I used two things this year in my garden: leaf mulch and fish fertilizer. I don't know which one was responsible but I got a beautiful, abundant harvest of tomatoes and greens! Can't wait to use them next year again!
I use fish fertilizer as a staple because of the amino acids and trace nutrients, very effective when used with other organic inputs to promote healthy soil.
This was very informative. The most important piece for me was realizing I can go into the woods to glean leaf mould. There are big leaf maples where I live.
glad you enjoyed it Sorry for the late reply. A load of comments said they were responded to even though they were not. I am slowly working through them all.
Thanks, Glad it was of interest. Check out some of our other videos esp the how to section there is loads of useful stuff in there for this time of year :)
Hello Tony, going to have to think of a way to shred my leaves, definitely makes a difference. Thankyou for sharing your knowledge and experience. 😆 Happy Gardening to you my friend, Terry.
Try using your lawn mower with the collection box. A mixture of grass and shredded leaves compost well. You can also lay the leaves out and collect as if you are mowing, this is also quite effective in cleaning the underside of your mower. It works well for me, I compost them in a half ton bag with a weighted cover to stop the leaves blowing about.
I got a $20 plastic 35-gallon garbage can, pour the leaves in that and take my weed whacker, weed eater, weed chopper to them. It works fairly well, altho they tend to want to fly out. I take an old sheet or towel to lay over the top to keep the leaves contained.
Great video as usual Tony! Hello from Oregon, US!!! Don't forget about using chickens to expedite composting of leaves!!! I have had pretty amazing results using a chicken tractor on an area heavily mulched with leaves. Large, unshredded leaves were turned into leaf mould in just under 2 moths with no extra work on-top of regular chicken tractor care. Also, as far as the contamination from automotive chemicals from the streets, Paul Stamets' work has shown that saprophytic fungi can absorb and metabolize petroleum-based pollutants to benign compounds that the fungi actually use to further their growth! So not only was the contamination cleaned up by his mycoremediation technology but the resulting mushrooms (oysters is what he used) had no trace of the contaminants! Pretty cool stuff, but yea in the US you cannot use leaf mold collected from streets in an organic certified farm. Cheers!
Thats a great idea. something I have never tried. Oregon. our little channel certainly getting about and its great, tell your friends about us. would love more of our US cousins here :)
Hi from Mississippi, USA!! Love your channel!!! Been making leaf mold for awhile now, but since pretty much all we have is oak trees to get leaves from around here (got pines galore, but, ya know....pine needles :( ) it take FOREVER to break down. I will have to use the method you described in your other leaf mold video. Cheers!! Mary Ann
I agree. If you keep chickens, you can deploy them to help compost your fallen leaves. Build two large bottomless boxes using planks or similar. In the autumn, fill one (the ‘supply’ box) with fallen leaves. Starting in March, begin transferring a couple of bucketfuls every day of the leaves in the ‘supply’ box to the ‘composting’ box, tossing in any kitchen scraps and garden leftovers. Your chickens will excitedly scratch through them for hours in their search for goodies, especially for insects and weed seeds: this will also crumble the leaves, helping them to break down faster. The chickens’ manure will add nitrogen, and any organic stuff they don’t want will simply rot down and enrich the mix. The chickens will also work on the top layer of leaves in the ‘supply’ box. When autumn comes, the ‘supply’ box should be empty, so collect more fallen leaves and fill it up again. Keep adding more during the winter if you can, as the leaves will compact and sink down. In March, transfer all the leaf mould in the ‘composting’ box, which will now look like chocolate cake with earthworms in it, to your vegetable garden. Begin again by progressively transferring your new fallen leaves from the ‘supply’ box, plus the usual kitchen scraps and garden leftovers, to the ‘composting’ box, letting your chickens clean it up and break it down as before.
Yes they will break down that way, Its what happens in nature, only issue is that if we get windy weather they blow away and by doing it this way you get to use the leaf mould for many purposes
Thanks for the video, the main elements from the leaf litter that you scraped from the soil is fungi, there are more bacteria in a house hold compost. I was glad to hear you mention that you add urine to your leaf litter which provides nitrogen.
