Why collect leaves?

With the price of compost rising, quality falling and a complete ban on peat scheduled for 2024 in the UK, collecting autumn leaves could save you a small fortune. Once collected, you have several options to make use of this free resource - add them to your existing compost heap in stages, save them over winter and use them as a leaf-mould mulch the following spring, or let them rot down for a full 12-15 months to produce compost for the year after next.

Tools
Pop-up Bag
Heavy-duty Bin (Refuse) Bags
Rake, Grass Rake or Stiff Brush

Step 1

Line the pop-up bag with one of the heavy duty bin bags.

Step 2

Rake up a heap of leaves and fill the bag.

Step 3

Remove the bin bag and tie the top.

Step 4

Repeat Steps 1-3 until you have enough to fill your car.

Step 5

You now have the choice of making leaf mould, or turning the leaves into compost.
 

Step 1

Make sure the leaves are thoroughly wet. Pierce some drainage holes in the base of the bag so they don't stagnate

Step 2

Squeeze out the air and tie the tops of the bags to hold in the moisture. You can add more leaves and repeat the process if there is space. Store the bags till next spring.

Step 3

Leaf mould can be used as a mulch around trees and shrubs to suppress weeds and feed the soil, or added in layers to your compost heap and mixed with grass clippings etc.

Step 1

If you wish to speed up the composting process, spread the leaves on your lawn, and run the lawnmower over them to chop them much finer. The smaller the pieces, the faster they will break down.

Step 2

Transfer the leaves to a compost bay, and ensure they are thoroughly wet.

Making Compost Bays from Pallets

Step 3

Top up the bay with more leaves as they reduce in volume - this photo was taken two weeks after the previous one. The reduction in volume will depend on how wet the leaves were when you collected them.

Step 4

Cover the heap with an old piece of carpet to exclude light, but allow water through. If you use a composter with a waterproof top like the "dalek" types, you will need to keep checking that the heap stays wet.
 

Step 5

Check the heap every 2-3 weeks to ensure it is still moist. If you cannot squeeze a few drops of water from a handful of the material, add more water. Preferably use rainwater or leave a can of mains water to stand for 24 hours before use.
 

Step 6

As time passes, add kitchen peelings, lawn trimmings, newspaper, brown cardboard etc. to the heap and turn over the top layers to incorporate the new material into the heap.

Step 7

After 12 months, transfer the heap to another bay, turning the compost and mixing it as you go. This bay is half the volume of the empty one behind it, showing how much the heap has reduced.

Step 8

With the first bay empty, you are ready for this year's leaves to start the process again. Don't add any more material to the original heap.

Step 9

This image shows some of my batch of compost from leaves collected 12 months ago. It is ready to use now, but I don't need it till spring.