Comments on: Making Leaf Mould

By: Leaf Mould

Leaf Mould — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 22:16:26 +0000

[...] from articlesbase.com More Leaf Vac Articles A golden carpet of leaves on the lawn can look quite a picture, but left hugging the lawn for any l…the lawn, beds, borders, paths and even around the pond. Starved of light and air all these areas [...]

By: Mike Parker

Mike Parker — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:13:55 +0000

I have done some reading online about a composter that can be constructed from a 50 gallon “plastic barrel”, (used primarily for transporting liquid foodstuffs, such as cola syrup). A shaft thru and thru with supporting posts, and with a few refinements, such as a door in the side to add and remove material, a little black paint to attract the sun’s heat and one can construct a composter for the sunny side of the house. (Look for many details online.) This method might replace the plastic bags and eliminate the rodent problem. So far– I have managed to obtain and transport a barrel to my garage where it sits on top of the plastic barrel of organic apple tree limbs with which I shall smoke some pork loin, perhaps next spring. One might consider smoking meat in the Winter time, but we have just had 18″ of the most wonderful snow overnight, (Free for the asking!), which tends to discourage me from any outdoor activity. Skiing is not an option.

By: Alexandra

Alexandra — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 08:12:44 +0000

Leaf mould is great. I use it every year and I’m sure it’s the best way to better harvest.

By: Natalie

Natalie — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:33:39 +0000

I didn’t think that our shabby patch would produce many leaves at all but I have been round today gathering them up and got nearly a sack full!. They are mainly leaves from fruit trees that we have planted as, being on a relatively new development, we don’t have any mature trees. I had never heard of leaf mould until a few weeks ago when I was reading a book. I have put mine in potato growing sack made of hessian type material (I have punched a few of my own holes in for ventilation). I am looking forward to be able to add them to our terrible soil!

By: elisa

elisa — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:41:24 +0000

so if heat is important, what would it be best to use to cover my compost between adding more to it? i have mostly ash leaves and have found they decomposed easily without being chopped. mostly i leave them over the beds all winter and then added anything to the compost in the spring that hadn’t finished decomposing.

By: Steel

Steel — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:59:46 +0000

I always put my leaves in the compost. I have one of the leaf suckers that chop them up first so they rot down quicker. That way it doesn’t matter what leaves I use (bar evergreens as you mentioned) – they all rot down quickly and nicely and I can turn over/turn out the heap regularly to dig in.

That’s if the hedgehogs don’t steal the compost heap for a birthing nest first!

By: Caz

Caz — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:58:34 +0000

I used these bags lastyear and they were a big success and are very well camouflaged. Just one thing, the bag very happily also decomposes so put the bag where you might ultimatley like leaf mold to stay on the ground. We have a red oak with very large leaves which take forever to break down in the compost so they are outliving the jute bag!
I was once told that urine speeds up the composting process.
I have 2 boys and I have trained them to ‘pee’ on the compost heap if they are outside playing which they think is a hilarious contribution to the gardening!! Our compost heap is discreetly hidden so I’m not sure this would work for everyone!

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:42:27 +0000

I bought the Nutscene jute open bags this year from my garden centre. Much easier to use than trying to fill up lots of plastic bags. And it looks better in the garden! I filled up one on Sunday just from one tree in my front garden! Its my third year and it puts to good use all the leaves.

By: WileyR

WileyR — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:25:20 +0000

Leaf mold is a wonderful addition to the garden and will decompose over the course of a year whether just piled up, layered into garden/shrubbery beds (preferably chopped for a neater appearance and to speed up decomposition) or left in the shade in plastic bags with holes in them to allow them to be moistened when dry. Heavy duty plastic bags will hold together for most of the year, and the leaves can be left to decompose or added to a compost pile as “brown” material and/or to cover kitchen or garden waste to keep insects and “critters” at bay.
A mixture of “brown” and “green” (nitrogen) will make a good balanced compost, while leaves left to form leaf mold will not have the nitrogen and micronutrients required for a full spectrum of nutrition for the garden.

By: Gayle

Gayle — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:09:34 +0000

My husband is the compost king! Here’s the formula for success: Air, water, and heat. To heat up the compost nitrogen is the key ingredient. That’s fertilizer. Pile your leaves in a confined space, apply the heat stimulating agent of your choice, and be sure to turn it to give it air and slowly, but surely, you will have a most lovely and enriching compost. We add kitchen vegetable scaps and egg shells to the leaves. Give it a go and good luck!