Reforesting

Tree prunings, rose prunings, pine needles, sawdust (except in small quantities), wood shavings, and thick branches from hedges should be excluded though thin chip-pings will decay eventually. Leather can be composted in time, and if anything fails to rot, or a heap stays partly decayed, use it to start the next one. Grass mowings for composting can often be obtained from council-mown verges, parks and sports grounds, and lawn tennis clubs.
Leaf mould making. Dead leaves are wasted more often than other compost material, when they could make leaf-mould to add lasting moisture-retaining humus to any soil.
Leaf mould is rather better than peat so far as plant foods are concerned and was chosen at Kew instead of the modern substitute. It carries no vegetable diseases; if it is well made it contains no weed seeds. If there had ~been any troubles in the soil from its continued use Kew would have found them after the first century of use
If you have a shaded, out-of-the-way corner where nothing will grow, this is the place for your leaf mould heap, which needs no activator or compost box. Surround your heap with wire netting on stout posts to prevent the leaves blowing round the garden if the corner is a windy one
Five cubic yards of leaves stack to three and =rot to two, which is roughly , a ton of solid humus. Discard dead branches, never include any weeds or green material, and build your stack up to 4 feet high, treading it down firmly and watering it during the first summer if the season is a dry one Leaf mould is not compost; it decays slowly by the action of woodland bacteria and fungi and by the second spring the head will be ready to chop down with the spade and use, dug into the flower and vegetable garden or spread on the surface under shrubs.
Sifted leaf mould is excellent in potting soil, and spread over lawns on poor soil it is a good. dressing. Use it in the spring or early autumn (at the rate of 1-2 lb a square yard) when the worms have time to take it down to add humus among the grass roots.
Kitchen wastes in winter. If in winter there are too few weeds to cover the kitchen wastes, bury them in the heap. An alternative is to dig pea trenches spade wide and a foot deep, and to cover with soil after each emptying. When a trench is full scatter lime generously on the surface and leave this to wash down until the heap sinks, leaving room to cover spring-sown peas. Potato peelings should not go in pea trenches — odd eyes will grow and crowd the peas unless the winter is very cold.