Leaf Mould

Lots of leaves to collect in the park. Dogs enjoy them too.

The vibrant autumn leaf colours are at stunning at the moment.  Every opportunity I have to get into the park is grabbed so I can experience the joys of autumn. The dogs like it too; the damp wet ground seems to accentuate the smells for them. I ought to train them up to search for truffles. 

Leaves

Leaves contain chlorophyll, a pigment that gives them their colour. Autumn coloration in leaves happens when, as a result of the decomposition of chlorophyll, additional vibrant pigments or colours are revealed; it’s hard to believe that the bright colours are harnessed away in the leaves all year. Some of the best examples of autumn leaf colour in trees come from the Maple, Beech, Ash, Mountain Ash, Hazel, Oak, Birch, and Chestnut. There are a lot of smaller shrubs that can give us a glorious show such as the fiery tones of Euonymus europaeus 'Red Cascade'  or the Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, a low-growing, ground-cover shrub.The Cotinus family (smokebush) is a classic for autumn tints too, deserving pride of place in the border.

 Fallen leaves make a lovely crunchy colourful carpet in the garden, but they can have a very detrimental effect on your lawn. A covering of fallen leaves will block sunlight reaching your grass, which over a week or two will cause the grass to weaken and become patchy, a bit like when the children have a tent set up on the grass for a few weeks in summer. To prevent this, large quantities of leaves should be removed within a day or two. This is a perfect opportunity for us to make leaf mold

About leaf mould

Most leaves can be turned into leaf mould, but some take longer to compost than others. Oak, alder and hornbeam will soon rot down, while sycamore, beech, horse chestnut and sweet chestnut take a little longer.. Try to avoid evergreen leaves such as holly, laurel or Leyland cypress and other conifers as they just seem to sit there and not rot down. If you do use them it might help to shred them with the mower first.

Good leafmould is a pleasant, darkbrown, crumbly material and is a good soil improver, lawn conditioner and mulch. It can be used in seed and potting mixes as well.

Good things about leafmould:

• • It’s easy to make
• • It cuts out bonfires
• • It saves using peat
• • It’s free

Good things about using leafmould

• • It’s clean and easy to handle
• • It’s good for the soil
• • It cuts down on watering
• • It can be used on any soil
• • It can be used at any time of year

I have collected leaves from a lot of different places in the past, especially when I didn’t have any trees in the garden.  Quiet laneways and parks are good, but try and get permission first. One year I was chased off a park when a neighbour came out and told me off for stealing their patch. I left them 10 dustbin liner bags as way of an apology but still came away with enough to mulch the garden.

Collecting them up

Leaves can be gathered up by hand, using a lawn rake. For larger quantities, leaf vacs are available, some of which will also shred the leaves, speeding up decay. Place the leaves into plastic bin bags of have a wire mesh bin to stack them in.

Compost or leafmould?

Small amounts of autumn leaves can be added to the compost bin. They make a good balancing ingredient for wet and soggy materials like grass mowings and kitchen waste. Simply save dryish autumn leaves in a bag

For use next season.

Autumn leaves are rotted down mainly by the slow, cool action of fungi - rather than the quicker acting bacteria that are responsible for composting. This is why autumn leaves in quantity are best recycled separately in a separate bag or bin.

Uses of leafmould

Newly fallen leaves can be used for winter cover for bare soil but may have to be removed in spring for sowing and planting and as mulch for informal paths.

Young’ leafmould

1 or 2 years old, depending on tree species.

• Leaves beginning to break up; easily crumbled in the hand.
• Mulch around shrubs, herbaceous, trees, vegetables
• Dig in as soil improver for sowing and planting
• Autumn top dressing for lawns
• Winter cover for bare soil

Well rotted leafmould

2 years old in most cases.

• Dark brown crumbly material, with no real trace of original leaves visible.
• Seed sowing mix - Use leafmould on its own, or mixed with equal parts sharp sand and garden compost
• Potting compost - Mix equal parts well rotted leafmould, sharp sand, loam and garden compost

Leaves and wildlife

If I have a lot of leaves then I tend to just ‘sweep them ‘under hedges as this is a perfect place for wildlife to thrive and it feeds the hedge too.