UGA Cooperative Extension

Bryan County Extension
Agriculture & Natural Resources

To Burn or Not To Burn

That is the question. Is it easier to burn those piles of leaves or to compost them? I'm sure Shakespeare had an answer that would have satisfied the romantics and the environmentalists. I don't have an answer that will satisfy everyone.

The romantic part of me remembers the cool autumn evenings just before dark at my grandfather's house. My grandfather had the uncanny ability to get all his grandchildren and their friends together to rake the leaves that fell beneath the big oak trees scattered throughout the yard. Just about dark he would set the piles of leaves on fire. We would all sit on the old stones that were brought in to make a boundary around the fire pit. It's still vivid to me after forty years, the brilliant flames, the sparks dancing upward in the cool still night, the smell that filled my nostrils and the memories that still come to mind every fall when I catch a whiff of burning leaves.

My secretary tells me that one of her best memories with her children was having a hot dog and marshmallow roast when the flames of the fire died down and the coals were red hot. Just stick a hot dog on the end of a dog fennel and hold it over the coals until it is a nice black color. Do the same with the marshmallows. Hot dogs never tasted better!!

What were we doing? My grandfather was a farmer who pinched pennies, scrimped on fertilizer, and I thought at the time the smartest man I knew.

It's hard to believe he never thought of composting the leaves or putting them in the garden to add organic matter to a poor red clay soil that had been farmed for three lifetimes.

Times have changed. I know burning leaves in the fall is probably the easiest and the most romantic thing to do, but composting is more economical and it is environmentally safe. The smoke from burning leaves contains a number of toxic and/or irritating particles and gases. The tiny particles in smoke can accumulate in the lungs and stay there for years. I could go on and on about the hydrocarbons that are known to be carcinogenic and about the carbon monoxide gases and their effects on the human body.

Composting improves soil by increasing its organic matter. This, in turn, improves soil drainage. Organic matter is especially beneficial in heavy clay or light, sandy soils. Organic matter reduces soil crusting and helps soil hold water and nutrients. The compost also supplies a small amount of nutrients.

Compost can be used as a mulch around plants, too. Mulching helps conserve moisture as well as reduces frost heaving. Doesn't this sound too good to be true, a waste product that is free and can do so much for our garden?

The one thing I hope you get from this article is that composting is the right thing to do. If you need more information on composting or how to start a compost pile, please call the Bryan County Extension at 653-2231.