Any Ideas for Speeding up Leaf Compost

Davesnave

gamston wrote: »

I've tried running the mower over them, works ok but using a strimmer cuts them up a lot smaller

But a mower bags the mashed stuff up, so maybe it would be best to use both?

Eenymeeny

Lots of interesting and helpful advice on here thanks. I got sick of having bags of beech leaves hanging around for a couple of years and put them in the council bin eventually! This year they've gone into a dumpy bag and I will be using an 'emergency bucket' in my shed at the bottom of the garden...
Sorry to go 'off piste' (!) but there is a quite busy thread started by Fuddle on Old Style atm which I thought people might find interesting: OS gardening/allotmenteering - traditions, money saving and savvy ideas.

Mojisola

Apodemus wrote: »

Normal urine is slightly acidic...

The urea content of urine provides the nitrogen that bacteria need to grow and multiply to start the decomposition process. The water content helps to ensure that the dry leaves are properly wetted and that the compost is humid enough to support the bacteria (and later on the fungi, Protozoa and higher organisms that join the party). Decomposition of urea produces ammonia which helps break down lignin in the woodier parts of the leaves, releasing sugars which further feed the increasing throng of species in the compost pile. It is worth putting effort into making sure that oxygen also gets into the heap and this will help speed the whole process up - something that is often missing in the bin bag leaf-mould approach.

We used to spread the leaves in the chicken run - the combination of the chooks scratching around and delivering concentrated poo into the leaf layer soon made lovely compost.

Alan33

I have the same problem. Have tried putting them in builders sacks but they take several years to rot down.
I saw a programme the other day (think it was Gardener's Wold) that suggested running the lawn mower over them to shred them then store them in a heap surrounded by chicken wire to allow air to get to them. It reckons they'll rot down after 12 months and makes good compost for lilies etc.
Didn't see Monty weeing on them though.

bertiewhite

Are you composting in the traditional sense, as in the same way as dealing with waste veg etc. or have you tried putting them in a cage and airing them out to make leaf mould?

unrecordings

DaftyDuck wrote: »

You are right that male wee is far, far better than female at deterring animals from the garden (or farm, if you pee copiously ), and there it's the maleness that's vital - vital enough that even a vasectomy reduces efficacy.

And if you have the wherewithal (or live in a tent) the first one of the day is best

unrecordings

bertiewhite wrote: »

Are you composting in the traditional sense, as in the same way as dealing with waste veg etc. or have you tried putting them in a cage and airing them out to make leaf mould?

I use a cage - £20 I think it was - a 1m cube it's great - easy to get stuff in the top, easy to shovel out the humus from the bottom, and easy to rummage round to get sheets of the part decomposed stuff that's brilliant as mulch

I would imagine it's not so good if you only have trees with small leaves though

Dizzy_Ditzy

We have a chicken wire "cage" for leaves. Never taken more than a year to break down and we have had some gorgeous compost out of it

It really is just 4 bamboo canes and chicken wire