When I was a jobbing maintenance gardener I would dread this time of year. I would already be tired after too many days spent raking, sweeping and piling up leaves. Some gardens had huge horse chestnuts, oaks or plane trees that would shed thousands of leaves in autumn. Every single one needed to be picked up and composted. Far too often, right at the last minute when I had formed a decent pile in the corner, a gust of wind would cruelly blow them everywhere so I would have to start over again.

The larger gardens had generous compost bins, so it became an annual cycle of emptying out last year’s leaf mould, by now nicely composted, and refilling the bins with the fresh new leaves. It signified the end of the year of horticultural manicuring and the beginning of a more relaxed time when there is rarely a rush to do anything — a thought that kept me going through many a grey, pre-iPod day.

The end product, however, although it may not be the most exciting part of gardening, is extremely useful stuff and particularly satisfying to use in the garden from whence it came. Leaf mould can be used directly as a garden mulch when laid thickly over soil and around plants, or as a general organic soil conditioner when dug in. If it’s fine enough, or sieved through and mixed 50-50 with sharp sand, it will make a good peat-free sowing compost and can also be used mixed with general garden compost and soil for potting up larger plants. Unlike other home-produced composts it’s likely to be completely weed free because no seed or weed roots will creep in. Even if they do they will lose their viability during the breakdown process. It’s also light, free draining and low in nutrients, meaning that autumn mulched plants won’t be encouraged to put on soft vulnerable growth before the harsh frosts.

Leaf mould is the simplest concoction to make as long as you have a little patience. You don’t need large compost bins either because it can be made in black plastic bags and stored anywhere out of sight, such as behind the shed or down a side alley. I find that it’s best either to shred the leaves first if you have a shredder or (if it’s not a windy day) mow over the leaves with a lawnmower to shred them into smaller pieces before raking up. It’s worth it: the shredding will considerably speed up their breakdown. Whole leaves will take about 12-18 months to turn into a friable compost, but, if shredded, this can be reduced to 6-12 months. Once shredded all you do is fill a black bag with them, give them a good watering and tie the bag at the top. Puncture the bottom of the bag with a garden fork so that any excess water can run away and then stack as many bags as you have out of the way. Easy.

The only rules are:

1) Don’t let them dry out. You may need to sprinkle a little water into the bags, so have a look every now and then.

2) Don’t mix evergreen and deciduous leaves because the evergreens will make the compost acidic. This may not be the end of the world — depending on what you grow — but evergreen leaves will also take 2-3 years to break down properly.

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