How to Make Leaf Mould | Leaf Mould - So Many Uses in Garden
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ส.ค. 2024
- Today on the smallholding its time to turn all those autumn leaves into leaf mould, also known as gardener's gold.
Leaf Mould has many uses: -
Young leaf mould that has not completely broken down can be used as a mulch to cover bare soil. It will help suppress weeds, help to protect the soil in the winter and will help to keep moisture in the soil and improve the structure of the soil.
Well-rotted leaf mould, which is at least 2 years old, will be dark brown and crumbly in texture and can be used to create your own potting compost by mixing it with other ingredients. The leaf mould improves the structure of potting mix making it more moisture-retentive. All good for creating the holy grail of moisture-retentive, free draining soil!
#Leafmould #Leafmold #blackgold #SmallholdingUk #NoDig #Smallholding #SelfSufficiency #Homesteading #Smallfarming #Growyourown #Planting #Sowing #Vegetables #Softfruits #Fruit
I bought a garden shredder last year after watching your videos on composting leaves. I'd been composting them for years, but just by filling black sacks with them and leaving them for 2 years. I'm just using my leafmould compost from last winter and it's the best I've ever made. i've been gardening for 40 years but I can still learn a few tricks, thank you.
I think with gardening and growing your own you never stop learning 👍
Thank you
Are the black sacks you use breathable or are they solid plastic?
Where I live, in front of my house is a large expanse of grass with three large Oak trees. Two years ago, thousands of leaves fell and I collected them into bags which I kept in the back garden. This year I checked them and rebagged them. Beautiful leafmold. Never done it before, I was thrilled. Five bags of beautiful leafmold.
It is lovely stuff, get your bags ready again they’ll be coming down soon 😊
Love this black gold. Gratitude ❤
Thank you
I feel so much better because I thought I was the only one who got excited about leaf mould. 😉Great video, thanks.
Thank you 😊
Thank you for taking your time to share
My pleasure!
I'm glad you mentioned the garbage can/weed trimmer method. Out of necessity it's what I use, more work but the end result is superb. I set aside one big shredded leaf bag dry to use as mulch for the Spring garden and keep the decomposing pile as leaf mold magic. It's tough waiting for the end product but it really is such a great soil amendment in addition to compost.
👍 it works well, I’ve done straw this way also when growing mushrooms
@@SmallholdingUK Oh now that is a good idea as well for the straw, thank you. I have straw like grass from my decorative pampas grass that I use as mulch after its Spring cut down. If the weed whacker makes short work of it that will be so much better than grabbing bunches and cutting with my hedge trimmers bits at a time. I’ll give it a go this weekend, thanks for the idea.👍🏻
I've collected 12 x 120L bags of mixed leaves so far and there are still loads of leaves yet to fall! I made a simple wire cage to contain the leaves and added about a kilo of spent coffee grounds to speed things up a touch as I don't have a shredder. All the other leaves will go in the compost piles and I'm currently waiting for 2 tons of fresh cow manure to be delivered and then it's game on!
Sounds great! Good luck with it all, let me know how the coffee grounds work out 👍
Thanks for some great ideas. I am working as a garden landscaper and have access to tons of leaves, also hedge cuttings, ground-cover cuttings ivy and wine cuttings as well as branches of shrubs & trees up to 50 mm / 2 in. Have you any recommendations which Shredder/chipper to buy? Much appreciate any input. Regards, Ernst
I was given my shredder years ago, to be honest it’s not the best it clogs fairly often
If I got a new one I would love a “green shredder” I think used to be called globe shredders, I saw them at a show they look awesome but are pricey they start about £2.5k I have looked at the Hyundai ones that chip and shred with flail blades there much cheaper and look good
@@ernstritter7182 I have a chipper, but it doesn't chop up fine twigs or leaves. I bought a HAIGE - HG-65HP-GGS last year which chipped branches between 2cm and 7cm easily. As for a shredder I think a regular mower would suffice for leaves.
