Using leaves as a mulch - rather than leaf mould - makes an excellent home for slugs to overwinter and then multiply, so if you have a major slug problem don't do this. I pile leaves in a wire container and leave them for 2 years. wonderful compost.
The reason ours was added to the compost heap when it had started to decompose is simply because in this garden we didnt have enough space for separate compost heaps and leaf mould storage. It's better to use it that way than not at all
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
using it as a mulch will not in any way deplete nitrogen from the soil. There is conflicting evidence that uncomposted woodchip MIGHT deplete nitrogen if dug INTO soil, but NOT if it's used as a mulch., but I've seen research for , and against. Partly decomposed leaves poses no such threat.
Mulch away, or add in layers with your compost. Either way, it's great stuff.
The bags of leaf mould were actually kept in my mums shed. I have broght them home but there's nowhere to store them so it will have to go down as a mulch
I've never liked the idea of plastic bags for leaves because at the end of the 2nd season I'm going to be left with loads of useless old plastic bags with holes in them.
I like the sound of @Posy 's chicken wire, So presumably the more air that can get to them the better? I have some old wood slats that I might use.along the side of a heap (being in Cornwall I have 20 sycamores around my garden so it's a subject of interest to me).
Leaves don't need air, as I understand it, but wire netting is a really good way to contain them. My husband made a wood frame with a hinged opening on the lower part. The leaves go in the top, which is then covered with plastic net which hooks on, and the composted stuff can be dug out of the bottom via the lifting opening. You don't have to turn them or add an activator but if you are in a hurry you can mow the leaves into bits before you add them. I just wait.
that sounds ideal for me, ta. Yes I'm thinking of watching the leaves and waiting and seeing who rots down first.
Eta: i'd have thought the air is good for them,though. As it happens I noticed this afternoon a (presumably) two year old leaf just falling apart in the water from the water butt - I'd think it had been on it's own so exposed to air since falling.
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Using leaves as a mulch - rather than leaf mould - makes an excellent home for slugs to overwinter and then multiply, so if you have a major slug problem don't do this. I pile leaves in a wire container and leave them for 2 years. wonderful compost.
The reason ours was added to the compost heap when it had started to decompose is simply because in this garden we didnt have enough space for separate compost heaps and leaf mould storage. It's better to use it that way than not at all
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
using it as a mulch will not in any way deplete nitrogen from the soil. There is conflicting evidence that uncomposted woodchip MIGHT deplete nitrogen if dug INTO soil, but NOT if it's used as a mulch., but I've seen research for , and against. Partly decomposed leaves poses no such threat.
Mulch away, or add in layers with your compost. Either way, it's great stuff.
Last edited: 02 March 2017 08:11:01
The bags of leaf mould were actually kept in my mums shed. I have broght them home but there's nowhere to store them so it will have to go down as a mulch
I've never liked the idea of plastic bags for leaves because at the end of the 2nd season I'm going to be left with loads of useless old plastic bags with holes in them.
I like the sound of @Posy 's chicken wire, So presumably the more air that can get to them the better? I have some old wood slats that I might use.along the side of a heap (being in Cornwall I have 20 sycamores around my garden so it's a subject of interest to me).
Leaves don't need air, as I understand it, but wire netting is a really good way to contain them. My husband made a wood frame with a hinged opening on the lower part. The leaves go in the top, which is then covered with plastic net which hooks on, and the composted stuff can be dug out of the bottom via the lifting opening. You don't have to turn them or add an activator but if you are in a hurry you can mow the leaves into bits before you add them. I just wait.
that sounds ideal for me, ta. Yes I'm thinking of watching the leaves and waiting and seeing who rots down first.
Eta: i'd have thought the air is good for them,though. As it happens I noticed this afternoon a (presumably) two year old leaf just falling apart in the water from the water butt - I'd think it had been on it's own so exposed to air since falling.
Last edited: 02 March 2017 20:58:43