There is a giant ficus tree near my house. It is estimated to be a 100
years old, and is almost six storeys high. It made much of my garden
shaded all day and it fills the garden with leaves. This winter, I
have collected all the leaves that were ripped by the strong winds
(Mostly green leaves) and used them as mulch. They conserved humidity
very well. They have a unique property: Unlike many soft-leaved
plants, when the leaves dry-out, they curl. This made me think it is
good to add as layers of 'brown matter' in my compost pile: The curled
leaves create lots of air pockets and allow a better aeartion of the
pile.
I had two compost piles, but only one was successfully brough to the
thermophillic stage. In both piles, however, something went wrong: The
composting process seemed to stop. As I turned the two piles over, I
noticed that the decayed ficus leaves were the dominant feature in the
piles. They were decaying and looked black, but the decayed 'green
matter' seemed to have dissolved, instead of producing compost. This
raises doubts whether the leaves I have used are good for that
purpose. I don't know how much of the dissolved matter was absorbed by
the leaves, compared to the amount that leeched to the ground. (The
piles were protected from rain).
I can't just try by adding the leaves to the potting soil: I did that
in the past. I added the leaves to an already rich soil. Although the
mix was retaining water very well, it held too much water and caused
many plants to rot. If I add fewer leaves, there would not be enough
home-made compost and I would have to buy.