Leaves in bags can decompose but they must be moist. The speed at which they decompose depends largely upon the material. In general shredded material will break down more quickly than whole leaves and the nature of the leaves themselves plays a role. A maple leaf will decompose more quickly than a waxy magnolia leaf. The organisms doing the breakdown are temperature dependent so extreme cold will inhibit the process. One note of caution is that bags will degrade in sunlight and begin to break into tiny pieces. I would suggest placing them in a shaded spot as this will slow the degradation of the plastic as well as help to maintain the moisture within the bag. Some air in the bag is also helpful to prevent anaerobic breakdown and the resultant odors.

Thanks coffeehaus.
Well it's supposed to rain tomorrow so that should do it. I didn't know I should keep it moist. Good call. Also,keeping the bags in the sun might melt the bags I wouldn't have thought of either. I have them piled up in a shady spot right now. All but two which are on my sunny patio. I will move those in the morning.
They are crunchy brown leaves. Not waxy ones. Do you think it will be done by July or August? It boils here around that time and I'm sure my plants would like to have some mulch.

A bag of crunchy brown leaves can be rolled around and squeezed, etc. to break of the dry, brittle leaves into small pieces and you can dump the leaf "powder" wherever it is useful or use the method discussed above. If the leaves are smashed into a fairly fine powder they can be spread around a lawn.

you could also mow them into your lawn, which will add OM to the soil. they will disappear from sight in no time.....

whether they are 'done' or not by summer probably wouldn't matter, it will still serve the same purpose of keeping your plants soil form dryin out, and keep soil cool, they'll still break down right on the ground, which will feed your plants...

Thanks for asking that question Sunny. I also have lots of bagged leaves. They've been bagged in moist plastic bags left over from my Starbucks runs. The bags are currently in shade, with holes, stacked up. I kinda feel like I have bags of gold just waiting to be mixed with the grass clippings once the grass starts growing.

The above comments are correct. The leaves can be used as mulch at any time. I receive hundreds of bags in the fall. They are dumped at the edge of my property by dumptrucks and I then drag the bags to their intended locations in the landscape beds and they are opened and spread as mulch. I do leave some of the bags unopened and stacked near my vegetable garden. Those bags are spread between rows in the vegetable garden once transplants have been set or direct-seeded veggies have germinated and are tall enough to be mulched. An added bonus is that I, being a cheap-o, save and fold the bags. I have not purchased trash bags in years.

As an aside, I often find unwanted material in the bags. Among my treasures have been bags of pet litter, trash and even road-kill. I expect to take the good with the bad in these endeavors as the material is free. My bulk leaf deliveries have some of the same "contaminants" but oh well. It keeps the leaves out of the landfill and my soil benefits. I haven't had to buy mulch in years and I'm mulching an area of about an acre in both veggies and landscape plants.

Do you guys think leaf mulch/mould is an acceptable substitute for peat moss? It seems like they both play the same role in hold in moisture and insulation.

Uh oh... I hear my Mom calling.

Karen

Karen, You naughty girl!! Don't you know it's impolite not to answer a gardener's question? LOL!!

My Dear Takadi,

You may have opened a can of worms with your question and assumption, but that's OK. I'll move beyond the debate of peat in the gardens and let you know that leaf mulch/mold is a wonderful soil amendment which does provide moisture retention and insulation to gardens as well as much needed carbons in some cases. I have been using shredded leaves and leaf mold for years and all is good and growing. :O) Besides, it's FREE!

"Do you guys think leaf mulch/mould is an acceptable substitute for peat moss?"

I would prefer leaves over peat, I think they are better all the way around.

Lloyd

Here is a link that might be useful: Nutrients in leaves

oh no....not the peat moss !!!!!!

R

You guys crack me up!
You know how when you make hanging baskets they tell you to line the basket with Sphagnum moss. Do you think the leaves will be a good substitute?

Sunny - when the "great debate" came up recently I found this link about moss versus peat. Don't know if this link will help or not but I gather there is a difference between the hanging basket stuff and the put-it-in-the-ground stuff.

Val

Here is a link that might be useful: Sphagnum Moss vs Sphagnum Peat Moss

Thanks to pt03 for the link to the Rutgers study. When talking to groups or individuals it's nice to have some hard data to display rather than just anecdotal evidence.

Coffee, I hear ya.

There is one for grass as well.

Lloyd

Here is a link that might be useful: Rutgers grass info

A second thanks pt03.

Yes, sunny, you can use leaves. You can also use hay or straw. You can use a thick pad of grass clippings. You may need to water more often, but I have to water my pots daily no matter what.

Other than keeping the leaves in the bags moist, is there something I can add to them to speed up the decomposition in the bags, such as coffee grounds, manure, or kitchen scraps?
thanks,
molly

If you're trying to get compost, then you'll want to add something with more N, such as the items you mentioned. If you're going for leaf mold, just leave them in the bags with some holes poked in the bags and try to keep some moisture in them.

I'm going for compost, so I will add my coffee grounds and some purchased (bagged) manure. Thank you so very much for your help.
molly

Leaves and leaf mould or shredded leaf mulch is great stuff and I never use peat moss in my garden ever. I have found leaves to be superior soil builders along with good compost.

I suggest that you cut a couple holes in the bottom of each bag then water the leaves really well and then close the top of the bags to retain the moisture. Make sure that there is good ground contact between the holes in the bottom of the bag and the soil. This will allow red worms to come up out of the soil and into the bag to eat up the leaves. I did this once with cardboard and the red worms came right up out of the soil and ate the cardboard up. :)

That's a good idea, Steve. I have my bags in a damp area so there is probably lots of worms. Or will be.
Actually,now that I think about it there's usually lots of slugs there,too. mmmm.....probably wouldn't be a good idea to do that then, huh?

Nice to see a fellow Virginian!