Just picked up a bunch of garden leaves from neighbors to restore my top soil in my garden people should really look into doing this to their gardens
Definitely 👍 it’s a fantastic soil conditioner
A marvellous result. Your enthusiasm is catching! Subscribed.
Thank you
That looks lovely and organised now with those bays, makes my leafmold bin look very archaic. I really need to shred my leaves as it certainly speeds up the process. Leafmold and 3 year old woodchips make a wonderful seed compost that competes with any commercial peat or peat free compost. Although your 2 yo unshredded pile looks very good
Thank you
I use my Woodchip so quickly it barely gets to 18 months old but I’m planting more trees all the time in the hope that I’ll have piles dotted around the holding that are really well broken down, maybe another couple of years fingers crossed 🤞
Lovely compost ❤❤❤
Thank you
Great video. for me in a very small home the circle mesh will be very practice for me to do I’m excited to give it a go.
Good luck with it 👍
Good job !
Thank you
Put mine in a builder bulk bag and used a strimmer to break them down.
Yeah a strimmer works really well I have done them that way in an old water butt and it smashed them right down 👍good luck with it
Great video, my friend! Love that little sifter. I bought a pretty hefty shredder when we moved on to this property here in southern Indiana, zone 6B. Never regretted it for one minute! Great info here.
Thank you, shredders and chippers definitely worth the money
How much land do you have there?
@@SmallholdingUK we have 5 acres. Around 2 acres of lawn of some sort or other, the rest woods. So many trees were blessed with! I’m having a wonderful time utilizing these resources :-)
Sounds great 👍
Self sufficient in firewood then ?
I love growing my woodland it’s just taken a long time starting from scratch
@@SmallholdingUK I can only imagine on that Woodland! Yes, we are able to harvest some trees for firewood as we have a wood burner for the house.
I'm adding my leaves start into my compost this year. I got a second bin and need the materials to fill up my compost bin. Going to be emptying it next year so it have a good year to break down
It should do well 👍
Great video. In Brooklyn, leaves are bagged and tossed to a recycling center. Nobody cares to leave their leaves over their grass front lawns. Thanks for the info.
It’s a shame more people don’t take advantage of this great free resource
Thank you 👍
Like your video, you get right down to it.
Thank you 🙏
take my shredded leaves and apply them directly on my beds and around trees as a mulch. Over time, they end up leaf mold anyway. Decompose, at organic matter and air and nutrients to the soil. If you're wanting to making potting mixes as you do, you really want to make the leaf mold itself as a separate product.
For me in my situation, though, add leaves over time/in the long run acts a soil amendment to flower and garden beds. I've also taken to just dumping my coffee grounds in my bed. Yes, I could make a compost pile and speed the process. But I don't mind going for the "slow burn" and improving the soil over time. I've always found it hard to balance compost materials. Browns are so plentiful in the fall, but greens are sparse. And summer greens are plentiful with grass clippings and weedings, but browns are hard to come by.
👍
Best brown I use is cardboard….. all over the place…put it on all my paths between raised beds…. suppresses weeds and begins to compost and stick as sheets into large slow composing area… ( really a giant long wormery generating vermipost ….Still got weed seeds but get huge amounts) …. Don’t bother shredding cardboard as is actually hard for shredders… also forget taking off tape as comes out easily in eventual compost….. look in neighbours bins…. Everyone throws out cardboard but I think most useful tying in gardening …. I’m lucky … by sea so also got seaweed ….. use your cardboard
I really like the bays bounded by corrugated iron at the base and mesh at the top. The corrugated base will keep the leaves damp and so you'll have fewer of them still dry and un-rotted than in a pure open mesh enclosure. The wire extension at the top allows you to retain more at initial loading. If you hadn't already got the shredder, I doubt the expense or storage costs of it would be justified. Interesting trick with the Mantis.
