Leaves from last Autumn

Colm R

I have three tonne bags (the kind suppliers use to deliver sand) full of leaves from last Autumn. I have quite a lot of trees mostly outside my property and hence a considerable amount of leaves fell on my newly drained and seeded lawn.

I did a pretty good job of raking and bagging the leaves. The contents of these bags are now quite damp, and very hot in the middle. This is obviously going to be annual thing for me.

The garden is now entirely lawn, but over the years, I'll put flower beds and vegetables patches in various places. So I'm just curious to know are my plans good or bad.

I want to dig trenches, about 18 inches deep, 12 inches across, and bury all these leaves, and cover over with the the soil. For this year, these areas will become grass again. I'm worried that the compost would become a sort of water barrier causing more harm than good.

This garden was very wet, but is now pretty well drained, so I'm worried that the composted leaves will form a barrier to excessive water getting down in to the drainage system, and recreating a problem I have already fixed and considerable expense. What do you think?

looksee

Not sure that that is a great idea, though I have never done it so I don't know. I would think that as they rot they will sink down and you will end up with ripples in your lawn, also you have to dispose of the soil, which will then have to be replaced...no, not the solution!

Do you not have space for a compost heap/bin (which is what you effectively have in the bags), but you could make better compost in a heap with a bit of soil and the worms can get in. It will decompose considerably and eventually you will have good stuff to improve your soil with.

Sonnenblumen

Colm

you have one of nature's best soil conditioners there and I would be very slow to simply bury the leaves. As they are already bagged and the decomposition has started, I would recommend the following:

- store bags in a sheltered corner, provide some covering to protect leaves from rain. Ideally they should be kept dry and puncture some holes in sides of bags to allow air in. If they become too wet, the process will slow considerably or stop altogether.
- assuming the leaves are deciduous it will take at least 1 year but probably up to 2 years for the process to complete and produce leaf mould. So be patient. Unlike composting, there is no need to turn. Simply store and ignore.
- leaf mould can be simply spread across the surface, no need for digging in, the earthworms will do that for you.
- leaf mould is excellent for improving drainage in wet soils but also provides excellent water retention in dry/sandy soils which will allow plants and especially roots to grow better and deeper.

Leaf mould is probably the most valuable resource available to gardeners and its free, all that is required is a little patience.

The process can be speeded up by shredding leaves (collect with lawn mower or garden vac with shredder) before storing or adding an accelerator. It will still take at least 1 full year.

Good luck.

Colm R wrote: »

I have three tonne bags (the kind suppliers use to deliver sand) full of leaves from last Autumn. I have quite a lot of trees mostly outside my property and hence a considerable amount of leaves fell on my newly drained and seeded lawn.

I did a pretty good job of raking and bagging the leaves. The contents of these bags are now quite damp, and very hot in the middle. This is obviously going to be annual thing for me.

The garden is now entirely lawn, but over the years, I'll put flower beds and vegetables patches in various places. So I'm just curious to know are my plans good or bad.

I want to dig trenches, about 18 inches deep, 12 inches across, and bury all these leaves, and cover over with the the soil. For this year, these areas will become grass again. I'm worried that the compost would become a sort of water barrier causing more harm than good.

This garden was very wet, but is now pretty well drained, so I'm worried that the composted leaves will form a barrier to excessive water getting down in to the drainage system, and recreating a problem I have already fixed and considerable expense. What do you think?

Colm R

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Colm

you have one of nature's best soil conditioners there and I would be very slow to simply bury the leaves. As they are already bagged and the decomposition has started, I would recommend the following:

- store bags in a sheltered corner, provide some covering to protect leaves from rain. Ideally they should be kept dry and puncture some holes in sides of bags to allow air in. If they become too wet, the process will slow considerably or stop altogether.
- assuming the leaves are deciduous it will take at least 1 year but probably up to 2 years for the process to complete and produce leaf mould. So be patient. Unlike composting, there is no need to turn. Simply store and ignore.
- leaf mould can be simply spread across the surface, no need for digging in, the earthworms will do that for you.
- leaf mould is excellent for improving drainage in wet soils but also provides excellent water retention in dry/sandy soils which will allow plants and especially roots to grow better and deeper.

Leaf mould is probably the most valuable resource available to gardeners and its free, all that is required is a little patience.

The process can be speeded up by shredding leaves (collect with lawn mower or garden vac with shredder) before storing or adding an accelerator. It will still take at least 1 full year.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to get three more bags or composting bins for next year then, and then use my current batch in Spring 2014 and continue to store for a period of a couple of years each time.

Until then, continue to plan and imagine what my garden will look like!!