Advice
Help & advice
Making leafmould
If you have a glut of leaves in the autumn then rather than compost them, use them to create leafmould. Leafmould is formed from decayed leaves, producing a humus-rich, friable soil conditioner.
To produce leafmould, simply collect up the leaves and put them in a plastic bag (e.g. bin liner). Moisten the leaves if dry to help them rot, pierce the bag with a number of holes, tie the top loosely and then simply hide them around the garden and leave for a year or two.
Alternatively, wire mesh or plastic could be made into a square pen or rolled into a pipe shape and stood on its end to create a container which simply prevents the leaves from being blown away (thus allowing them to rot slowly).
Fallen leaves have a low nutrient value, though richer leafmould can be formed by adding small amounts of grass clippings. A quick way to achieve this is to spread the leaves out on a lawn and collect them with a lawnmower. This method not only adds grass to the mix but also serves to shred the leaves prior to composting.
Shredding is a good way to speed up the decomposition of tougher leaves such as sycamore, horse chestnut and sweet chestnut. Thicker, evergreen leaves like holly, Aucuba and cherry laurel are best shredded and added to the normal compost heap. For top quality leafmould use leaves from oak, beech or hornbeam. Composting pine needles produces an acidic organic medium, though their rate of breakdown is very slow and may take two to three years.
Well-rotted leafmould is usually produced in two years (species dependant), but can be used before this time. If the material is under two years it is considered suitable for use as a mulch, a soil improver, an autumn top-dressing for lawns and a winter cover for bare soil. If it is over two years old it can also be used as a seed sowing mix or as a potting compost (mixed equally with sharp sand, garden compost and loam).