Topic: we've started the leaf collection again

[manicscousers]

we've filled one bin liner and, with our new leaf vacuum/ mulcher, it shouldn't be long before we've more bin liners than we know what to do with,
spades and bin liners in the boot, now, where did I put my balaclava ?   ;D

[Lauren S]

I saw a lovely pile of leaves today. I'm not sure I'm confident enough YET to get out my spade and scoop them up. The men in white coats might be called  ;D

[OllieC]

I was going to take a leaf out of your book but you got there first.  ;D

[cornykev]

Leaf it out Ollie, yes Scousers its that time of year again, I have been eyeing up the leafs in the park for a few weeks now, now where did I put them jumbo black bags, Lauren I put my Hi Viz Vest from work on and people think you work for the council and ignore you, the best tip somebody on here give last year was wait until the roadsweepers bag them up then drive around picking them up, hence no effort bagging them up, they put the leafs in white bags where I live. PS what are the peeps on here doing with there leafs from last year.  ;D ;D ;D

[Amazin]

I've got two bagsful already - they're all blown into one corner of my flats near some stairs, so they pile up a treat. I don't care who sees me picking them up - the neighbours are used to me by now, and as I always say:

Where there's no class there's no shame!

 ;D

[manicscousers]

I'd forgotten about that, ck..will keep an eye on the council lads here, saves them  moving them and our backs scooping them up  ;D
half a dalek of rotted leaf mould is now bagged up, sifted and waiting to be made into our own potting compost  :)

[cornykev]

I have an empty dalek Scousers, I may store my first new batch in there.  ;D ;D ;D

[redimp]

Leaf gathering is what Autumn half term is made for.  Going to try and beat last years 32 black bin bags this year.  Also going to use one of those 'skip' bags that jsut get thrown away - now how many black bags does that equate to? :-\

[Baccy Man]

Also going to use one of those 'skip' bags that jsut get thrown away - now how many black bags does that equate to? :-\

Standard black bag = 90 litres
Standard PP woven bag = 1000 litres
So just over 11 Bags.

I don't bother collecting leaves as I know the people who drive the councils lorries they pick them up & drop them off for me. I also know the contracters who look after the village park & they drop off trailer loads of leaves this time of year grass clipping the rest of the year. Woodchips & logs for the fire are availiable free by the lorryload on demand from several of the local tree surgeons I know.

[saddad]

We have a similar arrangement with the parks dept. for chippings must askl about leaves..
 ::)

[adrianhumph]

 Hi all,
             For your information, I carried out a wholly UN scientific experiment last year, the majority of my leaves were placed in my chicken wire container. the excess leaves were bagged in black sacks ,moistened & holes poked in the bags. One year later, the results are, leaf container well rotted down & emptied onto beds at allotment,  ;D bagged leafs, hardly rotted at all >:(  Any body else tried this?
                         Adrian.

[Riffster]

Adding to adrianhumph's comments,  here are our observations.   We filled a 1000 litre woven baggie with leaves,  because it seemed a good idea to "lose" the leaves into.

Folded the top over - then forgot about them for 9 months.  Result ==   

Perfectly rotted mulch.  it went down to about 1/5 of the volume.

We'll be repeating the procedure with much more leaves this year !

[asbean]

We've got a huge chickenwire container enough for several years, we just separate the collections by the year.  Unfortunately the trees that shed all the leaves have been cut down, so our collection will be much reduced. The good part of that is that we get more light all the year round.

The trees at home are still there, though ...  Should fill one dalek with that.  ;D ;D ;D

[antipodes]

can I ask why you collect leaves?
Is it just to make compost? as I only have 100 m2 of lottie, and my compost bin is already pretty full, would it be useful for me to collect some too?
what do rotten leaves add to the soil??? or do you just use them to cover the veg as mulch over winter?? I am kinda confused...

[manicscousers]

they're like gold dust once rotted down, antipodes, we're going to make our own potting compost next spring with ours, we put rotted leaves at the bottom of the carrot bed, they love it..you can put them on top of the beds, cover them, the worms incorporate them, I can't remember what they have in them but they are kept for precious crops  ;D

[antipodes]

well that is news to me!!! I live next to a wood, should I get out there with my rake and a bag???  are there any types that are better than others? only problem I have is that I cannot identify european trees  ;D none of them look like gum trees!!!  I know there are oaks and chestnuts....

[Amazin]

The leaves of some trees rot down quicker than others. Is it oak or sycamore that's notoriously slower to rot? (probably neither, knowing my d'oh! factor). If mine aren't completely rotted by the time I want to use them I just mix some in with the compost anyway.

I also shred Christmas trees and leave in bags to rot down, to use as a mix/ mulch for acid loving plants. Mind you, you could grow a Clematis vitalba waiting for those things to rot...

 ;D

[Eristic]

As a rule of thumb, small leaves make good compost faster and without much intervention. Large leaves tend to lay flat like roof tiles and can cause large areas of the heap to dry out completely and stop decaying. This is the primary reason for frequent turning of the heap.

What we are talking here is the good old http://bluewisteria.co.uk/tools/composting.php Moriati composting method.

[cambourne7]

I have been equaly cheaky our parish has just employed there own groundmen, and i was showing them what needs doing on the allotments on friday. And they have VOLUNTEERED to fill my leaf bin for me :)

Tomorrow i am going to finish sticking the sticken wire to the walls to make a suitable container :) I have also given them a 1 ton builders bag they can fill.

YIPPIE

[powerspade]

I have four large compost bins made from corrugated sheeting. Each bin is 8ft x 8ft. I live about 150 yards from a woodland, last year I collected 25 large bags of oak leaves. This filled one of my compost bins. This year I am going for gold as I have more time to myself as I have just semi retired. Up to now I have about 2 ton of ordinary compost in one bin. the other three are going to be filled with leaves. The compost area to me is the engine house of a allotment.