[oldrobthatcher]

Hello all,

last autumn i dug a large amount of leaf mold into the soil in one of my beds in my polytunnel, while it has broken down a little bit, most of the leaf stems are intact and clearly hasnt finished decomposing - is it safe to plant in this soil? is there anything i can do to improve the bed before i plant into it?

thanks for any help guys

[penance]

Sounds like it wasn't leaf mold when dug in. Leaf mold should be fully rotted.

Anyway, if its just a few stalks I wouldnt worry to much.

[compostqueen]

yep, your leaves need to be rotted before adding them to your soil. That takes quite a long time so stack them in an out of the way place to rot down.

To improve soil for sowing or planting something you can use manures, sand, grit, old growbag compost, home made compost even better 

Getting into the habit of composting and making a leaf mould bin will all help with soil improvement long term, but it takes time and patience but is well worth doing

Growing spuds as a first crop in uncultivated soil does help to break it down for you