Leafmould (leafmold/leaf mould/leaf mold)

[kake]

I have a netting enclosure in my garden for making leafmould. I've never made this before, and was wondering if anyone had any advice. As I understand it, there are a couple of reasons for rotting leaves down separately rather than just chucking them in the compost with everything else:

• They rot more slowly than most things you'd put in your compost, so separating them out means they won't be sitting in your general compost pile holding things up.
• Leafmould improves soil structure, while general compost provides soil nutrients, so if you make leafmould separately and mix it with compost in different proportions, you can have more control over the resulting brown stuff.
• Relatedly, the low level of nutrients in leafmould means that it's more appropriate for starting seedlings, for which compost can be a bit too rich.

Here are some relevant links I found:

• Making and using leaf mold
• Compost and leaf mould
• Factsheet about making leafmould
• Leafmould compost

I'd appreciate any advice or comments! I also have a specific question: are there any types of leaf that shouldn't go in leafmould? For example, spinach leaves go limp and rot down very quickly, so presumably these aren't suitable for going in leafmould. Is there an easy way to decide which leaves I should put in and which I shouldn't?

Comments

[chalcopyrite]

As I understood it, what goes into leafmould is the kind of leaves that fall off broadleaf trees. That's it. Those are low in nitrogen -- unlike your green spinach leaf -- and if you just pile them in as you rake them up, they'll mulch down into lovely fragrant, loose-textured.... er, brown stuff. Don't put in pine needles or bits from conifers; they take longer to break down and are acidic. If the leaves are still on small branches/twigs, that's fine, as long as you're prepared to pull them out later! (Which is probably faster than stripping the leaves off in the beginning.)

I'd envy your netting box, but my leaves blow away before I could collect them anyway! *wry g*

[kake]

Thank you! That makes sense.

If I did strip off the leaves in the beginning, would the branches/twigs go in the regular compost and break down as normal?

[chalcopyrite]

Sure, the twigs can go in the regular compost, but woody material just takes a while to break down, wherever it is -- I've found bits of branches in compost that's been sitting quietly for, oh, a couple of years. If you put them at the bottom of a compost pile, they let some air get in to the underside, which helps in composting.

After a little more poking, it looks like I'm wrong about pine needles, too. The problem seems to be not the acidity, but the turpenes in the needles, which should be gone once they're dry (ie once they no longer smell like pine). There's some info on mulching / composting with pine needles here:
Pine needle mulch?

Good luck!

[kake]

Thank you! I don't have any pine needles, but hopefully someone will find the info useful when searching the community in the future.

I've been cutting up stems and branches with secateurs before putting them in the compost, which I was hoping would help the decomposition.