They say leave the leaves…but I raked mine. Here’s why!

I started writing this post in October 2025. It began thusly:

I’m about to move out of the rental my partner and I have been in for the last several years. Nine for me, 11 for him. Wowzers.

Well, update! We moved! 2025 was a ride, let me tell you.

Do you know what I definitely did not need to add to my list last year? Raking leaves. In fact, many nature advocates suggest leaving leaves where they lie, for critter habitat and soil health. Leaving the leaves certainly would also have been easier on my back and mental capacity as we careened towards our move-out date last October. So why, oh why did I decide raking leaves on the cusp of a Big Move was a good idea?

Great question. It was probably when we were dismantling and packing up the garden and old compost pile at our old place that I started thinking about how I was going to do compost up on the mountain. I knew I wanted to be diligent and intentional with it: my previous pile had gotten a little out of hand (and I got a little lazy). This time, it was going to be clean! Tidy! Organized!

As I did my research, I was reminded that if I really wanted this thing to work, I’d have to do a better job layering. In compost vernacular, there are two primary “buckets” of desirable layer materials: “browns” (rich in carbon) and greens (rich in nitrogen). I had greens down pat; those would come from our kitchen scraps. But the browns emcompassed a wide variety of materials, including plant stems and twigs (perfect, I live in the woods now, those would be plentiful), shredded paper, untreated wood chips, and/or…leaves! Well how-dee-doo.

Let me tell you about The Tree

At the place we moved out of almost a year ago, a deciduous tree hung over our driveway from the neighbour’s yard. Over the years, we’d repeatedly trimmed it back so it wouldn’t scrape car/delivery van rooftops, or fall onto the power line. It would always grow back. When it did, it created a leafy tunnel over the driveway. I loved walking underneath it in the summer (shady and cool!) and most especially loved watching it turn brilliant yellow in the fall. (Is it an ash? Are there any tree people or botany nerds reading this?)

Once that time eventually came, the leaves would shed directly onto the gravel driveway below, and we’d dutifully rake them up. I suppose we could have left them, but as soon as it rained, our already crazy driveway would turn into a mushy, slippery pit; and come winter, the whole mess would become a death trap with a slick layer of organic matter hidden under the white blanket of snow.

So we raked.

In favour of leaving the leaves

In many ways, “leave the leaves” makes sense…when they fall on grass or other natural, organic substrates, of course. Bugs nest in the leaf litter for the winter, waiting for the spring when they’ll re-emerge (I learned that queen bees do this!). Leaves also break down through decomposition processes and contribute carbon to the soil. 

Part of me wonders about leaving the leaves when they fall on inorganic, hard surfaces. Obviously, less decomposition happens if they fall on asphalt, but even on hard-packed gravel driveways. Do things actually break down? It turns out, yes! I noticed this decomposition process on the driveway edges, particularly where leaves had accumulated underneath hedges (themselves a mix of deciduous and evergreen shrubbery). Where the leaves had been allowed to rest and decay, the earth looked richer, moister, and more textured. So perhaps even on gravel driveways, leaving the leaves is good practice.

But anyway, the ones on the driveway itself had to be scooped up.

In favour of raking the leaves

On a normal, non-moving year, the process of raking would involve grabbing the big, giant, municipal “yard waste bin” assigned to our house and filling it up with all the rakings. (Rakings? I’m being told this is not a word. Pshh.) But, well, this was the year we moved.

And, for some inexplicable reason, I was really keen on establishing my compost pile right away at our new place, even though, at the time, we were on the cusp of winter; and as mentioned, we were moving. I suppose I thought that if I started As Soon As Possible, I’d have compost by the following summer. HA! HA! Ryan! You moved to a rock at 4,000ft elevation on the cusp of winter! What were you thinking! I have always been a bit overly optimistic. Character flaw? 🫠

Furthermore, because we were spending so much time at the rental furiously packing, and since the leaves have to get raked anyway, I thought, “I will not leave these leaves.” Sure, I could have waited. I could have tried raking leaves up at our new place (there are lots of deciduous trees!). I could have raked them into the yard waste bin, where they’d be collected with everyone else’s yard waste and industrially composted, but there would go my opportunity to make my own compost! And I wouldn’t have this weird story to tell you.

Anywho, with this bug in my brain, I determined I needed to stockpile as much brown material as possible. So I found some paper bags and, after a few days, had raked up seven bags of leaves. I felt like a squirrel stashing food for the winter.

How it started

Probably the best part of this story, besides the fact that I was out there raking leaves like a madwoman while packing and cleaning, is that we actually ran out of space for the leaves when we officially moved out. Yup, we had to come back the next day to pick up the last of our outdoor stuff, including my seven awkward bags of leaves. But I was adamant; I was not leaving behind this gardener’s gold!

Once we’d started settling into our new place, Jan helped me prepare a spot for the compost bin and my cache of leaves. The composter is within walking distance of the house, and right next to it is a pallet for the leaf bags. Once it was settled in, I immediately started filling it up!

How it’s going

I’m finishing this story almost a year later – it’s now September 2026. That means it’s been almost a full year of layering greens and browns. I fully expected to run out of room in the bin and have instead been delighted to discover that it keeps eating and digesting everything I throw at it.

I know what you’re wondering: so, Ryan, after all this pontificating about leaves and such, did you end up with any compost?! Well, yes? Sort of! It’s definitely happening. I’m glad I started last fall: one year later, I almost have usable compost.

Final compost thoughts

We’re once again on the cusp of winter here on the mountain, and I’ve just put my garden to bed. I used the last of the leaf bags to insulate the bed and all my potted plants, which means it’s officially time to collect more leaves and start this whole process over again. I’ll keep layering over the winter, mixing and checking…and hopefully by next spring I’ll have something to use in the garden!

Will I need a second composter? Only time will tell.

I’d also really like to try “hot compost,” but honestly, I did not get around to figuring it out this year. When I do, though, I’ll probably follow Liam’s tips below!

OK, that’s enough of me sharing all my half-digested thoughts on composting. Now it’s your turn; tell me about your favourite compost successes or mishaps! 🍂