decayed leaves for compost?

[trickydiggy]

Hello all,

I have a walkway near our house which has lots of fallen (mainly oak) leaves that I have added to a compost 'pallet' bin, with vegetable scraps. Underneath the leaves is quite a bit of last season's decayed leaves...looks pretty rich in nutrients...can I use this straight on my allotment soil, as compost or are there likely to be hindering seeds/harmful stuff in it?

Appreciate any thoughts,

Cheers

[trickydiggy]

[powerspade]

We have a path going through the woods nearby, every winter I`m there with my barrow collecting fir the compost heap. There is a deep gully alongside the path which contained 30 years of rotted oak leaves (our council are not very good at cleaning ) Anyway I used this rotted oak leaf as a mulch around my veg last year and found it to be marvelous stuff. One thing though, I had to sieve it to remove old twigs and bits of glass

[terrier]

Hey, can you tell me where this path is 'cos I'd like some  :) I think oak leaves take quite a while to rot down and can make your soil just a little more acidic but I mix them with the contents of the compost bin with no ill effects. Last year I used a load of Horse Chestnut leaves in a new flower bed, the leaves had only been bagged for a couple of months, once mixed with the soil, they just seemed to rot quickly. I planted several hundred summer bulbs in the bed and had a grand show.

[trickydiggy]

Thanks very much you 2...the answers I wanted!!