Collecting leaves for composting…

[Nicos]

Has anyone started collecting leaves yet?
I have three main compost bins…well rotted ; in the process of rotting ; and fresh.
Plus a wire cage for leaves.
This year I’m determined to collect more to compost down. It’s free. So why let it go to waste?

I’ve previously put them in black bin bags with holes in the bottom but I’m trying to become less plastic dependant.

So- what techniques do you use?
How many ‘bags/ containers’ do you fill
Lets share ideas - and save money in the process!

[Bren In Pots]

I've not made a start yet but will be this weekend, there's a decent amount gathering. Mine go into old compost/rubble bags they seem to break down faster in bags than in the cages I previously used.

[mothhawk]

I have no shedding leaves in my garden to sweep up, so last year I collected a big bag of leaves from where they had collected thickly in the road gutter from the acers, lime and silver birch in our cul-de-sac. I have nowhere to put a leaf "cage" to hold them, so the bag (a woven sack) was tied and left under my hedge. It had sunk down to a quarter of its size, so emptied it this week and got half a bucket of beautiful leaf mould. Then went out with a shovel and refilled the bag.

[MelanieSW]

I've just made a start and filled the first 2 bags today with leaves from the pavement, and aim to have 10 bags eventually. Last year I used a few of my old council garden waste bags that had started to fall apart, and a few empty compost bags with holes cut in them. Main issue was to keep them safe from our suburban foxes , they just love jumping in them, dragging them around and emptying them out on the lawn.
This year I invested in a load of woven jute bags, and intend to keep them in corners in the garden and allotment. Ideally I'd be able to consolidate in a years time and reuse a few of the bags next year, but I suspect they will also have started to rot down by then.

[DannyK]

All the leaves in my big beech still green and clinging on.

When they do fall they will go through a shredding vacuum and then onto the compost with shredded prunings, grass cuttings. I usually end up with three one cubic metre bins plus an enormous plastic bin full.

I think my loquat and magnolia leaves would never rot if not mixed with other green stuff.

[ChingfordHarry]

Just my two ha'porth.

I think unless you have a huge amount, putting leaves in a cage rather than in (probably) plastic bags means you'll be waiting a really long time for the leaf mould. This last year I built a cylindrical clamp from wire mesh about 1m diameter and 1.3 m high, with slats from pallets (so the whole thing looked a bit like a big wine fermentation vat) to try to keep things moist, but I'd estimate 70-80% of the leaves look just like they did in November last year. The contents seem to dry out substantially, and the fungal growth seems minimal. Previously I've put them in bin or old compost bags or dustbins and had usable leaf mould a year later.

This is nearly all unchopped oak leaves.

[MelanieSW]

This morning I filled bag #7 (before breakfast, I'm inordinately proud of myself).
It's now starting to be the usual race against the council street cleaners, and it is always tempting to take some of their bags. But from past years I just know that there will be some rubbish like sweet wrappers and cigarette butts in there (once I found a lipstick!), so prefer to collect it myself.