then cover back over with the burlap I have on them now. Maybe throw some down on the blueberries too.

Overdid it yesterday - even if each bag only weighs 10 lbs, I handled each one twice so that was 500 lbs of leaves in/out of the truck, plus bending and shoveling. Sore back today.

Any ideas whether I should spread these tomorrow and get the burlap bags on top before the hurricane (figure wet burlap won't blow away), or just try to put 25 garbage bags in a pile in the woods (put as many as I can fit in the empty pallet compost bin 4x4x4) and hope they won't blow away? No room in basement/garage since we have to secure the grill, trash cans, empty rain barrels (we will set 1 up) etc.

When I see the lawn guys at my neighbor's houses, I go over and ask for the cuttings. I just got a big barrel full of combined grass/chopped leaves. I put it in two barrels with holes drilled in the sides, and the next day both were already hot. Leaves and grass are a perfect mix. This was mostly birch leaves. Monday is rubbish day, so I'll be cruising the neighborhood Sunday.

Snow on the ground this morning, leaf season may be over. :-(

Lloyd

Spread half of them (DH shredded them) on the garden, topped with leftover coffee chaff from the spring (a couple of bags had started decomposing, clumpy and wet like manure - even found earthworms in 1, maggots in another), topped with shredded oak leaves and burlap bags.

Sandy coming, I may get more leaves at the end of the week if we don't lose power (in which case people will have more important things to do than bag leaves). I'm done bagging - back's OK today but my right forearm (muscle on the top) is still tender from handling snow shovel 1-handed...

SCORE! WoW great find.
You can till them under as is if you are not using the beds till Spring. A little organic fertilizer would help, but may not be needed.
DH shred leaves for you.
I wish MDW would do some of that, she goes with that "You kill it, you clean it" or "You grow it, you pick it".:-)
You have a good one there.