[Snap Dragon]

Reading through a few old threads it seems the 2 best methods are a chicken wire cage or black bags. (I read that MKHenry put them in a compost bin and after 3 years they were no different! )

Do the wire bin and bags produce the same results or is one quicker than the other?

I thought I'd have a go making some this year and wondered how other people got on?

[tode]

Have never tried putting leaves in bags: seems like too much messing about (but OK if you've only got a bag or two of leaves ? ).
I make a big pile, in the shade, and then put some plastic bags round the outside, with a few loose planks to stop em blowing away.

I've found that for success, you must keep em damp and well packed down (tread the pile down from time to time).

[Zeb]

I'm interested in the advice on this subject....

I have got a couple of the big bags that sand etc is delivered in from builders merchants..
would these be any good for making leaf mould ?

[gillie]

We put leaves in 'big bags' and just leave them until it has turned into leaf mould.

However a big bag full of leaves is heavy, and after it has rained, it is VERY heavy.

Cheers,

Gillie

[Spana]

I use builders' big bags'.  I fill two every year and after 1year when they have settled down a bit tip one into the other bag.  At the end of year 2 is beautiful stuff.
 Mine are oak leaves so take  a fair bit of rotting.

[MoreWhisky]

Ive got a spare wooden compost bin , was going to fill this one with leaves.

Is this idea a bad one?

[compostqueen]

i should think it would be ok.  Mine is four wooden posts with chicken wire round, that's all. No lid, just open to the elements.  It slumps to almost nothing when it's cooked. You can finish it off, so it ends up looking like compost, in black bags with a few holes made in and then tied up and put in an out of the way place to finish off. This allows you to make room for yet more leaves.

I've made leaf mould in black bags, with a few holes punched in the bags. I added a shovel full of garden soil to get things going. It took about 18 months to get leaf mould but it worked fine.

[SG6]

Leaves take a couple of years to turn into leaf mould, as in about twice as long as compost. So if made then it will occupy a compost bin for twice as long.

[Snap Dragon]

i should think it would be ok.  Mine is four wooden posts with chicken wire round, that's all. No lid, just open to the elements.  It slumps to almost nothing when it's cooked. You can finish it off, so it ends up looking like compost, in black bags with a few holes made in and then tied up and put in an out of the way place to finish off. This allows you to make room for yet more leaves.

I've made leaf mould in black bags, with a few holes punched in the bags. I added a shovel full of garden soil to get things going. It took about 18 months to get leaf mould but it worked fine.

Was it any quicker in the chicken wire then CQ?
I've got some old chicken wire at the lottie but wasn't sure if it was worth making a 'permanent' structure or just dump some bin bags behind the shed!

[compostqueen]

I think the ones in the wire bin begin rotting faster, I turn mine over regularly just to help things along

[sunshineband]

Last year we collected  leaves in black bags, soaked them and sealed them up, poking a few holes in with fork tines. Result --- gorgeous black crumbly leafmould, ready now. Mixture of mainly oak, cherry, lime, hawthorn and whitebeam.

Some went in the compost bins along with grass cuttings, veg bits and shredded paper. Good result, with only small bits of leaf visible.

This year I have made a leaf cage out of chicken wire, lined with black plastic (holes in base and a few in the side) to fill and then cover and weigh down until this time next year. Its 1.5m by 1m , 75 cm tall (children have to be able to reach in). Might give it a bit of a mix up and check its not too dry around March and June
Still putting some in the compost as well.

Don't think you can go wrong really -- leaves just want to rot IMHO (unless they are eurcalyptus of course )

[Ivah]

I'm with Spana and the two then one builders' bags. I hang them from wooden posts, you can also hang them from those metal stakes with a hook on the top you see at road works. I have some pieces of stiff plastic mesh, like you use against walls for climbers, cut into squares and I put them on top weighed down with stones. I'm going to try and find enough leaves to double up this year as the stuff was so good for mulching the flower garden.