BOB FLOWERDEW
This week, Bob has some smart ideas for your fallen leaves
“Burning leaves is a terrible waste”
HAVE you ever wondered why we make such efforts to clear up autumn leaves when they tend to disappear by spring? It’s true – they mostly disappear, save for those in deep piles against walls, fences or hedges.
This is mainly down to worms, which pull leaves down into their burrows where they chew them to pieces. Other critters such as woodlice and earwigs may consume some, and others are utilised by bigger animals to line nests – but it’s mostly worms that dispose of leaf fall. So why can’t we leave it to them?
Admittedly, they cannot do much about the leaves on solid paths and drives. However, they will clear leaves from lawns, borders and loose paths, albeit slowly. So ideally, we would let the worms do the work for us, maybe even brushing leaves from solid paths onto lawns or bare soil in borders.
The trouble is that worms are so slow – and any layers of leaves that are lying on top of grass and low-growing plants tend to kill these off – so it’s sensible to reduce the bulk. Collecting leaves up and burning them on a smouldering bonfire, while traditional, is a terrible waste and also polluting. It’s better to turn the leaves into leafmould.
Just pack them into plastic bin bags, and then secrete these away somewhere hidden for a couple of years. When you come back, the leaves will have turned into a brown, friable compost-like material. This is excellent for adding to potting composts or for use as mulch – most plants love a mulch of leafmould.
You can speed up the breakdown by collecting your fallen leaves with a rotary mower along with some fresh grass clippings, as the mix rots down quicker – and faster still if you sneakily pee in the bag as well!