Leaf Mould

Every autumn our streets fill with fallen leaves. Left on paths, they turn slippery and clog drains. But those same leaves are a free, valuable resource — and Johnstown Tidy Towns spent 2 years proving it.

We built 12 simple leaf-mould cages across three estates (Boyne, Priory, Millbrook) and let nature do the work. After one year the leaves broke down into a dark, crumbly mulch, ready to go back into local gardens. After two years we had soil to help grow more plants and trees,

We're now looking for more estates to host their own site.

Several benefits:

• Clearer, safer pavements

• Cleaner roadside drains

• Fewer weeds on paths and verges

• Less green waste sent away

• Free mulch and soil improver for your gardens

It turns a seasonal maintenance problem into something useful for the community.

• After ~1 year: a surface mulch — suppresses weeds, locks in soil moisture, buffers temperature extremes

• After ~2 years: fine enough to dig straight into soil

It's essentially forest floor, made to order for your community garden.

Yes — this is exactly what we want to hear from you about. 

A good site needs:

• A spot away from busy paths

• Some shelter from wind

• Easy access for dropping off leaves

• A few residents willing to keep an eye on it

• Agreement on who's responsible for the site

The cages are simple and can be built to suit your estate.

1. Identify a suitable location
Find a discreet area where the cages won't interfere with pedestrians, vehicles or other activities.

2. Collect suitable fallen leaves
Particularly leaves accumulating on pavements and around roadsides.

3. Fill and monitor the cages
Once filled, the leaves can be left to naturally decompose.

4. Use the finished leaf mould
The resulting material could be used around community planting, trees, flower beds or other gardens.

5. Start another batch
Once the first batch has settled and matured, the process can begin again.

Our first three sites (Boyne, Priory, Millbrook, alongside the Peoples Park) taught us a few practical lessons for anyone starting a site:

• It works — the leaves compact down into good, crumbly leaf mould within a year, with zero maintenance beyond filling and waiting

• Weed mats help — they stop tree roots invading the pile from underneath

• Protect signage — paper signs don't survive Irish weather outdoors; put them inside the cage

• Cage lids attract sitters — worth a "keep off" note or a small design tweak

• Leaf supply is weather-dependent — after successive storms in year one, council leaf-clearing sometimes beat us to it, so timing your collection matters

• Date your batches — a simple label helps you track which pile is ready to use

If your residents' association or community group has plenty of autumn leaves and a suitable corner of ground, get in touch — we'll share what we've learned and help you get set up.

📧 JohnstownTidyTowns@gmail.com

Related: Increase Lawn Biodiversity · Stop Weedkiller Use

If these bins are successful we aim to expand the number of sites in the future and contribute to a more sustainable and eco-friendly community.