Leaf Mould
Post categories: compost,Ìýleaf mould,Ìýmulching
| 11:30 UK time, Wednesday, 5 October 2011
may have been fascinated by the way that earthworms manage to pull leaves down into the soil, but sadly they don't manage to work on a fast enough timescale to prevent falling leaves from causing problems in autumn.
Not only will a carpet of leaves bleach patches of the lawn and clog up the pond, but once leaves start to disintegrate on the hard landscaping we have to worry about Aunty Mabel slipping over when she pops out to refill the bird feeder.
Autumn Leaves
Fallen leaves aren't all bad, though - with the help of those earthworms and other soil organisms they break down and feed the soil, and while they're doing so they form a protective layer that prevents winter weather from ruining the soil structure and leaching away all the nutrients. They also provide a top-notch wildlife habitat when they pile up in drifts and under hedges.
Where they won't cause any problems we can safely leave fallen leaves where they are, but while you're raking up the ones that have to go you can do your garden a big favour and turn them into leaf mould rather than throwing them away.
Leaf mould is just compost made entirely from fallen leaves, and making it is a very easy process. Simply pile up leaves in a heap, or create an open-sided cage of chicken wire if you'd like to keep them slightly neater.
Plastic composting sack
In an urban garden it pays to rake them into plastic sacks, tie the tops, poke a few holes in the side and then leave them behind the shed. After a year you'll have something that looks like slightly older leaves. A year later you'll have something approaching chunky compost that makes a lovely soil improver. Use it to mulch around shrubs and trees or to cover bare soil in the winter.
If you have the patience to wait another year, you'll have lovely soft compost that's ideal for sowing seeds and can be used as the base for your own free and peat-free potting mixes. That's the Slow Composting version.
Raking leaves by hand on a beautiful autumn day sounds like a lovely way to pass the time, with the delayed gratification of compost in a year or two. But if you're short on time and want to turbo-charge the process a little bit then spread your collected leaves on the lawn, raise the mower blades and use it to chop them up (leave the collection box on and you won't have to rake them up twice). Chopped leaves rot down a bit more quickly, but the end product is just as virtuous.
So this autumn don't see collecting fallen leaves as a chore, see it as community service - you'll be basking in the silent thanks of your plants, your soil, those earthworms and (of course) Aunty Mabel.
Emma Cooper is a and author based in Oxfordshire. She advises the public on home garden composting as a Master Composter, under a scheme run by to encourage recycling, cut waste and improve our gardens.
Comment number 1.
At 5th Oct 2011, Jess wrote:Leaf mould is lovely stuff! I've just put a load of it on the raised bed I've been making. You can share my exploits at
Jess
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Comment number 2.
At 5th Oct 2011, loadarubbishcouk wrote:leaf mould i can tell you were to take that to a loada sheep they love it
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Comment number 3.
At 7th Oct 2011, hereisabee wrote:It was always said that the difference between the leaf-bin and the compost heap, was that the leaf-bin worked thanks to fungi and the compoat heap used the services of bacteria. Back in 2003 when we experienced a long hot summer, a compost heap I had created away from any water supply did poorly because it was too dry. Whereas the leafmould from the adjacent leaf-bin was a fine vintage. So this gives an insight into the different activators.
Despite assurances that these fungi exist naturally, I always mix some old leafmould into the new leaves to help the process get going. I have also added leafmould to a friends leaf-bin who's leaves were not responding. The added material made the difference, however I noted that when emptying the bin they had lined the base with plastic so the leaves had no contact with soil.
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Comment number 4.
At 7th Oct 2011, Rhizowen wrote:If you live in a secluded rural location, or don't mind explaining why you keep carrying your chamber pot up the garden path, you can speed up the process by liberal application of urine. I've had lovely ready-to-use leafmould within a year as a result.
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Comment number 5.
At 8th Oct 2011, Emma Cooper wrote:Thank you for the valuable tips, hereisabee and Rhizowen :)
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Comment number 6.
At 10th Oct 2011, CSPreturns wrote:Rhizowen.
Are you taking the p....?
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Comment number 7.
At 20th Oct 2011, scarify wrote:My wife says that Monty Don on Gardeners World suggested that leaf mould and compost applied as a top dressing caused nitrogen leaching. I can't believe that 2 to 3 year old leaf mould would do that. Please could someone setlle our arguement
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Comment number 8.
At 1st Nov 2011, Derek Hinge wrote:I would like to know from Emma or someone whether pine needles can be composted by the same method, as described by Emma and Monty Don in last week's programme, to produce either a compost or mulch. Would pine needles produce something too acid?
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Comment number 9.
At 1st Feb 2012, Amateur Town Gardener wrote:My father has asked me to buy him some of this to use as mulch as he 'can't use the web', but is he better off making his own leaf mulch? As you can see from my nickname I am but an amateur with all things gardening so maybe someone could explain the differences between leaf mulch and bark mulch to me?
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