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Foliage of the native oak species can be very valuable when used in the garden. But it is also a very difficult to decompose. Therefore, the question arises again and again whether oak leaves are suitable for composting or not.

In a nutshell

  • Deciduous American red oak (Quercus rubra) is more suitable for composting as it decomposes more quickly than native oak species
  • It makes sense to chop leaves and thus break up the leaf structure before composting
  • if there are several oak trees on the property, it is worth purchasing an all-purpose shredder
  • You can collect oak leaves in a self-made wire mesh leaf basket, where they slowly decompose
  • Raw humus from the leaf basket or mulch from oak leaves are ideal for plants that like acidic soil

Long decomposition time

If green waste is added to the compost, it should decompose quickly here so that the compost can also be used as fertilizer in the garden. However, oak leaves are very difficult to decompose, especially the leaves of the species native to this area:

  • downy oak (Quercus pubescens)
  • Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur)
  • Sessile oak (Quercus petraea)
  • Hungarian oak (Quercus frainetto)
  • Tear Oak (Quercus cerris)
  • as well as many Asian species
Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur)

Notice: Oaks do not shed all their leaves in autumn. During mild winters, some leaves are still hanging on the tree and do not fall off until spring. This makes picking up the leaves more difficult.

preparation important

If you absolutely want to compost the oak leaves, then it is an advantage if they are prepared for this:

  • Ideally, leaves are chopped beforehand
  • this is how leaf structure is broken up
  • Microorganisms can penetrate better
  • Leaf tissue decomposes faster
chopper

Tip: If you have one or more oak trees in the garden or on the property and want to compost the leaves, then it is definitely worth buying a so-called all-purpose shredder. This has another crown knife, which is mounted on the knife disc.

Consider decomposition inhibitors

In addition to the hard structure, oak leaves also have decomposition inhibitors. These are substances that slow down rotting and are found in oak leaves in higher concentrations than other deciduous trees:

  • rot-inhibiting tannic acids
  • poor, widely spaced C-N ratio
  • lots of carbon (C)
  • little nitrogen (N)
  • makes work difficult for microorganisms
  • need both in sufficient quantities for their own propagation

Use compost accelerator

To make composting oak leaves faster, there is another trick that can be used here:

  • Use of compost accelerator
  • contains organic substances
  • Horn meal well suited
  • Algae lime is also included
  • neutralizes tannic acid in oak leaves
  • Microorganisms can decompose leaves faster
In very calcareous soils, heather herbs such as common heather (Calluna vulgaris) are happy about oak leaves or needle litter incorporated into them.

Tip: You can use fresh oak leaves for heather plants and easily mulch the beds with them. So it can be easily disposed of in the garden. The plants are happy about an acidic pH value, which is favored by the tannic acids contained.

leaf basket

If you don't want to compost the oak leaves but also don't want to dispose of them in some other way, you can use a leaf basket. You can easily build this yourself from wire mesh:

  • Roll of chicken wire ideally 1.5 meters high
  • cut off a piece of appropriate length
  • form a cylinder out of it
  • fix at the interfaces with wire
  • Place the basket in a corner of the garden
  • Simply pour in leaves in autumn
  • Decomposition takes longer
  • decomposed material can later be added to compost
  • or straight into the bed

notice: A leaf basket is simply a wire mesh collection container in which you can collect all the fall leaves from the garden.

frequently asked Questions

Why does oak leaf take so long to decompose?

This is due to the structure of the sheet. Because the leaf blades of the European and Asian species are very leathery and thick. In addition, the oak leaves, as well as the bark and the wood of the tree itself, contain a high proportion of rot-inhibiting tannic acids. American species such as Swamp Oak (Quercus palustris) or Red Oak have thinner leaf blades and therefore rot a little faster.

What else can I do to make the oak leaves decompose faster?

As mentioned above, the ratio of carbon and nitrogen is not right for the microorganisms to quickly decompose the foliage. Here you can mix the previously chopped leaves with lawn clippings, which have a lot of nitrogen. This improves the ratio between carbon and nitrogen and accelerates decomposition. It's even faster if you spread the leaves on the meadow before mowing the lawn, shred the leaves by mowing, collect everything in the collection basket and then put them together in the compost.

Can I also dispose of the leaves of my oak trees in the organic waste?

If you do not want to compost the leaves, you can also put the collected leaves in the organic waste bin and have them collected by the city or municipality. Even if the leaves are difficult to decompose, this is not prohibited.

Can I mulch my beds with the leaves of the oak trees?

The raw humus that develops in the leaf basket is particularly suitable for blueberries or rhododendrons as well as for strawberries or raspberries. Shade-loving ground cover species also prefer the raw humus of the oak leaves. Because these are usually forest plants. However, when mulching heather plants, you should avoid using a commercially available compost accelerator and only fold in horn meal.

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Garden plants