Allotments 4 All

Being in London I don't fancy using the roadside leaves, but I've now got a couple of bags of leaves from the back garden, enough for one small bed.  Several questions now spring to mind:

Do I need to shred them first?
Which of next years crop would like them best? 
Should I put the layer of leaves on top of manure or under it?

i can only tell you what we do, no doubt others will have other ideas
carrots like them in the bottom of their bed
we found soft fruit like it, we've never had such a good crop as when we mulched them with leaves
we've got 10 bags of leaves around the back of the shed with holes in, ready for next year
also got a composter full, again for next year

we have a book from a bloke in canada who just piles them up on his beds and mulches with straw over the top  :D

Quote from: manicscousers on December 05, 2006, 15:50:55
we have a book from a bloke in canada who just piles them up on his beds and mulches with straw over the top  :D

which book would that be scousers? pleeease? ::)

called the vegetable gardener's bible by edward c smith, he's a bit fussy about having meters for different things but he advocates wide, raised beds and compost, compost,compost, got some good tips out of it  :)

oh, that's the book that first got me into STRAW :o :D yes, he's a Real Gardener isn't he?
missed the bit about leaves, going furtling in bookcase now :)

yeah, he does say run the mower over them or put them through a shredder, though, I forgot about that bit, really enthusiastic  :)

Leaves are ok as a mulch, soil conditioner, or as part of a compost mix (when well rotted down) but they don't have a lot of nutrients in them. I put them in a cage (1.5m x 1.5m square x 2 m high) made of chicken wire over the winter then into a dalek type bin in spring. It takes about 2 years for them to get to a nice crumbly mixture for using as part of a potting compost mix. I got about a third of a dalek bin from the amount in the chicken wire, so it doesn't go far when rotted down.

Thanks for the advice. :)  I think I'll shred them up and put round the fruit bushes.