One more thing about leaves: I also have used them -unshredded- as mulch for plants. Works well but it is also a great method for getting really, really huge spiders :-)
Nice vid Tony 👍🏻 Amazed at the effect of shredding has on the speed. Looks fantastic product in the bucket. You have given me an idea to built a leaf mould bin from pallet collars with some large holes drilled in the sides to get some airflow. Good tip to make the tea bag 😄
Thank you for the information! I have been finding urine really does work to accelerate the process. I don't have a shredder so I try to dry out the leaves and crunch them in my hands and stomp on them while in buckets. Looking forward to using the finished leaf mold as seed starter.
As expected now, great tips from your vids :) I was in Wales last week around the brecon area , should have popped over and pinched some of your leaf mould!!
Been using all my leaves. I usually run it over with the mower, then rake it into the beds. Really makes a difference with our blistering hot/dry summers!
Maple leaves break down extremely fast, but the beeches are thick and full of tannin. It's like trying to break down oak leaves. I have the champion American beech and its sister, so I get a ton of leaves every fall. I run them over with the mower and bag them. I also have the champion American holly, so I dump the shredded leaves under it's dark, damp shade to break down. I usually tap into it when I am making compost over the summer. It's one of my secrets for quick, hot compost.
Yes that would break down much Faster, but it then becomes compost instead of leafmould. Leafmould is a fungal breakdown by adding fruit tot he processes you turn it into a bacterial breakdown. But your right if your just after compost adding fruit would def speed things up
Fantastic channel and hi from Australia, a quick tip if you add the leaves into large plastic bags it speeds things up super fast. Personally I just leave them where they fall. Also I have discovered the Back to Eden gardening method and find it has made my garden a wonderful place to work in. I add a foot of freshly chipped branches and the leaves over my entire garden and in no time it creates free soil and as you move up the mulch layer there's wonderful compost. I do add a little dynamic lifter under the layers.Oh and just subscribed.
Hi, thanks for subscribing. Great to have you aboard. I love Australia and spent around 14 months there. Back to Eden is a great way to garden and it is something we will cover in Brians garden next year, I think he is doing part of his as back to Eden. Great tip about the bags, It is covered in the other video pointed too. Thanks for your support, hope to get to chat to you regulary. Tony
Jeannette i have that covered in the other 2 leafmold videos i have. However this year i am building a home made shredder that i hope will work much better. So stay tuned for that in a month or two
morning Peter Sorry for the late reply. A load of comments said they were responded to even though they were not. I am slowly working through them all.
Thank you for watching my content. If you enjoyed this video you can view more like it here --->th-cam.com/video/Gg1cosZY6k0/w-d-xo.html Don't forget to like and share my content. Thanks, guys :)
Thanks for the video. What to do about lots of non-beneficial insects in the leaf mold? I had some beautiful dark mulch after 2 years but lots of shield bugs and box elder bugs seem to overwinter in the leaves and bug babies crawled out when I went to spread the mold in spring!
You could check it, but to be honest if your using it as a mulch then it wouldnt be an issue. The other thing you could do is spread it out and allow light to get to it, the bugs will all climb out of it
Hi Tony,don't know how many times I've watch this vid. I've just collected approx a cubic metre of mainly oak leaves. They had been raked into a pile in a wooded garden and have stood for about a year. The uder layers are quite wet, I have them in a wire netting cage, should I be turning these periodically as I do with compost??
We bagged up three bags easter weekend, I left them on the ground all winter. Some had already gone in a large tub then we had all of that rain. Now I lovely golden water from the rain that came upon the leaves. What do you think about that being a fertiliser Tony?
Wow that looks like great material. Based on your video it would appear I don't shred my leaves enough! Do you water the piles/bins every 10 days throughout the winter as well? Thanks for sharing, this was very helpful.
Compost is better for nutrients Sorry for the late reply. had some issues with comments not showing that they had not been answered, so I am getting through them
Realizing this video was posted just over a year ago I"m hoping this post can still get a reply. Hello from Kansas City in the US. Have been looking for a way to recycle the from our more than 2 dozen trees on our property and excited to put these details to use. I have some questions after watching several videos. A video spoke of transferring the leaves into the 1 tonne fiber bags instead of the plastic wrapped mesh bins. * Do you still wrap the bags with plastic? * Do you still cover it with carpet? * This was a year ago, is there a follow-up video showing how well the new bags worked? Several references to the water. All seem to mention urine, manure and even dirt from a forested area. * I believe a comment in one video stated a 10-to-1 water/urine ratio. Is that correct? * Understanding this is a fungal breakdown, does it matter how much manure to use in the water? * Is the teabag of dirt a replacement for the manure or in addition to? Video states keeping the leaves damp (watering every 7-10 days). * Should the leaves be turned/rotated when they are watered? * How long should the watering done? * How do I know when to stop watering? * How do I know when the result is complete?
