Lovely wet leaves

Heartinthedirt

Garden full of lovely wet leaves just waiting to go in the leaf mold bag. Only problem is they won't put themselves there! Ground is currently in a semi-liquid state so I can't mow them up, and don't have funds/storage for a leaf blower powerful enough to blow them into a pile. Does anyone have tips on the best way to get them up? I was thinking a plastic rake, to avoid tearing the grass. Thoughts? 

B3

I rake them into a pile and use two trays you put under small troughs to collect them up  - when I can get round to it.

Fire

If you are in the south-east I would wait a while. The forecast is for dry weather for the next couple of weeks.

Lyn

We have these, one of the kids bought them for a present,  we just leave the leaves now, the worms take then down through the winter, cut out the middle man, (compost heap) 
https://www.wilko.com/wilko-leaf-grabber-green/p/0337291?gclid=Cj0KCQjww4OMBhCUARIsAILndv5bXF0rMhNzDQ6RcBW4ppqquRuEzWf6nut6WEZhQ3NYTpmLdEFTiygaAso2EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

LG_

I love my plastic rake. Used it yesterday to gather wet leaves from the pavement. 

Mrs-B3-Southampton,-Hants

I never collect leaves off the pavement cos dogs like to use our wall as a toilet.

Fairygirl

Rake or brush, depending on the location, and the snow shovel for lifting them 

Meomye

Sorry to bob in, but could someone tell me what to do with them once swept up? ie, what do you put them in? for how long? and then what?  many tia.

Fairygirl

@Meomye - you can just put them in bin bags with some holes in them, and tuck them somewhere to rot down. 
The normal method is to have a large , fairly open container with chicken wire or mesh, for them, but it depends on the room you have. I've done both, and the bags work just as well, if not more quickly, than the open bins. 
The time they'll take to rot down will vary too, depending on the type of leaf, and your general conditions.  Around a year is about average. If you shred them it's quicker. 

Nel_Staffs

@Fairygirl. Is it OK to compress the leaves to get lots in one bag , or better to pack them loosely? 

Topbird

I rake mine up with a plastic rake (a wide toothed Wolf Garten one) and pile them up (as many as I can cram in)  in 1 tonne builders bags before sticking them in a corner open to the elements. The bags are fairly loose weave plastic so air and moisture gets in from underneath as well as from the top. I usually have to give them a water a couple of times over winter because it's dry here and the leaves rot down quicker if they're damp. 

I don't use mine as leaf mould as such but add them to the compost bin by the armful when I'm starting to get a surplus of greens in late spring.

IME the rate of decomposition depends more on which leaves you're using rather than how you store them. Birch, apple and ash leaves are pretty quick. Beech leaves seem to take forever...