Leaf Mulch

I've built myself a leaf mulch bin but can I put conifer leaves and pine needles in it? I will post pics later

 

cool thanks

 

I agree. If you use the black sack method, you can get very reasonable leaf mould in about a year. But pine needles seem to be highly resistant to this process.

 

Yes, conifer material is slow to break down.
Most other leaves are quicker, but they do vary quite a bit from species to species.
Lime (that is the European kind not the citrus kind), and magnolia seem to rot quickly
Beech and holly seem to be quite slow

 

I agree. Basically the shiny surfaced leaves take a long time to degrade. I have found that a mix of leaves and some thinly scattered grass cuttings in a black plastic bag works quickest.

By the way, don't go for the very cheap dustbin liners - they cannot take the weight and will split if you need to move a them (which you assuredly will, despite careful planning to the contrary!).

The reward of crumbly brown leaf compost is well worth the effort and many pot plants in particular will race away when planted up with it.

 

Thanks for all the info. Here's the pics:

 

That looks a fantastic construct - where did you get the chicken wire from - it's expensive at the garden centres.

I used the black bin trick last year with a few leaves from the garden - glad I did - I got lots of leaf mulch to help with a raised bed I'm building and digging into the soil.

This year I'm out looking for other leaves from next door neighbours - I have very poor soil and it needs all the help it can get - both in terms of my compost and the leaf mulch

 

LMRR - Do you have many cuttings from your conifers and softwoods? It may be of benefit to create a new compost bin for the more difficult to recycle material such as pine needles etc. That way you don't get half decomposed material in your regular compost.

 

TBH I don't have much cuttings from my conifers as the only ones I have are out the front but I do get loads of conifer stuff from next door falling in my garden. Maybe I should just put it in a black bag and leave it by itself