Hi thanks for your questions, I will do my best to answer them fully for you. We use many forms to make our leafmould, the plastic wrapped bins and the one-ton sack both work really well so either would be ideal. yes, cover the top with carpet to keep the warmth in during winter. 10/1 urine water. With manure just soak a load in water and then use that don't need to water down. The teabag is a replacement for the manure /urine as this already has the fungal spores in so all your doing at this stage is multiplying you don't need to attract them. Water the leave until they are good and wet and then leave them to drain until moist once the process starts you shouldn't over wet them you want to be able to keep moist but not have excess water if you squeezed them in your hand. When the leaves look like soil or well-rotted compost you're done.
Thank you very much for such a quick reply. I have two 3'x4' wire bins of mulched leaves to be transitioned into my my first fungal experiment as soon as the 1 tonne bags arrive. I'm very excited about my first successful execution of this technique and having a way to dispose of the bags upon bags of leaves we collect each year. One last question just came to mind. Would one or more bags in a greenhouse produce enough heat to 'warm' a greenhouse/poly tunnel/hoop house during the winter?
No dont forget it gets warm for a couple of days and then gets cold you dont want the heat after the first week or so as it would kill the fungi that produces leaf mould. for heating in the greenhouse your better making a hot bed from fresh manure, a 3x3x3 bed would be sufficient to keep a green house or tunnel frost free and you could germinate seeds above it on a pallet or similar. Hope that helps
Some more questions. My attempt was delayed 6 weeks, however, did receive some bags this week and had an amazing day today to transfer our mulched leaves. Was not able to use manure but did create some tea with some local green space dirt as you suggested as well as some urine. Fingers crossed. Thank you again for your previous responses. Your video states that the leaves need to be watered every 10 days. You spoke of the tea made from dirt from your local woods. Is that the type of water to be used? When watering the leaves in a 1 tonne bag, how wet do you keep the leaves? Is it possible to over water? You had mentioned when done correctly this will break down in 4-6 months. Is there any thing that can be done to speed up the break down any further?
I found some decomposting leaves under the pile of leaves in our property that has been un raked for years and years. Can I just add those decopost leaves directly to my flowers beds or wait till those leaves completely broken down like yours before adding them? Thanks a lot and your helps and tips are fabulous.
We Are The Coleys - Adding to what was already said. Even the "fresh" leaves can be added as mulch. They will turn into compost one way or the other. It becomes more a question of your individual choice. Based on aesthetics, intention or any other criteria of your choice. Bottom line is don't waste them. ;-) Cheers
I hope you see his. Not sure what you mean when you say that you shred the leaves 'four times?' Four times before you start or, as I assume, during the six months at some sort of time interval?
Horse manure is bacterial too. but it makes no difference its fungal dominated as that comes from the leaves and the fungal life will breed quicker than the microbial life.
Hi Tony. Great video. Can i try to make leaf mould in a plastic bin? If so, do i need to drill some holes in it? I'm not sure if ventilation is needed. Thanks, Dave.
Hi. Why is it necessary to put the woodland soil into a hessian bag, and then into water? Would it not be the exact same just to put the soil straight into the water?
6:35 add molasses, whey, the water from rice (3 days), egg shells, and you turbocherge this mixture. Then it can be diluted, and added to the beds as well as th4 leaf mulch and compost, accelerating the decomposition process
Fab informative video, thanks so much. How long do you leave the hessian ball of woodland soil in water? And do you add pee to the resulting solution before sprinkling it on each layer of leaves? Or is the pee separate?! Cheers.
it can all go in and leave it in for an hour or so Sorry for the late reply. A load of comments said they were responded to even though they were not. I am slowly working through them all.
