I could have composted them. Autumn leaves as the carbon input, coffee grounds the nitrogen input. Voila! Our neighbourhood's waste turned into lovely home compost.
If I were more patient, I might have made leafmould. Wet the leaves and leave in a wire frame to break down over 1-2 years*. Leafmould can be used to make your own seed raising mix, potting mix or propagating mix ~ clearly valuable stuff.
I'll make a few more bicycle trips over Autumn to Williamstown specifically to collect autumn leaves and invite you to join me. This trip was intended only as a scouting mission to check the trees but I hit the jackpot.
*Lizzi says she can make it in time for Spring just by adding nitrogen a couple of times.
Written by Kate Leslie