[mctoon]

Been up allot today to start a tidy, the place is covered with fallen tree leaves, do i rake them up or are they good to sit and rot.  There are that many you could probably cover wembley stadium with them all
Cheers Mal

[crh75]

I leave them, but they can be a pain when digging over as they get stuck on the fork.  It sounds like you get a lot more than me so you might find it easier to remove and make leaf mould or add to a slow compost heap.

[m1ckz]

i allways dig them it  BUT  i dig with a spade  lol

[snowdrops]

I'd take them up & rot down in a wire mesh bin to make leaf mold too 😉🍃🍃

[3759allen]

if you make your own compost then rack them up and rot them down, i mix 1/3 leaf mulch, compost from the heap and manure. 

leaves don't rot that quickly, i find 2 years with a turn after one year works well.

i usually mow them first to get them to rot quicker, but last year i left them whole to see if it's necessary. they've been there a year now and will be turned with in a few weeks, but first look they seem to be breaking down well. just the top layer staying dry but hopefully they will rot when turned.

there was a piece last year on country file i think at how quick worms work leaves in to the soil and i was very surprised how quick they work them in. if you haven't got anything growing at the moment it may be worth waiting until the fall has stopped and cover the ground (to keep all the leaves moist) and let the worms do their business.

[mctoon]

Cheers for the speedy replies folks

there was a piece last year on country file i think at how quick worms work leaves in to the soil and i was very surprised how quick they work them in. if you haven't got anything growing at the moment it may be worth waiting until the fall has stopped and cover the ground (to keep all the leaves moist) and let the worms do their business.

i like this idea, let the worms do all the work!!

Mal

[jezza]

hi if you have nothing in the allotment and have a rotavator give the plot a quick run over to cover the leaves with soil so that the worms can work on them  then in spring rotavate them in deeper   jezza

[Nobbie]

I'd just leave them on top to rot over winter as they should stop anything else growing on the bare ground. Come spring, rake off what's left and put in heap to produce leaf mould, although they'll be much reduced in volume by then.

[cadalot]

I've been filling up a mesh bin for 3 years and they gradually rot down each year and I have not used any thing from the bin yet at all.

[Beekissed]

I've been hauling bags of leaves from in town to intentionally place on my garden.      The count is at 181 right now but I intend to collect more next week...hope to get at least 300 bags of leaves on there before snow flies.  If you pile them deep and leave them in place, you might find you don't have to dig or till your garden at all next spring, as the soil will be loose underneath for planting and the leaves will provide a perfect ground cover to suppress leaves. 

I'd "leaf" them in place  and even collect more if you can to put on there.   Worms LOVE them. 

[Anton]

Doesn't rotavating the soil chop up a lot of worms? Or frighten them off? I seem to remember an article about that somewhere?

Anton

[Yorkie]

Yes, it can chop a few worms, but I do that when digging too. I guess it's something to weigh in the balance.