Talkback: Making leaf mould

We don't have many leaves in our garden but love using leaf mould so I put a request for leaves on our local Freecycle.                                                                           We now have more bags of leaves than we could ever have collected! So this time next year should have loads of lovely brown, crumbly leaf mould.

hi James i want to know what you get from Glass cuttings and we too get those so called charity bags through the door,and we do same as you,most of these companies are on the fiddle anyway, im in the cemetary on Saturday getting more bags full so good luck  all with all that mould 
Alan

as long as you dont put the bag of leaves out for the charity!

Saw non-gardening neighbour raking up more leaves today and once again offered disposal in my leaf pile which was eagerly accepted .

I was expecting last years leaves to have rotted down more than they did, they still looked like leaves when put on the veg bed but I needed the boxes for this years leaves. With all the rain we've had they are rotting down quicker placed on the veg bed though than whilst stored.

I too was disappointed last year that my leaf mould still looked like leaves after a year - but I put them on the soil anyway and I soon had "perfect" leaf mould! Our leaves are mainly from silver birch trees. Are these more problematical than others I wonder?

I used to have a leaf store I made from old pallets and this worked well...plus the hedgehogs liked it....and I put my old potting compost bags on the top once they were thoroughly wet.  Now the pallets have disintegrated so I put the leaves in the old compost sacks - they are really tough and black inside.  A few holes punched in the bottom to stop them getting water-logged - and then I line them up along the back of the elderly greenhouse which has prevented weeds from growing there, and I think provides a bit of insulation to my unheated greenhouse which houses my echeverias over the winter, and pots of bulbs.

Last year I bagged all the leaves up and left them for about 6 months and they started to break down but were still identifiable leaves - then as I built up layers in the compost bin I added some leaves from the bags - by the end of the summer we had lovely compost 

 I go over a pile of leaves with the lawnmower or chop em up with shears before putting them in bags - cos they're smaller they rot down quicker. Also when I remember I give the bags a good shake or open them and fork over the leaves to let some air in, just as we do with the compost bin.

I understand that leafmould takes 18 months to make - not a year. A few years ago I bought a 'cage' for my leaves but it doesn't quite rot down before the next year's leaves fall. I still put it on the garden where it finishes the job. Before the 'cage' I did use black plastic sacks one year, but when I lifted them they had so many creepie crawlies on them I had to run for cover. Yes, I know! The cage is a much better option for wimps like me. And yes, I do add some to my copmost bins.

I have used all my leafmould from last years leaves and have two large compost bins full of leaves that I have gathered over the last month. In view of the predicted very cold winter would it be worthwhile picking up and shredding my remaining leaves and spreading them around plants now.  The leaves are beech, oak and hazel. I have a large Magnolia tree but those leaves are like leather and I normally take those to the recycling centre.

TiviGardener wrote (see)

I have used all my leafmould from last years leaves and have two large compost bins full of leaves that I have gathered over the last month. In view of the predicted very cold winter would it be worthwhile picking up and shredding my remaining leaves and spreading them around plants now.  The leaves are beech, oak and hazel. I have a large Magnolia tree but those leaves are like leather and I normally take those to the recycling centre.

Sorry-cant see the correlation between cold weather and leaf mould-it always gets cold in winter.-and long -term weather predictions are notoriously unreliable-not to be taken as fact

I would shred them-they rot down quicker- but still store them in the usual way-if the bins are full use black bags or compost bags-the drawback with spreading now is that the wind will blow them about and the nasties-slugs and the like- will have somewhere to hide and that is near to your plants.

Hello gardener, we have no seasons but also many organic matter, which we use for composting. I spray a little EM and turn often with garden fork. Maybe the 2 following article on my homepage are interesting for reading:http://camping-in-thailand.com/wp-content/uploads/Anaerobic-compost-vs.Aerobic-compost.pdf and http://camping-in-thailand.com/wp-content/uploads/Organic-matter-for-composting.pdf .I want no teach you, but sometime is good for remember, what we have learned long time ago...Best luck and regards, ThaiGer.

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"To know what we know, and know what we do not know, that is understanding."(Confucius)

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The coldest winter for 100 years is a bit colder than normal surely.

Like Tivi most of the leaves in our garden are magnolia. Can you make leaf mould from these in a reasonable timeframe? I, too, have been putting ours in the green bin!

TiviGardener wrote (see)

The coldest winter for 100 years is a bit colder than normal surely.

Newspaper talk-not to be taken seriously-a meteorologist will tell you that at best they can only forecast 5 days ahead.

Surely everyone remembers the barbecue summer

Hello to all and Ex.Boy:Yes, magnolia leaves are organic and therefore can be composted.
but, they are very tough and resistant to decay. Shredding, (lawn-mower or garden-shredder), will help speed things up but if you want everything ready at the same time and within a couple of years, I would just leave the leaves where they fall as a mulch under the Magnolia. The bacteria that turn organic waste into crumbly compost that require heat. So now, you leave the compost, you protect him from too much moisture and severe frost. A thick straw location will make sure that the pile cools not too much as a heat pack. The cover must be layered loose and air-permeable.Best luck and regards, ThaiGer

*******************************************

"To know what we know, and know what we do not know, that is understanding."(Confucius)

http://camping-in-thailand.com/ , http://www.farmersvoice.info/

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