Time to collect those leaves folks!

[Snow]

One bag, and if i push things i might manage two.
if i was well and if i had more land i would happily fill a thousand bags, i think leaf mold iis neat. recycling, free, natural...all the things i love.

Once it's all rotted down how full will the bag be? half? a quarter?

[noviceveggrower]

I am up to 7 bags. My mom and dad have some massive trees by them and no one else collects the leaves. The local residents just leave them to rot or wait until the council to collect them. So 5 bags so far from them and 2 from our house.
Have a tree on my plot but that isn't giving its leaves up yet.
So have 2 bins full of leaves.
Stupid thing was yesterday when I went to pick the leaves up from my mom and dads I'd forgotten how heavy a big bin liner full of leaves is. Don't know if its just me or I'm getting weak but struggled lifting a full one.

[Kristen]

Darn...but I would have thought that if properly composted...with a good heat involved...surely that would kill it off too?

Leaves left to compost [on their own] will be by fungal action only, and not generate much / any heat, so consequently won't kill off any bugs.

They could be added to a conventional compost heap, and if that was hot it would solve that problem I guess, but leaf mould is, for me, far more valuable than compost; leaf mould has all the characteristics of mycorrhizal fungi, without the cost!, so is very good for planting things like new trees and bushes to stimulate root growth. probably also for vegetables, but its not something I have tried as all mine goes on my ornamentals.

[Two_Sheds]

how many bags have you collected so far??

Only one, because I was too greedy last year (about 50 ??)
It's very tempting to gather as many as poss, esp. now I have the car (I fill up the boot every time I drive anywhere), but I really did get more than I could use in the one season, and it kills me moving the heavy sacks about the plot in the spring

[Two_Sheds]

I'd forgotten how heavy a big bin liner full of leaves is. Don't know if its just me or I'm getting weak but struggled lifting a full one.

It's not just you, they're super heavy when the leaves are wet. I fill the sack with dry leaves then water it when the sack is where I want it, to reduce the lifting, and try to only half-fill the sacks

What I don't like, is how wet & muddy the sacks get when piled up on top of each other: I get absolutely filthy when I move./empty them in the spring

[Two_Sheds]

horse chestnuts,... leaf miners.

They're only going to infest horse chestnuts though, not any other plant that gets the finished leafmould, and that's only if the grubs survive the winter

pine needles.

loads of people on our estate have conifers, and overhanging ones at that. I take a bendy bucket on the autumn dog walks, and fill it with already-nearly-done leafmould

if i was well ... i would happily fill a thousand bags

You don't have to hump big heavy sacks around: I just fill a carrier bag at a time on my dog walks, then tip them into the black sacks water them once at home, where they're all piled up out of the way, probably I get 20 sacks in a 2ft x 6ft space

Once it's all rotted down how full will the bag be? half? a quarter?

As a rough guide, a black sack full turns into a carrier bag's worth of leafmould. it's magic stuff though, worth it's weight in gold I reckon

Plus you're helping to keep pavements & cycle lanes clear & safe

Leaves left to compost...won't kill off any bugs.

It attracts slugs, snails and worms too, all of which are good composters, so my sacks end up with more wildlife than they started with

My leafmould is collected from our cycle lanes, which are very weedy & full of litter
So, I tend to use the leafmould to fill the bottom half of potting containers, and use nice clean bought compost to fill the pot (no weeds that way)
Plastic lumps and fag butts are easy to pick out by hand

[Small pumpkin]

I want to join in but don't know if I can. Can I collect oak leaves? What about the tanin in them?

[Nicos]

As far as I recall, tannin is a preservative so the leaves don't rot down as quickly.
mowing or shredding them small will probably help them rot down quicker?

Also- composting them with other things would help break down quicker because of the heat generated...and reduce their acidity.

Not absolutely sure but that's my gut feeling.
I'm happy to be corrected!

[Kristen]

What I don't like, is how wet & muddy the sacks get when piled up on top of each other: I get absolutely filthy when I move./empty them in the spring

Interesting, thanks 2S. I've been thinking about bagging leaves at my wife's workplace and leaving them there until next Autumn before moving them as that would then be "less to bring home" but sounds like that could be a bad idea, and bringing them back now, bulky but clean, and tipping them into my leaf composting bin would be better.

Do you think a leaf composting bin (3 or 4 sides of a rectangle of chicken wire, or similar) might be better for you too? Collect in bags, empty them into the container to compost down?

[veggiechicken]

I want to join in but don't know if I can. Can I collect oak leaves? What about the tanin in them?

Most of my leaves are oak and ash, with some apple and wild cherry thrown in. Can't tell you whether they're slower/worse than any other leaves as that's what I have. Never even thought about whether oak leaves are goodies or baddies

[Kristen]

Can I collect oak leaves? What about the tanin in them?

Oak leaves are amongst the best for leaf mould

Thick leaves like Sycamore and Horse Chestnut could do with shredding to speed them up ([Rotary] "mowing" them, with the blades set "high", to pick them up is a good method. Evergreens & Conifers are slow (maybe better added to compost heap, or a separate "slow" leaf mould heap), Pine is also slow but worth collecting separately as they make good Acidic leaf mould, great for things that need Acidic/Ericaceous compost.

[Snadger]

I bought a smashing petrol powerd leaf collector for work. It shreds the leaves as you pick them up. Only problem is the bag holds about two bin bags of soggy leaves and its balanced on your shoulder. You also get a soggy right leg.

OH sez, "why is there two bin bags of leaves in the car boot?" Allotment sez I.

[Two_Sheds]

a leaf composting bin (3 or 4 sides of a rectangle of chicken wire, or similar) might be better for you too? Collect in bags, empty them into the container to compost down?

Yes, I've often longed for one, but not yet gotten around to building one (it'd need to be robust enough to withstand our blasting east coast winds, chicken wire isn't strong enough)

I used to stack my binliners where I needed them, ie on the spud beds, but THE COMMITTEE decided they were untidy, so now they're all piled up beside the shed

[Philthy]

I thought about heading down to the local woods and gathering up a few bags worth. I'm assuming no-one would have a problem with me doing that..(?)

Is it better to use bags or a cage type enclosure to store the leaves in? Do they need to be sealed up / covered over?

[Kristen]

I'm assuming no-one would have a problem with me doing that..(?)

The landowner might. Best to ask beforehand perhaps?