Autumn Leaves.

[ESBkevin]

I'm sure we are all busy collecting this wonderful resource.....or cursing the blasted mess at any rate.

I thought I would share a recent realisation. Last year I gathered a substantial quantity of leaves with a rake or a rotory mower to pre shred them. I then placed some in black bags with a little moisture and turned them upside down on the earth under a hedge. Others I placed in a chicken wire cage, these had a small amount of 'fresh' green weeds thrown on/into the pile complete with soil still on the roots in many cases. In due course the weeds died, broke down and supplied nitrogen to the surrounding leaves. In addition I placed some pallet planks on top to retain anything from blowing away and applied some urine to help start things off. So my current realisation is that the one year old bagged leaves still have a ways to go to be usable, but the cagged leaves are ready to go - I mean on the edges they still look like leaves a bit but in the middle it's fully broken down and ideal to apply to the beds. I suspect that being compressed and in contact has helped retain moisture but the secret ingredient is the soil, or rather the indiginous micro organisms contaned within it.
So this year I've relocated the wire cage and commenced refilling it, I shall put a few spades full of good soil in/on it and see what happens for next year, but I expect very good results.

Anyone have similar experience or want to comment?

[Jay22]

Yes I collected leaves in black bags two seasons ago and they are still breaking down as we speak...not sure the black bags work very well to be honest.

[newtonuk]

So, how would you go about building or sourcing this wire cage? I have two large sycamore trees at the end of my plot and would like to get something ready for next autumn.

[Alicante]

Yes, I agree with what you have written. I think it works much better if the leaves are collected in a cage and weighted down with soil and/or weeds. Never had much luck with collecting them in black sacks. It takes years and I am too impatient!

[veggiechicken]

Daft question but have you stabbed your black bags? They need air to decompose.
Some tree leaves take longer than others to rot down too.

[Alicante]

Daft question but have you stabbed your black bags? They need air to decompose.
Some tree leaves take longer than others to rot down too.

Yes stabbed holes in all the bags with a fork and wild life has made the holes bigger. Was checking on them last week and disturbed a beautiful bright yellow toad, so at least something finds them useful.

[Cadalot]

Up until now my leafs have gone to my first Allotment plot and get placed in the bins and an overflow bin is sometimes made out of the bottoms of bread baskets cable tied together, or the additional sacks are stacked in front and added to the piles as they decompose as rot down. By the time we are in the early months of the year, all the bags have been decanted into the bins.

This year I'm going to have to make a new a new leaf bin on my second allotment plot, I have elaready dropped off 10 sacks of leafs from my daughters garden and I have all those in the back of my garden to collect yet.

[Jay22]

Yes VC, holes in the bags!

[Chestnut]

Hi Newton,

The ones I have seen have been a simple timber frame with chicken wire tacked to it to make the sides.
Do any disused plots on your site have a spare chicken run you could adopt and adapt?

[ESBkevin]

Hello Newton,

My cage is simply some bits of chicken wire in a squircle and canes or sticks woven through and pushed into the ground to give nominal rigidity. Pretty it ain't but cheap and functional it most certainly is. One more thing with composting and so probably leaves too, mass is important so if you can get 4 feet accross or tall (I can manage one of those) then natural heat will help the process.

[MarkPelican]

I agree that the leaves seem to breakdown more quickly if they have some soil put of the top. Whether this is because they are weighted down or because the soil adds things to help decomposition I don't know. However I have noticed that oak leaves take longer to decompose than sycamore.

[ESBkevin]

I agree that the leaves seem to breakdown more quickly if they have some soil put of the top. Whether this is because they are weighted down or because the soil adds things to help decomposition I don't know. However I have noticed that oak leaves take longer to decompose than sycamore.

I think oak leaves have tannin which has a preserving effect. Someone more knowledgeable will be along shortly to put us right.

[SusieG]

A few years ago (before we moved and leaves were as rare as hens teeth - not a tree in the garden of our new-build house......) I was donated a huge pile of leaves.

So, following Monty's advice, stuffed 'me into 4 large black bin bags, gave them a drenching, made jokes in the bags, then left to 'cook' for 18 months.

The result was some gorgeous leaf mould but how it had shrunk ~ the volume of the leaves had decreased by 75%. So I learned that you need loads of leaves to get a substantial amount back, and boringly, once again, patience, patience and more patience ...............

[happyhumph]

I have been meaning to build a leaf cage for years & never got round to it! Leaves from the lawn go in the compost & leaves that land on beds stay there.

I have a (non gardener) friend with lots of beautiful trees planted by previous owners. They blow all the leaves onto the beds (it ends up a few feet tall in places) & they have the most perfect soil I've ever seen.

[Bren In Pots]

I've found the leaves in bags my break down much quicker than those in the cage, has anyone else noticed this ?