Collecting leaves

[Barry]

I spent a good lunch time today. I drove my car to beneath three massive trees, got out some green, drawstring plastic bags and filled them full of leaves. I shall be back tomorrow and the day after that until the Council finally despatch a truck and clean them all away. It's a race against time! I've used the rotted leaves over the last few years to grow lots of things in, including onions, which seem to thrive on leaf mould! Not only do I enjoy collecting leaves, but I also help clear the pavements, so that passers by don't fall over. However, by far the biggest thrill is when the leaves rot to the most beautiful black compost. People around here give me funny looks when I am leaf collecting, but they don't know what they are missing!
Any other leaf collectors out there?

[Tigger]

Yes - but I've got enough work to be had collecting up the windfall from my Walnut tree!

[Allan]

Time was in Leaterhead that I took delivery of the leaves that the council had tipped. When that stopped I found a road where the residents used to put their leaves in piles on the pavement which made it easy to collect them. When we first moved to Hereford we got a good harvest of beech leaves at times from the park but we missed several years when the wind swept them all into the river. Oak and B
beech are best, avoid if you can the planes, maples, horse chestnuts, but a few of those can go in the ordinary compost. I have an electric steriliser to use if I want to make really sure of the leaves and any garden soil for homemade compost. Definitely better than peat in my estimation, runner beans start well in just leafmould. The two-handled hinged pickup tool saves a lot of back- and wrist ache.
Allan

[Barry]

Allan,
I went to my garden centre once and asked them where they kept the leaf mould. Of course, you can't buy it commercially. Afterall, who would try to sell what already grows on trees!!
Regards
Barry
PS. Really missed out today, the Council had got to my favourite trees before I did and cleared everything away. Thank goodness there is still more up there.

[madasafish]

collect about 50 sacks* of leaves from garden: mixed oak/sycamore/beech/willow and birch.

Place loads in pile on lawn and run over with rotary mower.. reduces volume and ensures they rot down quicker.
Onto compost heap for a year...

* polypropelene sack approx 70cm wide x 70cm long x 80cm deep

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Barry, here in Bedfordshire the leaves are holding on tight, we have had a few sycamore leaves fall, but not my favorite, oak and beech.
I am really starting to get withdrawal symptoms, as ever since i was a young boy i have walked from one end of the village to the other going past the rookery, kicking the leaves about as i go.
Yes i know its a pretty childish thing to do, but i enjoy it as much now as i did when i was a boy.
Little things please little minds i suppose.

[seedling]

Hi Old Herbaceous
Glad its not just me who gets all excited about kicking through a pile of leaves. I also still like rattling a stick along iron railings. Growing up is over-rated in my mind.
Seedling