[simbamara]

I have good access to leaf mould.

How or for what to best use it on my allotment and my pots at home please ?

Thanks

[BobE]

If they are fresh leaves then get some big black bin bags.  Cut draining holes in the bottom and pack with the leaves.  Leave the tops open and Ppt them outside in the rain for the winter.  Spread the results on your beds next spring.

Some people run the mower over them first.

[cadalot]

Factsheet about Leaf Mould can be found here http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/factsheets/making_leafmould.php

[superpete]

simbamara - If you have access to fully finished leafmould it is still likely to be somewhat acidic, so on the veg plot it could be a good addition to your potato beds (helps against scab) and would improve the ground for growing roots such as carrots. Raspberries too, like a lower ph.

 If you can, sieve it before use   – we have a 4ft riddle with a one inch weld mesh sheet attached.... and a quarter inch mesh on a frame that sits onto the wheelbarrow which gives excellent potting soil for Lewisias (for example) or for veg seed beds out in the open


The worms that like to eat fallen leaves do not like to live in soil that is regularly dug over so this is what we do with autumn leaves as much as we can and spread it onto the flower borders – they're gone by spring..



From the web: Adding carbon (leaves, straw, etc.) temporarily ties up nitrogen as microbes use it to break down the carbon, making that nitrogen unavailable for use by growing plants. So it would not be a good idea to turn in leaves just prior to planting. However, adding leaves to the soil well in advance of planting will add nutrients to the soil and improve soil structure.

[JayG]

Although leaves vary in their acidity when freshly fallen, and like all organic materials produce organic acids as they decompose, fully-rotted leaf mould (i.e. crumbly and with no leaf material still being visible) should be as near neutral as makes no difference.

[simbamara]

The Fact sheet on Leaf Mould is very useful.Thank you.

I guess my leaf mould source is probably 1-2 year old.

One of my neighbours uses it extensively to create raised beds to grow (very well I might add)vegetables and brassicas.

Thanks everyone

[superpete]

I just looked it up and JayG is right about finished leafmould being as near neutral as makes no difference

Apologies in advance for this but...

When the 'peat-free' thing first came about and I was busily making wonderful leaf mould when ever I could - the TV programmes at the time were not telling us (if I remember it right) how valuable the leaves and leaf compost was...... and I thought it was because they were worried that the general gardening public would be straight up into the woods to nick all the leaves from around all the trees, which would not be a good thing.

Then an old fellow in the pub one night told me he'd heard on the local radio that the council were now cleaning up all the leaves in the street and taking them to Birmingham, where they're air-dried and compressed into logs to sell for burning - seems a bit wrong to me when surely you could compost the leaves and then use the compost to feed the soil; to feed the plants; to feed yourself that would then..... help to keep you warm.

Along with some Good English Ale of course.

[JayG]

I suppose that processing leaves into fuel is about as "carbon neutral" as it gets, and better than just letting them blow away if no-one is going to pick them up and turn them into leaf mould.

Personally, I prefer the leaf mould option, partly because there is something wonderfully rich and satisfying about the appearance and smell of it, and partly because I haven't got an open fire unfortunately! 

[Kristen]

Friend of mine, who did a PhD on the subject, says that the micro organisms in Leaf Mould are much the same as mycorrhizal fungi - sold at hefty prices for root growth stimulation. So if you have enough trees & leaves then collecting it and composting it has a whole cost-benefit-equation to itself

[superpete]

Ashwoods garden center near us (famous for their Lewisias, Cyclamen and Hellebores) was at one time offering  £1 for a dustbin bag full of either your oak or beech leaves!

[Kristen]

Ashwoods garden center near us (famous for their Lewisias, Cyclamen and Hellebores) was at one time offering a £1 a dustbin bag full of either your oak or beech leaves!

Pah! That's nothing! Why not buy bio-degradable sacks to put your leaves in to rot down.  Only £1.95 EACH - I kid you not!


www.originalorganics.co.uk/product/lsack1-leaf-sack-single