Hi All

My name is Kev and I've been lurking on urg for a couple of weeks or so.
Thought it was about time I plucked up the courage to make a post.

A bit about me... I moved into a house in South Hertfordshire, with a
garden, a little over a year ago and the main aim at the time was to get the
lawn sorted for this summer for a new family addition (a son, not a dog).
That well on it's way and looking quite good, it's time to move my efforts
to the borders and the veggies.

I had a scan through the faq's and found a bit of info about leaf mould, but
I have afew more questions that I'd like a little help with....

1. I collected and shredded all the leaves of our cherry tree last autumm,
watered and drained them and stored them in bin bags in the shed.... good or
bad?

2. Is it better to turn them to aerate (at the mo they are stacked and quite
compacted)?

3. I intend to use them as mulch for the borders, is there any better use
for them? Is it too soon for them to be used, and when should I apply?

Thanks in advance

Kev Hopley

In article , fruitbat
writes

1. I collected and shredded all the leaves of our cherry tree last autumm,
watered and drained them and stored them in bin bags in the shed.... good or
bad?

Good. They don't need the shelter of a shed - quite OK outside if you
have somewhere they don't look too unsightly.
I don't think I'd bother to shred them - but that will presumably speed
the process a bit.

2. Is it better to turn them to aerate (at the mo they are stacked and quite
compacted)?

I don't think so. I've turned mine, but they are in an open topped bin,
so the top few inches dries out a bit.

3. I intend to use them as mulch for the borders, is there any better use
for them?

I'd use them as general potting compost - leaf mould seems far too high
quality to use as a mulch. I use my compost heap for mulching - not so
much to keep the weeds down, but to improve the soil.

Is it too soon for them to be used, and when should I apply?

For mulching, use them as soon as moist enough not to blow around. Don't
think there's any special time of year - just when the urge takes you -
though it's obviously easier to spread in winter when there aren't so
many plants to get in the way.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"fruitbat" wrote in message
...
Hi All

My name is Kev and I've been lurking on urg for a couple of weeks or so.
Thought it was about time I plucked up the courage to make a post.

A bit about me... I moved into a house in South Hertfordshire, with a
garden, a little over a year ago and the main aim at the time was to get
the
lawn sorted for this summer for a new family addition (a son, not a dog).
That well on it's way and looking quite good, it's time to move my efforts
to the borders and the veggies.

I had a scan through the faq's and found a bit of info about leaf mould,
but
I have afew more questions that I'd like a little help with....

1. I collected and shredded all the leaves of our cherry tree last autumm,
watered and drained them and stored them in bin bags in the shed.... good
or
bad?

2. Is it better to turn them to aerate (at the mo they are stacked and
quite
compacted)?

3. I intend to use them as mulch for the borders, is there any better use
for them? Is it too soon for them to be used, and when should I apply?

Thanks in advance

Kev Hopley



Leaves do take time to rot down
i found it best to shred them and mix them with all manner of other shredded
materials inc veggie peelings plus grass clippings, horse manure if you can
get it in a covered compost bin ........add a few buckets of night water and
turn into an emply bin after 3 months

After 6 months you should have great compost

nambucca wrote:
"fruitbat" wrote in message
[...]
I had a scan through the faq's and found a bit of info about leaf
mould, but I have afew more questions that I'd like a little help
with....

1. I collected and shredded all the leaves of our cherry tree last
autumm, watered and drained them and stored them in bin bags in
the
shed.... good or bad?

2. Is it better to turn them to aerate (at the mo they are stacked
and quite compacted)?

3. I intend to use them as mulch for the borders, is there any
better use for them? Is it too soon for them to be used, and when
should I apply?

Thanks in advance

Kev Hopley



Leaves do take time to rot down
i found it best to shred them and mix them with all manner of other
shredded materials inc veggie peelings plus grass clippings, horse
manure if you can get it in a covered compost bin ........add a few
buckets of night water and turn into an emply bin after 3 months

After 6 months you should have great compost

Sure. But sometimes pure leaf-mould is best: e.g., I suggest, for
lilies. If you really need leaf-mould, it's a waste to add it to the
general compost.

I think it's best just to leave it there, with no additives, doing
nothing to it, until the separate leaves have completely disappeared.
A year, maybe.

It's quite unnecessary to shred them -- in fact, the craze for
shredding has gone too far in general. You only need to shred twigs
and cabbage-stalks, and for _most_ people it makes more sense to burn
those or chuck them in the dustbin than to give B&Q your hard-earned
for a shredder.

At the risk of exciting wrath and contempt among sections of the
audience, I say shredders usually make even less sense than
wormeries. (Ducks behind filing-cabinet.)

Mike.

wrote:
On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 10:40:59 -0000, "Mike Lyle"
wrote:


At the risk of exciting wrath and contempt among sections of the
audience, I say shredders usually make even less sense than
wormeries. (Ducks behind filing-cabinet.)

Keeping ducks behind a filing cabinet is quackers.

Yes, but they made such a mess swanning around in front of it that I
had to move them.

Mike.

