Autumn Leaves

Put them in black plastic bags stack them while they turn in to mulch.

Did you see Spritzhenry's recent blog - 'a recipe for black gold' about composting leaves?

Thanks both. Lily - I will definitely go and look at Spritz's blog - she always has useful tips.
D - how long do they take to turn into mulch and can oyu keep them outside while they change?

I,ve got a couple of bags full, lovely stuff.

Takes 1-2 years

you could try making a home for a hedgehog - pile them up in a corner somwhere

You can send me as many bags as you like Muddywellie.

You should consider yourself blessed, Muddywelly, all those leaves.
Ideally, you could make a 'bin' in the corner of your garden from chicken mesh and dump the leaves in it. In a years time you will have a humus rich material that is excellent ofr your garden. It will be even better in two years time and better still in three!
At the moment I am using the 1 tonne bulk bags that come from builders merchants with sand or grit as an alternative to chicken mesh bins.

Check Spritz's blog - you just need some binliners and somewhere to store them for a couple of years, some corner somewhere in the garden.

What a great idea Bulbaholic, If I had the space I'd use them too. I was told that once someone had one drop on his head when full. since then they aren't allowed to re-use them.

Jute bags are suppose to be good too.

I love collecting the leaves to turn into leaf mold... I suspect that B & I are viewed as odd balls as we go around gathering up the leaves from he local car park - they are gold in my eyes...

yes yes yes that is the only to discribe it black gold

Indeed Cliffo - oh and no plastic bags they will turn into slime as they need to breath as they decompose. Something like an onion sack is fine ... but a bin is even better :-)

I put my leaves in a plastic bin liner which I have punched holes in this way there`s no slime, just lovely mulch.

use a hessian sack or similar it at all possible, even with holes the black plastic heats up too much and can't breath.

Now that we all have 'wheelie bins' it's not so easy to get bin liners. The local Council use bin liners and leave them scattered around, I wonder if they would let me have some.

Bin liners have there uses but not for leaves.

I use bin liners Mg and it works for me, but you are right compost likes heat but leaves need cooler conditions so might try jute bags.

now that we have got our new veg. garden area Mr MB has created a proper leaf mold bin with wire mesh... I suspect he is going to be out filling it this afternoon as the weather is nice.

You should read Spritz's black gold blog, moongrower - she uses the same method I've always used, and it is plastic binliners, with holes punched in, turns into lovely, rich, crumbly leafmould, not rotten at all, works really well.

Yes, just started on the leaves today. Not many down yet, though. I like plenty of air round the leaves so prefer woven sacks to plastic, even with holes. Works fine for us.

I tried a wire compound last year but the leaves around the edges didn't rot down, they remained dry.

I think ours will get so wet that wont be a problem...

I don't know what you mean by binliners being hard to get Heron - Tescos, Sainsburys, Homebase, Waitrose, Co-op, Wilkinsons, they're all full of them, whole shelves with various sizes?!

Thanks for the mention - black binbags DO work, as long as you punch holes in them, as I showed in the blog. I did mention the possibility of building an enclosure, too.

I use old compost bags, tougher than bin bags....works OK for me :)
P.S. B&Q multipurpose...the bags already have the holes punched in them .....

Sorry Bamboo but our experience with bin bags - holes or not - is that everything becomes 'sweaty' and you do not get a good breakdown into leaf mold. If you just want slime and sludge fine, otherwise you need arobic decomposition.

Must be your climate up there, then Moongrower, can't think of another explanation - you are colder and probably wetter than either Spritz or I - I found it to be very successful, and clearly Spritz does too.

Suspect you will get anaerobic decomposition rather than aerobic - might well work in the hot house of the SoE - not up here.

xxx

Absolutely its anaerobic - that's why it takes up to 2 years.

Thanks for all the responses - sounds like I need to fish everything out of the wheelie bin and put it into black bags. I'm not sure I'm tempted, but I might give it a go, because when I got home tonight - it looked like another 3 tons was in the garden! Lol!

And by the look of the weather forecast, there'll be loads more by Sunday... maybe you should just buy the bags in readiness tomorrow!

Heron, and anyone else, who happens to be in the area - happy to donate some leaves to a good garden! M

Hi Bamboo - did you get my pm? Just wanted to make sure I hadn't upset you!

I'm sure you didn't Muddywellie ;0)))

What PM, muddywellie? And I don't understand what on earth I might be upset about? Takes an awful lot to upset me, you know - I don't consider disagreement upsetting at all, but I still don't know why you think I might be...I'll check my inbox and send you a PM;-))))