Thank you
I start using mine after a year but 2 is better I just sieve out any lumps, bags might be quicker, I’ve actually got some bags on the go now ready to do a comparison video at the end of this year
Very nice! It’s great to see from year to year its decomposition. I mowed my pile of leaves last year just to get them out of the way so now I’m curious to see what the pile looks like now. I’m buying leaf compost every year not even thinking I’ve accidentally created my own FREE compost. I don’t use any chemicals so I-know it’s Organic material. Two questions, how long do I wait to use the leaf pile? What’s the name of the machine you used to mulch? Mulch machine? Chipper? I’m ignorant when it comes to this stuff. I’m less than novice gardener. Thank you for the great video. It’s so helpful in many ways. Wish more would do it like that.
Oh, one more, if I add worms in the pile will that speed up the process and is i t worth it to add them?
I use mine after one year but sieve it as there’s still bigger bits in it, the longer it’s left the better it will be
I was given my shredder by a customer so not sure what they cost new but it’s an MTD leaf shredder it used to have a big long hose on the front which has long since perished
Good luck with your leaf pile 👍
Loved this, I can't help but think that if you got some insulation sheets on the inside of your composters, you'd get more worm action through the tinter and if you dropp worms in that would be munched down in a year or even quicker instead of waiting 2 years. The worms would love those leaves..
BTW What is that shredder you have, I've just got acommon mulcher shredder that leaves bits to big. Loved yoru idea bout the strimmer I assume you need metal brush cutter head for that..
What with the price of compost almost doubling DIY has to be the way to go :)
The shredder is an MTD leaf shredder it had a long hose that has long since perished away
I used a nylon line head when I used the strimmer method with my smaller D handle straight shaft strimmer, I think the trick with that way is to not do to many at once but it works really well
Wow, thats amazing. Great upload. Im gping to be introducing leaf mulch into my beds this autumn at the allotment. I usually cover my beds with black plastic. As I'm using shredded leaves as a mulch, to over winter them, do you think i should swap the plastic for cardboard to still let the rain get to it, I'm worried the mulch will blow away
I find shredded leaves will blow less than unshredded if you need to use plastic the worms will work away underneath no problem, could try chicken mesh if you don’t like the plastic maybe
The leaf inside the barb wire looked great. How do you use leaf mold?
It can be used as a mulch, as food for worm bins, but I’m mainly going to use it mixed with my homemade compost my worm compost and vermiculite/perlite as a potting and seedling mix.
Compost is so expensive these days and I’m now hopefully self sufficient in composts
After you have used your leaf blower and store the smaller leaves do you cover them or just leave them open to the elements ?
I just leave them uncovered 👍
i add water, chicken manure and some blood and bone. turn with a fork to help get the oxygen in. I have good usable compost in a year.
Adding manures or some greens or fertiliser will definitely speed it up as it’s adding nitrogen to the mix, I like to keep it just leaves even though it takes longer as I then have a lower nutrient finished product that’s better for seed sowing but I can add my homemade compost or blood fish and bone etc to make different mixes for potting on or whatever
Great, thank you. All my leaves, and there are so many, are dumped onto my patio garden from neighbours densely planted lime and leylandii trees, along with the sap and dirt. What can you do with a lot of conkers - also from a neighbour’s giant horsechestnut tree - as the children for, who I collect them up and leave them out, are disinterested. 😢 Thank you
Not a lot to do with conkers apart from playing conkers 😊
😂
If you aren't gonna turn the pile to aerate, you can probably wet the leaf mulch down with nonchlorinated water and throw a tarp over it. You will get a faster breakdown due to saving the moisture and keeping the sun off the outside of the pile. That has been my experience, anyways. I am in a slightly warmer climate than UK.
