[lovemyveg]

I save my leaves and separate from the compost make leaf mould.  This year on collecting the leaves I have noticed that there are black spots on the sycamore leaves.  After reading information about this I believe this to be tar spot fungus which can attach maples and sycamores.  My question now is should I NOT produce leaf mould from these leaves anymore and dispose of them altogether by burning?  I wonder if anyone knows the cause of this and whether this will spread to other trees/plants?  I have read that air pollution could be the cause of this, but we live in the countryside and have always thought that our air was pretty good.  Any help would be appreciated.

[compostqueen]

I compost em anyway.  Not sure of the science but I like to live dangerously  

[lovemyveg]

I compost em anyway.  Not sure of the science but I like to live dangerously  

I had a really good reply today from the senior lecturer in Plant Pathology at the Imperial College in London.  Books usually suggest collecting and burning the infected leaves of tar spot fungus of sycamore.  But he suggested if composted down really well, and the spots on the leaves will take longer to break down, there is no reason not to use the leaf mould back into the garden.  The top layer of the compost will still be vulnerable as these may well not be broken down enough, and next Spring the spores may well get airborne and reinfect the young sycamore leaves.  The importance of collecting the leaves is stressed as it is the spores from the Tar Spot Fungi that reinfects the next generation of leaves.

[waddecar]

We have 8 large sycamores around our boundaries. When we moved in 12 years ago there was more spot than leaf on them - after 12 years of tidying the leaves into wire bins, the incidence of tar spot is now quite rare. So clearing up does work.

[lovemyveg]

We have 8 large sycamores around our boundaries. When we moved in 12 years ago there was more spot than leaf on them - after 12 years of tidying the leaves into wire bins, the incidence of tar spot is now quite rare. So clearing up does work.

When you say you put them into wire bins, do you make leaf mould and use it back into your own soil?  This is what I am concerned about, spreading the spores around the garden.

[waddecar]

Yes I use the lef mould as mulch on veg plot and on flower beds - tar spot on sycamores consistently reducing - nothing else has been afflicted