Nutrients in municipal leaves:
http://www.spectrumanalytic.com/supp...pal_Leaves.htm
In Deer Park's rows, he piles up new leaves every year, but that
only affects nitrogen levels in the top of the bed. Down below, he
has several inches of fully decayed leaf mold that is basically just
humus mixed with his native soil by earthworms. So his plants are
living on worm castings plus the non-nitrogen nutrients released
from the decaying leaves. He lives in a warm climate, so moist leaves
likely decay faster than they would in cooler areas.
Regardless of whether the materials added to a compost pile are acidic
or alkaline, the pH of compost tends toward neutral as the compost
matures. So you can add wood ash to the pile without excessively raising
the pH of the end result. I do not know if it would slow down the
composting process.