Making Leaf Mold

Collecting fallen leaves to make leaf mold is a bit of a no-brainer. All you need is somewhere to store them for a couple of years. This could just be a heap in a sheltered corner of your garden. We've made an open wire container or you can buy hessian sacks which also do the job and keep the leaves from blowing around.

If you can be patient, after three year you will have a wonderful rich leaf mold which can be mixed with general compost to make a fabulous potting compost. If, like me, you are impatient, you can add it in layers to your compost heap after one or two years. I use it as a 'brown' - or carbon enabling - addition to the compost heap in the summer to offset all the grass mowings.

Submitted by Jane, plot 9