Leaf Mould
The changing of the leaves marks the beginning of fall here in New England. The cool air comes in from the north, and the leaves change to their respective oranges, reds, and yellows depending of the species. It’s such a welcome change to me every year, and to many others who come here to look at the fall foliage.
That change also signals work still needing to be done be it cutting plants down to the ground, digging up tuber, planting bulbs or any other innumerable task still needing to be accomplished, but the biggest task of all is cleaning up all the leaves that have fallen.
Many people either blow or rake the leaves into the woods or to the side of the road to be picked up. What is being missed is a great opportunity to turn those leaves into leaf mould or brown gold as I like to call it that has that forest floor smell to it.
Leaf mould itself is low in nutrients, but what it does to your soil structure, and organic matter in it is where it shines, and you get for free if you make it your self. When you add leaf mould to your soil or even your pots it slowly makes the soil darker, and enhances your soil structure so instead of having a compacted soil it becomes loose and fluffy so you’ll have better water, and air movement, increasing the beneficial bacteria, and fungi within your soil. Adding leaf mould makes your soil more acidic so if you have any alkaline soil loving plants you might want to consider not adding it to the soil.
Leaf mould is surprisingly easy to make, and I am surprised no one makes it commercially its extremely easy to get, and make. It could replace sphagnum peat moss or coir in potting or compost mixes. To make leaf mould make a cage out of chicken wire then just add leaves. When I’m collecting the leaves I mulch them up with my mower really well then rake them up, and add them to the cage. You can just add leaves straight into the cage, but it will take around two years for the leaves to decompose so mulching them will shorten that time down to a year so next fall you should have beautiful leaf mould.
Your leaf mould pile doesn’t need turning like a compost pile does however wet it down once a month particularly if the month has been dry which will slow the decomposition of the leaves.
If you don’t have the space to make a cage for your leaf mould don’t be discouraged you can use a black garbage bag. Poke holes in it so excess water can drain out, and twist don’t tie the top, and store wherever you choose.
Give making leaf mould a try your doing something with the leaves you collect which benefits not only you because you do get a workout doing it, but your soil as well, at no cost.
