Every October I used to fill brown garden sacks with leaves and wheel them to the green-waste bin, feeling virtuous and slightly foolish. Then a neighbour showed me the corner behind her shed: a wire cage of leaves, two years old, crumbling like dark chocolate cake. “That,” she said, “is the best thing in my garden, and I’ve never spent a penny on it.”
Leaf mould is exactly that – leaves left to rot slowly, mostly by fungi rather than the bacteria that drive a hot compost heap. It is slower, but what you get is a superb soil conditioner and a main ingredient for seed and potting mixes. It holds water, opens up heavy clay, and feeds the soil life that cottage borders depend on.
What to collect. Almost any deciduous leaf works. Oak, beech, hornbeam and birch break down quickly; sycamore, horse chestnut and plane take longer, so shred them first. Avoid evergreen needles, and leaves from diseased plants or from roadsides.
How to make it. Build a simple bin from four stakes and chicken wire, about a metre square, in a shady corner. Alternatively, fill black bin bags, add a splash of water, punch a few holes, tie loosely and tuck them behind the shed. Rake leaves when they are dry, pile them in, and tread them down every so often. If the pile is dry in a long spell, give it a soak from the watering can.
How long it takes. After 12 months you have a rough mulch, lovely spread over borders and under hedges. After two years it turns fine and crumbly – the stage to use in seed trays and pots. Sieve it, mix it half and half with sharp sand or grit, and sow sweet peas and hardy annuals in it next spring.
What not to expect. Leaf mould is a conditioner, not a fertiliser. It adds very little nutrition, so keep feeding hungry plants such as dahlias and roses with well-rotted manure or a seaweed feed, and use leaf mould to improve the structure that lets them use it.
Speeding things up. Shred the leaves first by running the mower over the pile; shredded oak leaves can be usable in a single year. A pile that is too wet turns slimy and smelly, so mix in a few handfuls of dry leaves and turn it. A pile that is too dry just sits there, so water it in a dry autumn.
Where to use it. Spread a 5 cm layer over beds in late winter, tuck it around the base of hellebores and ferns, and use sieved two-year-old leaf mould in place of peat in seed compost.
A few tools make the job pleasant: a light spring-tine rake, a sturdy fork for turning, a pair of leaf grabs, and a reusable garden sack. I have put the ones I trust in the Greenhouses & Tool Sheds section of my landing page – follow the link in my bio.
Start this weekend. Rake one lawn, fill one bin, and in two autumns’ time you will thank yourself every time you open the lid.
You will find more of my favourite greenhouse and tool shed essentials and seeds and sowing supplies on my English Cottage Living landing page.
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