[Donnay]

Hi, with it being my first year on the lottie I have made wire baskets to store leafs and allow them to rot down. The baskets have lids so they don't blow away but I have been told I need to cover the baskets so the leafs are in darkness.

Is this correct? I thought putting them in baskets and leaving them was all I needed to do??

[Yorkie]

I don't think it's a major problem - traditional leaf mould bins are indeed wire around the sides.

The only reason for covering them up is to retain heat and stop them drying out too much, so that decomposition isn't so slow as to be meaningless.

[mumofstig]

Monty Don's on GW tonight were wire mesh with no covers, and the stuff he had from last year (still uncovered) looked good stuff!
He also showed them in punctures black plastic bags if you haven't got room for a big cage - so it obviously makes no difference how you store them 

[Donnay]

Thank you, I didn't think you needed to cover them but I thought best to check.

[angelavdavis]

I learned my leaf mould technique from Geoff Hamilton (aka Gardening God to me!)

I would recommend you turn the top few inches halfway through the year, simple to push the uncomposted leaves on top into the mix so they rot too.

[compostqueen]

No need to cover, they'll be fine

 

[gremlin]

As Yorkie says, they need to be kept slightly damp.
Bone dry leaves don't rot, but are great for the hedgehogs.

[compostqueen]

They will be damp if they get left exposed     

[JayG]

My "technique" is to ram them into strong black plastic bags, tie the tops (but not so tightly as to stop any rain at all getting in), prick holes in the bottom of the bags with a fork to let air in and excess water out, and chuck behind the shed for a couple of years.

Works a treat, although no doubt with a bit more attention to detail it could be speeded up somewhat!

[shokkyy]

Yes, I'm a convert to the plastic bag method. For years I had a big wire cage for leaf mould but no matter how much I watered them or tried to stir them (not so easy in a big cage with a lot of leaves in it), only the bottom few inches ever turned into nice crumbly stuff, and to get to that I had to take out all the stuff on top. I seem to get better results much faster using bags. I give the leaves a good douse with the hose before tying the bags shut, to make sure they're not dry, then dump all the bags down the side of the garage out of sight. I use the big waterproof feed sacks my horse's feed comes in, because they're really good and strong.

[fatbelly]

Don't cover cause the leaves need loads of rain to help the fungus break down the leaves.

[Plottered]

Im very tempted to go round the streets sweeping the leaves up because the council dont seem to be doing it this year...theres tons of them just around the street where I live, problem is I'm not sure my back would like it at present 

[carlrmj]

 I got a wolf leaf collector off freecycle,its made collecting leaves really quick.

 This is the leaf mould cage with the leaves I've collected

[shokkyy]

Im very tempted to go round the streets sweeping the leaves up because the council dont seem to be doing it this year...theres tons of them just around the street where I live, problem is I'm not sure my back would like it at present 

Pity you don't live near me. There's a good copse of oak and ash opposite my house, and every single leaf from that falls on my garden every year. You could have as many leaves as you wanted, and I'd even provide you with a garden hoover to hoover them up

[MyAchingBack]

Can I put leaves in my dalek bin with the lid on?