</font><font color="blue" class="small">( What is the best thing to add to piles of leaves to make them decompose at a faster rate? I would like to spread the piles out and mix them with existing soil, to hopefully be able to plant some grass someday in my neighbors back yard.
Thanks )</font>
My garden ground was about worthless when we first bought the property from my in-laws. I decided right off I needed to add a BUNCH of stuff to the soil. Lime, some sand, and a couple truck loads of manure (every fall). I also built 3 compost "bins". I have one that's new stuff. One that's "aging" and the third is what I work out of each summer. I have a couple friends in the lawncare industry. They haul all their grass clippings and leaves to me.
The only way I can get that much material to decompose at a reasonable rate is to add 34-0-0 (ammonium Nitrate) fertilizer to it every few weeks. I use about 50 lbs per every 2 cu. yds. I add a bag every 4 to 5 weeks. That' and a couple loader buckets full of horse manure at the same time....
You can feel the heat coming off of the piles about 20 feet away from them.