Monty Don has admitted there is one gardening job for October that he is “obsessive” about, and it could help you protect local wildlife in your own area. He says that this month, “every fallen leaf is potential leafmould”, which he calls “garden gold.”
Why leafmould matters
Leafmould offers multiple advantages for your garden - it’s a nutrient-rich soil conditioner that mimics the natural forest floor, and helps boost water retention and encourage beneficial soil microbes. It can be made into or mixed with homemade potting mixes, seed-sowing substrates, winter mulches and lawn top-dressing.
“I am obsessive about making leafmould, gathering as many of the fallen leaves as possible, mowing them to chop them up and then stacking them in a big open heap so they can break down into a lovely rich, crumbly texture and become an essential component of our home-made potting compost,” he wrote on the October advice page on his website.
How to make leafmould
If you would like to do the same, Monty recommends sorting out a place to store the materials early in the month: “A simple bay made from four posts and chicken wire is ideal.”
Once you’ve collected excess fallen leaves and have run them over with a lawnmower to speed up the rotting process, pack the leaves into black bin bags, poke a few drainage holes in the bottom, tie the tops and leave nature to do its work. By keeping the leaves outside and letting them get damp, you'll create ideal conditions for fungi to break them down without needing to turn or mix them.
Protecting garden wildlife
On the other hand, Monty says, he also likes to leave drifts and piles of leaves under hedges and trees to provide over-wintering cover for hedgehogs, frogs, small mammals and insects.
To provide additional winter protection for the local wildlife, don’t completely neaten up your garden - leave stacks of logs and piles of prunings around. Allowing small animals to thrive in your garden will reward you with natural pest control in the form of beetles, centipedes and spiders that will take care of common garden pests like slugs, snails and aphids. The leftover leaves will also act like a thick blanket to protect shallow plant roots from hard winter frosts and temperature swings.