"fruitbat" wrote in message
...
Hi All

My name is Kev and I've been lurking on urg for a couple of weeks or
so.
Thought it was about time I plucked up the courage to make a post.

A bit about me... I moved into a house in South Hertfordshire, with
a
garden, a little over a year ago and the main aim at the time was to
get the
lawn sorted for this summer for a new family addition (a son, not a
dog).
That well on it's way and looking quite good, it's time to move my
efforts
to the borders and the veggies.

I had a scan through the faq's and found a bit of info about leaf
mould, but
I have afew more questions that I'd like a little help with....

1. I collected and shredded all the leaves of our cherry tree last
autumm,
watered and drained them and stored them in bin bags in the shed....
good or
bad?

Good. I did the same with a couple o bag fulls of shredded ash, maple
and crab apple leaves. I also put a couple of bagfulls straight on
one of the borders. I will just have to remember to give that site a
bit of extra nitrogenous fertiliser when the spring comes.

2. Is it better to turn them to aerate (at the mo they are stacked
and quite
compacted)?

That would be a waste of effort.

3. I intend to use them as mulch for the borders, is there any
better use
for them? Is it too soon for them to be used, and when should I
apply?

Some time in the spring.

Oh, and welcome to urg!

Thanks in advance

Franz

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , fruitbat
writes

[snip]

I'd use them as general potting compost - leaf mould seems far too
high
quality to use as a mulch. I use my compost heap for mulching - not
so
much to keep the weeds down, but to improve the soil.

Kay,
Do you use it on its own, or do you mix it with something?
Do you enrich it with fertiliser?
What do you pot up into it?
For how long do you let it mature before using it in this way?

If neat leafmould is a replacement for peat, why on earth is it not
on the market? There must be an awful lot wasted each year.

Franz

Mike said:
At the risk of exciting wrath and contempt among sections of the
audience, I say shredders usually make even less sense than
wormeries. (Ducks behind filing-cabinet.)

But leaves sucked through a garden blower/vacuum works a treat. The
leaves are shredded and reduced in bulk by a factor of 4 or so.

Franz

I've got a shredder and use it mainly because it's fun! A little bit of contructive destruction can be good for you...

In article ,
Franz Heymann wrote:

If neat leafmould is a replacement for peat, why on earth is it not
on the market? There must be an awful lot wasted each year.

Because peat extraction is easier to automate on a large scale.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article , Franz Heymann
writes

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , fruitbat
writes

[snip]

I'd use them as general potting compost - leaf mould seems far too
high
quality to use as a mulch. I use my compost heap for mulching - not
so
much to keep the weeds down, but to improve the soil.

Kay,
Do you use it on its own, or do you mix it with something?

On its own

Do you enrich it with fertiliser?

No, but if something is in a smallish pot for a long time 6 months)
then I may use slow release pellets. Other people, who prefer to use
fertilisers to a greater extent than I do, would want to add something.

What do you pot up into it?

Perennials that I've grown from seed and am going to plant out the
following season.

For how long do you let it mature before using it in this way?

Till it's black and crumbly. I suppose that's about 2 years.

If neat leafmould is a replacement for peat,

I can see it has environmental advantages over peat, and peat has no
added fertilisers either. Since I don't use peat, I hadn't regarded it
as a substitute.

why on earth is it not
on the market? There must be an awful lot wasted each year.

Difficulty in collecting in large quantities compared with shredded wood
or coir, and long break-down time, presumably.


--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

Kay wrote:
In article , Franz Heymann
writes
[...]
why on earth is it not
on the market? There must be an awful lot wasted each year.

Difficulty in collecting in large quantities compared with shredded
wood or coir, and long break-down time, presumably.

I feel sure some local authorities sell it, or at any rate used to.

Mike.

nambucca wrote:

add a few buckets of night water

p*ss?

--
www.percha.f2s.com

fruitbat wrote:

: 3. I intend to use them as mulch for the borders, is there any better use
: for them? Is it too soon for them to be used, and when should I apply?

Before Peat became generally used in horticulture, leafmould was used to
make up potting composts. I use my leaf mould to make seed and potting
compost. I mix riddled leafmould and loam, and depending on use add some
"grit", plus maybe a little woodash.

I do tend to find that growing a little slower than most
books/seed-packets indicate - but I naturally compensate for that
nowadays.

I used to oven sterilise for seed compost, but have given up and have
hardly noticed - other than a little bit of increased weeding :-)

In article ,
J Jackson writes:
| fruitbat wrote:
|
| : 3. I intend to use them as mulch for the borders, is there any better use
| : for them? Is it too soon for them to be used, and when should I apply?
|
| Before Peat became generally used in horticulture, leafmould was used to
| make up potting composts. I use my leaf mould to make seed and potting
| compost. I mix riddled leafmould and loam, and depending on use add some
| "grit", plus maybe a little woodash.

That sounds good :-)

It is also worth pointing out that leafmould is THE best basis for
making potting composts for most humus-loving, forest-floor plants.
It doesn't have the acidity of peat, and is closest to their natural
substrate.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.