Nov 2nd, 2009
Making Leaf Mould
My Tiny Plot is surrounded by leaves. On one side there are evergreen Laurel bushes. The south-facing wall is topped by deciduous Ivy, then half our house is covered in Wisteria that sheds its leaves too.
Consequently, at this time of year the ground is thick with Autumnal leaves – even the Laurel seems to shed the odd one or two. So, it’s high time that I stopped filling the council’s leaf mould pile and started my own.
When I first moved into the house the garden was a wreck. Apparently, the previous owner were not ‘into’ gardening. You don’t say? There was a five inch thick layer of something thick and black and crumbly on the roof of the outhouse. Part of the roof had caved in under the weight there was that much of it. What was it? – leaf mould. The leaves had been falling for so many years, untouched that the good stuff had just built up and up.
I tried to salvage as much of it as I could and dug it into my new garden. But that’s the last time mtp has seen any leaf mould (two years ago). But this year I’m determined to bring it back. So, using my Love Em’ and Leave Em’ leaf sack, I’ve started to collect the fallen leaves and I’m hopeful for some blackstuff come next year.
Here’s a few things I’ve discovered about making leaf mould.
- The leaves that can be easily turned into leaf mould are Oak, Alder and Hornbeam. They will soon rot down, but Sycamore, Beech and Horse chestnut might take a little longer.
- Some people will suggest that you don’t use conifers and evergreen plants. You can but it will take between two and three years for them to decompose. They’re best added in small quantities, shredding them first will help to speed up the process.
Anyone else have experience producing leaf mould. I’ve heard you can use a black plastic bag with holes in in the same way.
