Shredding leaves without a leaf shredder

Today my neighbor let me have 3 1/2 extra-large trashcans full of dry leaves he collected from another neighbor's yard.

I am certainly happy to have the leaves, but I needed the leaves to be smaller to take up less space and decompose faster. I did not feel like pulling out my leaf shredder that I got for low cost from a city rebate program.

The way I dealt with shredding leaves without a shredder last week was I mowed over them with my lawn mower. Most of the leaves collected into the bag, and I poured the leaves where I needed them.

Today, I did not have my mower out. So I put the leaves in a plastic kiddie pool and stomped all over them. Since the leaves were very dry, they crumpled easily. This was a lot of fun. It would be even more fun for a kid!

To store all those leaves I put set up a short piece of chicken wire fencing into a circle. Then I dumped the crushed leaves into the center. Some of the leaves fell through the wire, but that is okay. I was able to put all the leaves into an area the size of a single trash can since they were crushed.

For now, the leaves can compost in place for leaf mold. I also plan to use the leaves as needed for carbon material in the compost pile in the summer.

The best thing about shredding leaves without a leaf shredder is that I do not have to worry about rocks and sticks stopping up the shredder. Also, saving energy is really great.

Unfortunately, this would not work on leaves that are not dry. But a simple remedy for that is to leave leaves out until they are dry!