How To Make Leaf Mould For Your Hostas

John Plant
2 days ago
4 min read

Most people have heard of leaf mould but exactly what is it, where does it come from, what can it be used for?

Leaf mould, also known as leaf mulch, is a form of compost made entirely from tree leaves, usually deciduous trees. Those that shed their leaves every autumn.

We tackled this subject back in October 2024 and suggest that you also read this blog.

https://www.rewelahostas.com/post/leaf-mould-for-your-hostas (18 Oct 24)

What is leaf mould?

As the many, many leaves fall from the trees, generally, but not exclusively, in the autumn, we do our best to tidy up our paths and borders by raking up the fallen leaves and putting them somewhere to save. The lucky ones have a smaller leaf-blower to assist. Collecting leaves may well be a weekly job to do.

Leaf mould is simply a process of collecting and storing that years leaves and waiting for 2 yrs or so to get the correct decomposition, turning the pile occasionally.

Once decomposed, about 2 yrs, the leaf mould itself does not have much nutrient value but is a valuable source of natural organic material for your garden.

So why collect the leaves every year?

Raking and gathering leaves to make leaf mould is great physical exercise, building strength and burning calories. Nothing better on a crisp frosty morning! One of my favourite exercises of the year.

One of the best parts of the autumn is that sweet, gentle aroma of leaves slowly decomposing. Not only is the intense heat of summer cooled off, but deciduous trees have dropped dead leaves onto the soil surface. We recommend that you do not mix evergreen leaves with deciduous ones. Keep pine needles and evergreen leaves in a separate pile as these take 2 - 3 yrs to rot down. Once rotted, they can be added to normal leaf mould.

Spreading and collecting leaves in the garden is such a powerful tool. The earth invented it! This is how lush forest floors practice regeneration on their own.

If you, like many, have a grassed area or lawn, taking the leaves from the surface is almost essential for the health of the lawn. If left they will affect the grass and even rot areas. These can be removed with a rake or blower, much like the rest of the garden, or mow the leaves up when you cut the grass. Because the leaves are cut up together with the grass clipping, it is probably best to put these in the compost, rather than the leaf mould pile, as these decompose at different rates.

It’s for free. All these leaves fall to the ground without any effort or cost to you, so why not collect and store to use at a later date. It’s such an easy process.

What benefits does leaf mould have?

At the very least, the well-rotted leaf mould can be used on your border as a mulch. It will help reduce weed germination as well as retain moisture. When eventually forked into the soil, gives a good organic texture for plants to get their roots into.

We tend to use leaf mould in our potting compost mixes, with well-rotted manure, home grown compost mixed with proprietary compost. Leaf mould does nothing for the nutrient content of the compost, but with all the other additive, certainly does make the mix go a lot further. The disadvantage are the weed seeds that germinate from the home-grown compost and leaf mould. However, this is a small price to pay. Sterilising the mix, before you use it, will eradicate the weeds. Do you have a soil steriliser? Most of us don’t.

You could also combine the sieved compost with other elements such as compost or sand to produce an airy seed sowing mix, for those who wish to produce from seed. The sieve needs to be a little finer for seed sowing.

So, why not take advantage of this free offering from nature, and create some wonderful brown earth for your garden?

How can we save these leaves and create said leaf mould?

All you need is a container. Be practical about it though. A very small garden may be able to get away with a few plastic sacks stacked in a remote corner for a couple of years. Don’t forget to put breather holes in the bag or it will rot rather than decompose. It needs air to decompose.

A much bigger garden will need a bigger solution. A small area of chicken wire held up with stakes may work.

We have many leaves and have built specific use bays from concrete blocks. We usually fill 3 of these bays each year and turn then 2-3 times before use.

A much larger area can be made using posts & chicken wire.

Once the leaves have fully decomposed, they can be used.

However you want to collect these leaves, you can do so, with ease. There is no reason not to do this. The decomposed leaf mould is a valuable addition to the garden and it’s absolutely free… just a bit of effort from you.

If you want to overdose on Hosta Knowledge & discover all our past Hosta blogs click here

Shop for Hostas HERE