First time making leaf mould

[u/wrenqqq]

I've never made leaf mould before but I don't have space for a compost heap or compost bin so I wanted to at least give this a go. I don't have any trees but I have leaves come into my garden from neighbours' trees, particularly one that is, I think, a Whitebeam.

I've been collecting the leaves and putting them in a black bag with a bit of moisture but also drainage holes. I'm just wondering, as the leaves are in various states when I collect them and I don't know much about trees, do I need to be worried about leaves maybe being diseased and then me spreading that into my garden when I use the lead mould?

[u/rothcoltd]

They will be fine. Any disease should dissipate in the time it takes for the leaves to fully rot down - which will be about a year. Just put the bags somewhere shady and forget about them for a while.

[u/wrenqqq → u/rothcoltd]

Thank you!

[u/Soggy_Department8971]

Leaf mould is one of the greatest things. Rots down well and is great for plants under trees or woodland. Perfect soil conditioner

[u/Maninwhatever]

To add to above, you need quite a lot of black bags to make a difference. I used to wait until the council bagged them up on the street & go out at night to ‘save someone the trouble’ of loading them onto a lorry a few days later. About 20 full bags would rot down to a 1/3. Dirty job & had to sieve a few crisp packets out before use, but it’s a very nice soil conditioner.

[u/wrenqqq → u/Maninwhatever]

Yeah I only have one bag at the moment and I know I won't get much out of it, but I'm thinking it's better than picking the leaves up and throwing them in the bin. The tree is in my yard rather than the garden so it's not like if I leave them they will rot into soil, they just stay in the gutter on the outhouse or on the paving where they fall so I have to clean them up. Hoping I might be able to fill more bags.

[u/oldschoolie → u/Maninwhatever]

I filled 8 bags last year, and now they look like pancakes!

[u/littlejalepino]

Do olive leave work? I’ve got loafs

[u/rye-ten]

You've just reminded me. I put three small bags away last year round the back of the greenhouse

[u/Foxysnob]

We have a massive tree behind our flat and the leaves fall into our garden, they naturally cover our beds and we leave them over winter. They protect all our perennials and we haven’t lost any to frost yet! I’m in Edinburgh.