An elderly gardening client of mine asked one year to spread all the leaves
collected from his lawns over the veggie beds. I did so, within three
months all the leaves were worm food: literally! So I would suggest to
simply mulch with them, they will retain water in the turned soil and feed
the worms.
Neil


"janet.bennett" wrote in message
...
I collected a quantity of beech leaves last autumn and placed them in an
old dustbin (holes in the side - covered with lid) but they don't seem to
be
rotting down. Can someone give me advice on the following :

How long does it take for them to rot down?
Was I suppossed to add an an activator?
Do they need to be really 'wet' or 'just moist?