Leaves!...it's that time again folks!

[veggiechicken]

I can't play as I don't bag them - just pile them in a circle of wire netting

Small change of plan this year! I'm emptying the barrow loads of leaves into the chooks run. They can kick them around and play in them and, when I next rake out their run into the compost bin, the leaves will be partly composted.
Life would be so much harder without a chicken or three.

[Nicos]

^^^^ brill idea!

[Scoot]

I think they take a lot longer to rot down than kitchen waste and green waste, so it's often recommended that you compost them seperately, as they may slow down your compost bin if you add too many. I always add some to my compost bin, but only small amounts at a time. I have used them in a thick layer as a mulch directly on my beds over Winter, and that seems to work well, you can just plant through them in Spring. I've always wanted to make a dedicated leaf mould bin, but I've never found the time or space yet!

Ok thanks. I think I'll just bag them up separately into some bin liners and let them rot down. If it takes a couple of years then so be it. They'll be bagged up and out the way behind my growhouse.

[Bigmallly]

A quick question if I may:
I raked the leaves into piles then got my new toy out. It shredded them up so fine they could go straight on the compost heap. Now for the question, would you treat them as Greens or Browns? No logic on my part but I treat them as Browns.............

[dilettante]

They're browns. They're basically a big carbon skeleton by the time they fall off the trees.

[Bigmallly]

What confused me was that leaves off every plant turns brown.

[bario1]

I guess leaves off trees are more 'woody' than leaves of annuals, weeds etc?

[hamamelis]

I'm going to have to start collecting them this year- in previous years, the council dumped all the leaves collected from the parks in a HUGE pile at the allotments. But people couldn't play nice, and kept dumping other stuff there (not only compostables, but random junk like TVs and mattresses). This year, after spending (if I remember correctly) something over £10,000 to clear the whole area (yep, it got that bad) the old leaf mould bay has been turned into a car park.

The HUGE heap, incidently, generally mostly broke down in about a year, with just a few seams of less decomposed ones mixed in. I really think letting air and water in does help...

[4390evans]

I got 4 tightly packed sacks of leaves the other day, been wanting to get out and get more as the path is loaded behind my house, so thought Id wait till thurs when im off and ive put my back out :/ I have tried to walk it off in hope I can collect some today but nope! There is LOADS and im eager to get more as this is my first year collecting them. Hopefully I can get some on monday when Im next off, this time im trying some plastic bags see what decomposes first.

[Bigmallly]

2 Questions Please!

I know I could easily goggle the answer but thought I would ask me mates first. As I have never collected leaves before, I knocked up a 200 cuft wire cage yesterday & have now got it around half full, my 2 questions are:

1) Do I compact it or leave it "Open".

2) Cover or leave uncovered.



As always, thanx in advance.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Personally, I would leave it open and uncovered. Your heap of leaves isn't going to compost down(in terms of generating heat and breaking down cell structures), it's going to degrade over time and exposure to extremes of cold and wet will help that process as will turning the heap from time to time to keep it aerated.

[Bigmallly]

Cheers AP.............

[Bigmallly]

If I had some power down there, I would take the vac down and shred it as the stuff I vac'd & shredded the other day are "cooking" in the compost bin.

[Bigmallly]

For all you Monty fans out there:

How to make leaf mould - Projects: Video projects - gardenersworld.com

[Nicos]

If I had some power down there, I would take the vac down and shred it

Next project????