Hi there Tony. I have a question, I have started a leaf mould bin I have holes on the bottom and sides of the bin and full of chopped up wet leafs with some earth from the ground from where i got the leafs and urine mixed through. I was wondering how often should I aerate the bin? Thanks Marc
So I recently brought in a bunch of leaves into the garden and no now I'm being bombarded by ticks. I won't use any chemicals and the Eagles an hawks would be having thanksgiving with me if I free ranged chickens. Any other tips for getting rid of them somewhat naturally? I'm about ready to go out and rake them into piles and burn them😕
Catlin Ive never had ticks come in on leaves are you sure thats where they came from? Sorry for the late reply. A load of comments said they were responded to even though they were not. I am slowly working through them all.
@@simplifygardening Yeah it was the decomposing leaves all matted together in thick layers. But they seem to have scattered and i dumped lot of wood chips over the area.
I puposely collected my leaves after it has rained on them.because I want the earthworms too. This means I cannot shred it. Any other advice on how to fasten the creation of leaf mould.
@@simplifygardening :) thanks for confirming. Cool! I was born in Australia, but Nain was from Wales. I keep wanting to learn the language and to visit. Lovely to come across the accent. Cheers!
You mentioned the other video where you show your wire cage method and you're trying the new method with the white bulk bags. Which method gives you results you are looking for? I'm certain both will work, but which is better in your opinion?
Just subscribe to your site, and wanted to tell you hello from New Orleans, Louisiana UNITED STATES. Do you put coffee grinds in your leaf mold to speed up the process?
Hi Rick. welcome to the channel and thanks for your support... No i dont add coffee grounds as thats a nitrogen source, when you add them it turns it into compost not leaf mould, It gets to hot for too long, we want the heat to start the breakdown then need it to cool for the fungal spores to take over
It's worth it, in the long run, Rick. The Coffee ground is good to use in the garden as a nitrogen source or to mulch with but it limits what you can use the leaf mould on. If you just use the leaves and maybe the tea made up from woodland soil this allows you to use pure leaf mould as a seed starter, an additive to bed, to be added to the potting mix. the list is endless
![กี่หมื่นฟ้า | Your Sky Series EP.1 [2/4]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qJbQs_nhjD4/mqdefault.jpg)
Want to go in-depth on composting? Check out my book Composting Masterclass. www.amazon.com/Tony-ONeill/e/B09Z79VFRB/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk
Thank you!! This is by far the best leaf mold video I've ever seen. Thanks and Blessings to you!
I used two things this year in my garden: leaf mulch and fish fertilizer. I don't know which one was responsible but I got a beautiful, abundant harvest of tomatoes and greens! Can't wait to use them next year again!
I use fish fertilizer as a staple because of the amino acids and trace nutrients, very effective when used with other organic inputs to promote healthy soil.
prob both Sorry about the late reply, YT didn't let me know this comment was here and I just found it
good stuff Sorry about the late reply, YT didn't let me know this comment was here and I just found it
Fish... I use the water and fish waste from my aquariums...
@@historyhunter5215 I use the water from our fish pond.
This was very informative. The most important piece for me was realizing I can go into the woods to glean leaf mould. There are big leaf maples where I live.
Great stuff
Such a great compost video Tony and I agree, if our compost doesn't stay wet and dries out, it dramatically slows down its breakdown process.
Yes Suzy much harder for you guys to keep it moist but its important
Tony, I like you, man! Thanks for sharing the knowledge
Thanks appreciate it
dude just changed my soil culture for life
Hi Tony, thanks for the video, as usual, brilliant pal!
Fantastic leaf mold video
glad you enjoyed it Sorry for the late reply. A load of comments said they were responded to even though they were not. I am slowly working through them all.
Watched a guy in the states use an simple electric strimmer to chop them up in the dumpy bag. Thanks for tip on keeping them wet.
Perfect!!
Cheers
Great video and perfect timing, added to our Garden Playlist and community.
Thanks, Glad it was of interest. Check out some of our other videos esp the how to section there is loads of useful stuff in there for this time of year :)
I helped a neigbor clean up her leaves and took the leaves home for my leaf mold pile.
Hello Tony, going to have to think of a way to shred my leaves, definitely makes a difference. Thankyou for sharing your knowledge and experience.
