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Leaf Compost

detsnpowderdetsnpowder Posts: 38
in Problem solving
I have used my plastic compost bin (Dalek) for leaves I collected last autumn,. They don't seem to be rotting down much (Feb). Is there anything I can do to speed it up ? 
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  • WaterbutWaterbut Posts: 344
    Soak them and mix with a high nitrogen fertiliser. Or else you can put them in plastic bin bags with holes and stick them somewhere for a couple of years.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    I've always found that leaves on their own do better in a "cage" made with chicken wire or similar to allow air in.  
    Also worth remembering that some types of leaves decompose more quickly than others :)
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited 26 February
    Some leaves compost faster than others.  Best are beech and oak; small and thin.  Laurel would take years.  My Catalpa composts quickly but the stalks and ribs last much longer.  As I use the unaccelerated, quite cold compost for mulching, one year is good enoough.  For potting compost, I give it another year+ in plastic bags.

    The book  "Highgrove", King Charles (wnen pblished - Prince) has a chapter on hoew they make compost.  They have two methods, one for leaves, the other for general compost.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    I find it takes at least 2 years to make good leaf mould.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I also have an old dalek bin I use to make leafmould.
    Almost all of the leaves are oak and due to their slight waxiness they take about 4-5 years to break down.
    I don't turn or do anything with it, just top up each year. I never put the lid on so it does get rained on.
    After about 4-5 years the stuff at the bottom of the bin is lovely.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • SueAtooSueAtoo Posts: 380
    I'm tempted to put mine in an upturned dalek without lid.
    East Dorset, new (to me) rather neglected garden.
  • AuntyRachAuntyRach Posts: 5,291
    Leaves take at least a year I find, and longer for the tough ones. Worth the wait though. 
    A container with drainage is best otherwise it can be a squelchy smelly mess rather than crumbly dark goodness. 
    My garden and I live in South Wales. 
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I put mine in a big bag that gravel had been delivered in. They took about a year, no lid. The compost was still a bit on the coarse side but fine for mulching. Takes about 2 years for proper looking compost.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • salarsalar Posts: 11
    Being surrounded with different types of trees I always put them on the lawn and run the lawnmower over them. This does the job as it helps them compost a lot quicker and are always ready the next year.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    We do that too @salar. Birch leaves, being small and thin, tend to make earlier leaf mould than others.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
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