Leaf mold

I'm in the process of buying some seeds that require I sow them in 50% leaf mold and 50% grit.
well, I have the grit, but what do I do if I don't have leaf mold? is there an alternate medium I could use?

thanks for your help

I don't know what's widely available in Texas, but here in western NC I would say the nearest and cheapest thing to use would be finely milled pine bark.

I have posted in another thread on how to make leaf mold, and it does take a year or two, depending on the climate and if you mechanically break down the leaves first. But are you sure you can't find some forming naturally in your environment? I don't know the first thing about Richmond TX, so that might be the dumbest question ever.

thanks missg. I have 60 oak trees, but we mulch our leaves with the mower, and the ones we do collect go in a large bin with my kitchen scraps, etc, etc. I do not collect leaves alone.

also, I'll be sowing the seeds in Feb. and I know making leaf mold takes a while, that is why I was asking if there is an alternate medium. Wondering is mushroom compost is a good substitute.

thanks for your help

Whatever you choose (plain old screened compost will do) just sterilize it with boiling water (or in the microwave) if you are starting seeds in it.

Mushroom compost tends to be alkaline, which is exactly the opposite of leaf mold. Also, it gets a higher fertility rating compared to the "low" fertility rating for leaf mold. A visual comparison of the two reveals completely different appearances and textures. In sum, I would say the two could not be interchanged at all. I have also heard that if mushroom compost is not obtained from certified organic growers, it is often contaminated with pesticides.

Or you can stick the soil in a foil tray and bake it in a conventional oven at 180 degrees or a bit more for a few hours.

I wonder if leaf mold is ever sold in bags?

Vossner, I'm intrigued. What are these seeds?

Ditto, what are they? That may be a better thing to know!

Mushroom compost can also be made with high-salt manures, unfortunately.

vossner, you might enjoy reading this thread. For commiseration, if nothing else...
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/499950/

seeds of youth, silly!

j/k They will be coming from Chile and they are certain alstroemeria, a fancy lily and a monkey plant. I don't know that they HAVE to be sowed this way, but those are the vendor's instructions. Plus I think I read something about these plants preferring slightly acidic soil. I have clay, alkaline but amending with peat moss has been sufficient for my garden, so far.

The compost comes straight from Monterrey mushroom company, I guess it is what this grower discards after growing mushrooms. Dunno for sure.

Interesting read zeppy, thanks for the link. I do have some coir, could I use that instead of mushroom compost? I have never seen leaf mold in bags. Have any of you? I guess another thing I can do is ask this guy that owns a "soil supermarket" near me. It is so neat to drive by his place--mountains upon mountains of any soil, any sand, any compost you can imagine. His business booms.

My suggestion: If you use coir, it is best mixed with another thing. It is great junk, just left of center on the pH scale. You could probably get the right mix with say, 1:1:1 of perlite:peat:coir that would be just right. Also, just make sure that what you use comes out as a soiless mix.

I have read the necessity for acid for Alstroemeria, so I ave to try some in my alkaline clay like yours! Good luck with thoses seeds,
Kenton

Vossner, that's nice of you to say that about that link because I posted it into the wrong thread. Because I'm a DUMMY!

Isn't there a nice little grove of trees in a friend's yard you can find some leaf mold under?

I found a place about 1 hr from my house that sells a small bag for leaf mold for $8. I need to go in that business! lol

Anyway, since most of my compost piles were created from leaves, I think I can use this for my project. In the meantime, DH collected leaves for me today. We put them in the bag, wetted it, closed it with a tie wrap, then pricked the bag with a pitchfork. Since I am concerned about the bag deteriorating, I have placed it by a sunny window in his shop. I will forget about it and open in a year or so to see what is happening. Will report then.

I know this is a silly pic, but who knows, it might serve as inspiration to somebody.

Edited to add, BTW, this is exclusively dried oak leaves.

This message was edited Feb 4, 2006 8:31 PM

Voss - I tried using black plastic bags to allow the leaves to break down but the bags broke down
and were a bit of a mess. This year I put the shredded leaves in a big plastic tub. We'll see how that
works. (I shred most of the leaves with the bagger on my mulching mower & mulch my beds with them.
But its always nice to have leaf mold on hand for various projects, isn't it! And $8 / small bag? Whew)
tam

tam, DH shop is enclosed, that should help some. Thanks for the comment, I will keep my eyes open in case the window location is too harsh on the bag and/or I need to change bags during the process. I didn't shred my leaves, too lazy. I'll just have to wait 3 times as long for my "gold".

Sounds good. And Voss - I'm still waiting for the HPS seeds to arrive.