My big piles I turn after one year and fluff up with my tiller then I use from second year
The 2 year not touched pile was just to see how it looked and to be honest it was just as well broken down
All my water down here is rain water I have no mains
I have put a tarp on my second year pile now more to keep the rain off as it was very wet this winter but I’ll leave it on I think as like you say keeps it moist now we’re getting warmer days 👍
Would love to try this unfortunately I live where it rains from fall through summer
Where abouts do you live, I’m sure you could do a small batch it’s well worth it
@@SmallholdingUK
I have tons and tons of leaves but never dry
That’s ok they need to be kept moist, if you get loads of rain you could cover the pile with a small tarp
@@sabbyjones2308 You can make a composter out of wood and put a top on it, I have these huge galvanised platers 1.2m x 1.2 and I fill those up with everything I find, this year I insulated them and started dropping worms in and one of them is just a giant worm bin now, they'd munch throw those leaves in less than 6 months.. As Smallholding says you need moisture. Most people will water their compost .
Lovely shredder, which company?
It’s an MTD CSV 202B
It’s very old I’m not sure if they make them anymore but there’s a few out there similar
If add the dry ones to this years new leaves
Mix them in 👍
Can you just pile leafs up in garden would that work also
Absolutely, if you want the leaf mould for potting mix etc then it’s best to try and contain it with wire or something, or else it can blow around in the wind but you can just rake into borders under shrubs etc and it’ll break down and improve the soil naturally
I really need a mulcher that plays that pretty song. Mine sounds like BLEURRRRRRRRRRRRRR
😆your more of an oasis fan then 🤣
@@SmallholdingUK I can't believe that anybody feels the way I do...
On the two year pile, if you turn the leaves over once in a while, you will have mulch much sooner than 2 years. It is easy to fluff up the pile with a pitch fork.
Yeah those were just left as they are to see what happens if you just leave them, the other piles I showed got turned
Do you cover these bays with anything??
I don’t cover the leaf mould no, I do cover the compost sometimes after the first turn
how do you keep the rats from making leaves as their nest/home ? I had set piles of leaf bags in the corner of my backyard and next thing I know is the rats chewed trough the bag and were nesting in them.
I did have a really bad problem with rats last winter and ended up having to put bait down to get on top of them, I did have some in my compost piles but that’s the first time, it’s usually rabbits digging into them
@@SmallholdingUK Yeah I am having the same problem. I never had rats in my compost pile until this year and I have been composting since past 3 years. The only difference this year is that I collected a lot of leaf bags as my carbon source and kept them in the corner of my backyard to use them in this spring. Now I see rats in my compost as well as in the corner where all the leave bags are. It is really discouraging me from having to compost
I have oak leaves and they do not rot down very easily any ideas please.
Oak leaves do take a while it’s the tanins in them, you could try mixing a little bit of green material in as an activator but not to much as it would then be more compost than leaf mould, maybe say 10% volume.
You could also try worms, I’ve just done a video coming out tomorrow making a leaf mould bin layered with worms to speed it up, that could work👍
ضع عليها سائل الخميرة بالعسل الأسود واللبن الرائب وماء غسيل الأرز اعمل كمية ورش بها الأوراق حتى الكارتون اذا نقعته في هذا المحلول سيتفتت ويصبح اسرع بالتحليل شاهدت مقاطع على قنوات زراعية بالهند لايرشون الكمبوست بالماء فقط بل يرش بهذا الخليط أيضا لتسريع تفكك العناصر التسريع بالتخمير وجربت هذه الطريقة وفعلا ناجحة في تسريع تحلل الكمبوست في مدة قصيرة
Pee directly on the leaves, or store your urine in jugs and add periodically.
Maple leaves are plenty and good.
I hsve lots of oak leaves. I mix with other leaves and manure (greens). Its finished compost within a year.
Why not double shred and turn them to nearly powder! , mix with soil and jobs a good ‘n
Well what he's doing clearly works for him.
I struggle to get the time to shred them once 🤣
Can you post info of your shredder?
It’s very old not sure they make this model anymore but it’s an- MTD CSV 202 Leaf Vacuum - I’m sure there’s similar ones out there 👍
Shredder? I just use my lawn mower.
So do i sometimes, but the shredder does break them down much smaller
Don't forget to pee on it! it adds necessary nitrogen.
👍