leaf mold?

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Madame Cholet

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leaf mold?
« on: November 14, 2014, 08:33 »
I have 4 sacks think I might just add them to the composting material. I'm sheet composting my beds one at a time any beneifts of keeping them separate on the lotty.
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mumofstig

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Re: leaf mold?
« Reply #1 on: November 14, 2014, 08:38 »
They do take longer to disappear into the soil. I did that last year and had to rake them off from where I was going to sow seeds, in the Spring.
Wouldn't mix them with normal composting stuff for the same reason.

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Headgardener22

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Re: leaf mold?
« Reply #2 on: November 14, 2014, 14:18 »
Leaves take longer to rot down than ordinary compost but I've also found that different types of leaves take different lengths of time.

We've got Sycamore and Oak leaves in our garden. Sycamore leaves seem to rot either in the leaf basket or the compost heap in 12 months, Oak leaves take two years.

As they are mixed when we pick them up we have to use the worst case otherwise we end up with a mixed pile of unrotted oak leaves and well composted sycamore leaves.

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beesrus

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Re: leaf mold?
« Reply #3 on: November 14, 2014, 15:34 »
I compost most leaf mold in with the long term unsightly perennial weed/couch/woody veg remnants compost pile that stews normally for 2 years. The leaf rots roughly at the same rate as that sort of compost and adds a great different layering and texture to the larger woody waste.
I have a separate 12 month smaller but posh compost pile from veg peelings and the like, that has next to no weed seeds, that gets to bulk out the 80/100 litre potting compost I usually buy every year for early season sowing and greenhouse work. I sometimes put a certain amount of ash tree leaves in with this posh compost that collect every Autumn at home. If they rot down adequately, great, if not, they just get filtered out at the time of use, and finished off in the other long term pile.
« Last Edit: November 14, 2014, 15:38 by beesrus »

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sonnycbr

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Re: leaf mold?
« Reply #4 on: November 14, 2014, 17:00 »
I mix all my leaves in a builders bag with all the shop bought compost that I've used during the year for my pot grown annuals. It takes a year to really break down, but as I do it every year, I have a good supply for the beds. I don't think it's that important how you use leaves, either directly into the beds or composted, just as long as you do use them. They're another free soil improver along with seaweed. I try to get as much as I can of both at this time of year.

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8doubles

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Re: leaf mold?
« Reply #5 on: November 14, 2014, 17:57 »
I think the air miles should be taken in to account before using leaf mold.

British leaf mould would be much better! ;)









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Madame Cholet

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Re: leaf mold?
« Reply #6 on: November 14, 2014, 19:00 »
Thanks I'll mix them well.

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compostqueen

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Re: leaf mold?
« Reply #7 on: November 14, 2014, 19:36 »
I keep leaves in a separate wire bin.  You can rot them down in plastic sacks with a few holes punched in, and a bit of soil chucked in to help the process.  I would not put them in with my compost

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Yorkshire Lass

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Re: leaf mold?
« Reply #8 on: November 14, 2014, 20:00 »
I am starting my first wire bin this year, I plan on using leaves from the garden and different leaves from the allotment, mixing them up and waiting a year or maybe  two. Fingers crossed I will have something useable  ;) :nowink: ;)


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cadalot

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Re: leaf mold?
« Reply #9 on: November 14, 2014, 20:09 »
I filled both of my wire leaf bins up and this is the third year and I only have 2/3 of a bin, they compost very quickly. I will be looking at putting some of the two year old stuff in the bottom of my bean trench to hold moisture.

Update: leafs from the bin on the right went into and topped up the bin on the left leafing about 150mm of really nice mould, I then topped up the leaf bins with barrow loads of leafs from the industrial building next door.
2014-11-16 (04) Leaf Bins.jpg
« Last Edit: November 16, 2014, 13:32 by cadalot »

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solway cropper

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Re: leaf mold?
« Reply #10 on: November 15, 2014, 22:49 »
Leaf mould is produced by fungal action rather than the bacterial action that produces compost. If you mix leaves with anything else you will not get true leaf mould but a mixture. No harm in that if all you want is a soil conditioner but I make leaf mould for use solely in potting mixes and it generally takes two years to get decent stuff.

The pile of leaves you start with will reduce by about 90 percent so make sure you have plenty to keep topping it up.

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pigguns

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Re: leaf mold?
« Reply #11 on: November 16, 2014, 08:45 »
posh compost pile from veg peelings and the like,
:D  :nowink:



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