Leaf mold

Laub-erde, /. leaf mold. -grUn, n. a kind of chrome green, laubgriin, a. leaf reen. 

Organic gardening methods can cut your costs. Making compost and leaf mold, for example, can eliminate the need to purchase soil Improvers and fertilizers, and you can save considerable amounts of money on organic produce by growing your own. 

Make compost and leaf mold to feed the soil. 

Compost pile Leaf-mold store Plants for wildlife Mulch... 

Leaf mold—decomposed fallen leaves 2. Spent mushroom compost 3. Garden compost 4. Manure and other waste from a chicken run ... 

Leaf mold (see also p.44-45) Low fertility. Mulch or dig in, depending on age. 

The following fall—rough, year-old leaf mold makes an excellent mulch. 

Two-year-old leaf mold is much finer and can be used as soil improver, in a topdressing mixture for lawns, or as an ingredient in potting mix for container plants. 

When leaves drop from trees in the fall, they decay on the ground to form a rich, dark material called leaf mold, which is an excellent soil conditioner. Making leaf mold in your yard is easy to do. All you need is a supply of fallen leaves, and a simple container to stop them from blowing away. Throwing leaves out with the trash, or burning them, is a waste of a valuable resource. 

Any leaves from deciduous trees and shrubs can be gathered up in fall to make leaf mold. Do not use evergreens, such as laurel and holly. Leaves of some species take longer than others to decay, but all rot down eventually. An easy way to collect leaves from a lawn is to run the mower over them. The grass and chopped leaf mixture in the mower bag will rot down easily. (Alternatively, mow without the bag on the mower worms will soon take the chopped leaves down into the lawn.) To supplement supplies, collect leaves from guiet streets or, with permission, from parks and cemeteries. Leaves from busy roadsides can be polluted with oil and vehicle emissions. Some communities collect leaves and produce leaf mold to sell or give to the public. Never collect leaves or leaf mold from woodlands. 

Simple leaf mold containers can be made with netting and posts, or bought. There is no need for a lid or solid sides, nor is size critical—just big enough to hold your supply of leaves. Smaller quantities can be stuffed into plastic bags. Make a few air holes with a garden fork when the bags are full, and tie the top loosely. An even simpler method is to just pile the leaves in a sheltered corner and wait. 

A leaf mold heap may heat up very slightly, but the process is generally slow and cold. It can take anything from nine months to... 

Leaf mold can generally be used as a low-fertility soil improver (seepp.34-35) and a moisture-retaining mulch after one year. It should be darker and more crumbly than the newly fallen leaves, but does not have to be fully rotted. For a finer product, for use in seed and potting mixes or as a topdressing for... 

Leaf mold containers The simplest cages are made from four wooden stakes driven into the ground, then wrapped with chioken wire or rabbit fenoing, which is then stapled to the posts. The leaves deerease dramatieally in volume as they decay. 

Leaf mold (see pp.44-45) is a homemade, short-term mulch. Best used over a membrane. For annual or perennial beds. 

Clockwise from top left) Biodegradable mulches An ornamental bark mulch, good around shrubs and at the base of hedges lawn clippings used as a mulch in the vegetable plot, here spread over layers of newspaper (see also overleaf)] one-year-old leaf mold well-rotted straw. 

If you regularly make a leaf mold pile (see pp.44-45), you may well have an opossum sleeping in it for at least part of the year. Leave a gap in the chicken wire, or whatever supports your leaf heap, so that small animals can get in and out easily. 

Cool and damp Frogs, toads, salamanders, beetles, and hoverflies may all make use of a cool, dark, probably damp site make a leaf mold pile see pp.44-45) or leave a pile of logs in a sheltered spot for them to nest in. 

Clean sweep Fallen leaves need to be swept from the lawn to keep It healthy, but should never be burned pile or bag them up to make leaf mold see pp.44-45). You can fashion a besom, or lawn broom, yourself by binding a bundle of twiggy prunings to a wooden shaft. An alternative If leaf-fall is not too heavy Is to mow over the leaves and leave them, shredded, In situ worms will soon take them down into the soil. 

A short-term mulch such as leaf mold or fine bark will help to keep the soil moist. Cocoa shells are also suitable for annual plantings, but may be too rich for fertile soil. 

Space Select vegetables to suit the space available. Even quite small areas can be very productive, using vertical as well as horizontal growing space. Remember to allow space for making leaf mold and compost. 

A low-fertility soil improver such as leaf mold can be incorporated as the bed is dug initially. This deep cultivation is useful where the soil is compacted. It results in a deep, fertile zone with an open, free-draining structure into which roots can easily penetrate. Medium- to high-fertility materials, if required, should only be mixed into the top 6-8 in (15-20 cm). Increases in yield are noticeable and plants cope better in drought. Make the edging at least 6 in (15 cm) high as the soil level will rise considerably. 

Garden compost Grass clippings Leaf mold or fallen leaves Well-rotted manure Mushroom compost (Note this is very alkaline)... 

Cabbage family Dig in winter vetch in the spring, or add compost Sow and plant summer brassicas plant overwintering brassicas with lettuce and other intercrops (see p.259) between. If you don t want so many brassicas, grow sweet corn. Apply compost to the overwintering plants in late summer spread leaf mold over the rest of the plot... 

Leaf mold and other low-fertility soil improvers these are beneficial preceding root crops. Apply anywhere as a mulch to improve structure, especially over winter. 

Plot 4 The onions, garlic, and fava beans planted the year before (see Plot 1). Grow salads over winter. Add leaf mold in spring. 

Details of preparation and storage conditions for crops that last well through the winter are given here (seepanel, left). Some other crops can also be stored for shorter periods for example, carrots, parsnips, beets, rutabagas, and celeriac keep well if packed in moist sand or fine leaf mold in shallow trays or boxes. 

Before planting, dress the soil with a 1-in (2-3-cm) layer of garden compost or leaf mold and lightly work it in. 

Just before planting, work in well-rotted manure at the rate of one 2-gallon (10-liter) pail to every 20 sq ft (2 sq m), or garden compost at twice that rate. If organic matter levels are low in the soil, also apply about 1 in (2-3 cm) of leaf mold and lightly fork it in. 

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