Speeding up leaf mold production means you can use your mold sooner. In this article we will share a simple tip to help speed up the process.

Leaf mold differs from compost in that it provides very little actual nutritional value to the soil. So why bother with it at all? Well it’s main benefit is that it is great at improving the structure of your soil. This helps the soil retain water (and other nutrients) and provide a good environment for beneficial life such as worms, bacteria and other organisms. If you have heavy clay soil it also helps lighten the loam allowing more oxygen to get to the roots.

Unlike compost, which can be a fickle process to get right, making leaf mold is pretty simple. Simply sweep up your leaves and dump them in a pile in a shady corner of the garden and let nature do it’s work. The down side with this method is that it can take a while (up to 2-3 years) for a pile to break down fully.

A simple way to speed up the process dramatically is to reduce the size of the leaves you add to the pile. A garden shredder is a good tool for this, even if somewhat time consuming.

My technique to speed up my leaf mold is to use a lawn mower. I simply sweep the leaves into a long line and  pass over them with a lawn mower. The mower will pick the leaves up and chope them up as it goes. The end product is a leaf pile that is already partially broken down.

Using this technique I find that the leaf mold is perfectly useable by the following summer. I use the resulting leaf mold in two ways. Firstly as a mulch in summer to retain moisture. Secondly as a general soil improver which i add to the vegetable beds over winter.