Thinking ahead.....

[Raybon]

Hello!
Have finally planted everything out bar celeriac, am now thinking ahead to the autumn, I plan to collect as many leaves as possible for leaf mould as a conditioner for my heavy clay soil.

I will have access to the cast-offs of a large sycamore tree; naturally there will be seed pods amongst the leaves and I am wondering if they will rot down alongside them or cause sprouting problems later on?
Grateful for any experience/advice, thanks.

[Nicos]

Hi there!
I've just moved your post so more peeps will see it here

[solway cropper]

I've put thousands of ash keys in with my leaf mould and it's never caused a problem. Ideally you should let it rot down for two years before using it, by which time any trace of the seeds should be gone.

Remember also that you'll need a lot more leaves than you initially think. The pile shrinks alarmingly as it breaks down.

[Raybon]

Thanks, that's good news! Probably running the lawn mower over them would be a good idea too......

[Bill HH]

You are right to be concerned, my garden is partly under the canopy of a sycamore and those seeds are a pain. However initially they are very easy to pull up and in the ones I have composted they do seem to have disappeared.

[Veggielot]

You will probably want more than one tree worth if you can get it. It will look a lot when you start but it will soon breakdown. You can store it in bin bags to start with and combine it as it breakdowns. I wouldn't worry about seeds, if you did get any they would be easily removed.

[Raybon]

Thank you, very reassuring!

[Florence Fennel]

If you store it in bin bags, remember to punch holes in it. I forgot and I have some very dry leaves that have not begun to rot down yet!