😆 Happy Gardening to you my friend, Terry.
Well worth shredding Terry makes the world of difference
Try using your lawn mower with the collection box. A mixture of grass and shredded leaves compost well. You can also lay the leaves out and collect as if you are mowing, this is also quite effective in cleaning the underside of your mower. It works well for me, I compost them in a half ton bag with a weighted cover to stop the leaves blowing about.
Wendy Rowland haven't got a lawn mower, but I will be looking out for one that's left out for the scrap man. Thankyou my friend.
I got a $20 plastic 35-gallon garbage can, pour the leaves in that and take my weed whacker, weed eater, weed chopper to them. It works fairly well, altho they tend to want to fly out. I take an old sheet or towel to lay over the top to keep the leaves contained.
Very interesting & well-made video, thanks!
Many thanks! Glad you enjoyed it :) I have 2 other leaf mold videos on the channel
Great video as usual Tony! Hello from Oregon, US!!! Don't forget about using chickens to expedite composting of leaves!!! I have had pretty amazing results using a chicken tractor on an area heavily mulched with leaves. Large, unshredded leaves were turned into leaf mould in just under 2 moths with no extra work on-top of regular chicken tractor care. Also, as far as the contamination from automotive chemicals from the streets, Paul Stamets' work has shown that saprophytic fungi can absorb and metabolize petroleum-based pollutants to benign compounds that the fungi actually use to further their growth! So not only was the contamination cleaned up by his mycoremediation technology but the resulting mushrooms (oysters is what he used) had no trace of the contaminants! Pretty cool stuff, but yea in the US you cannot use leaf mold collected from streets in an organic certified farm. Cheers!
Thats a great idea. something I have never tried. Oregon. our little channel certainly getting about and its great, tell your friends about us. would love more of our US cousins here :)
Georgia, USA here also.
REXveri
Hi from Mississippi, USA!! Love your channel!!! Been making leaf mold for awhile now, but since pretty much all we have is oak trees to get leaves from around here (got pines galore, but, ya know....pine needles :( ) it take FOREVER to break down. I will have to use the method you described in your other leaf mold video. Cheers!! Mary Ann
I agree. If you keep chickens, you can deploy them to help compost your fallen leaves. Build two large bottomless boxes using planks or similar. In the autumn, fill one (the ‘supply’ box) with fallen leaves. Starting in March, begin transferring a couple of bucketfuls every day of the leaves in the ‘supply’ box to the ‘composting’ box, tossing in any kitchen scraps and garden leftovers. Your chickens will excitedly scratch through them for hours in their search for goodies, especially for insects and weed seeds: this will also crumble the leaves, helping them to break down faster. The chickens’ manure will add nitrogen, and any organic stuff they don’t want will simply rot down and enrich the mix. The chickens will also work on the top layer of leaves in the ‘supply’ box. When autumn comes, the ‘supply’ box should be empty, so collect more fallen leaves and fill it up again. Keep adding more during the winter if you can, as the leaves will compact and sink down. In March, transfer all the leaf mould in the ‘composting’ box, which will now look like chocolate cake with earthworms in it, to your vegetable garden. Begin again by progressively transferring your new fallen leaves from the ‘supply’ box, plus the usual kitchen scraps and garden leftovers, to the ‘composting’ box, letting your chickens clean it up and break it down as before.
I might build my leaf cage one day! I've been throwing them on the top of the soil the last few years and it seems to be ok 😉
Yes they will break down that way, Its what happens in nature, only issue is that if we get windy weather they blow away and by doing it this way you get to use the leaf mould for many purposes
Just read your profile LOL , good health, subscribed btw
Allotmental oo
Excellent, Thanks so much.
You're very welcome!
I will be do leaf mould this winter. My bee hives are on a large wooded allotment plot.
Thats great I have a new video for leaf mould coming soon too
Thanks for the video, the main elements from the leaf litter that you scraped from the soil is fungi, there are more bacteria in a house hold compost. I was glad to hear you mention that you add urine to your leaf litter which provides nitrogen.
Thanks Florie yes its quick the way we do it. Oh and just for ref we do let the chicken in to the plot from time t time to dig through..
New sub here. I am mulching with leaves and composting them this year also.
I shred my leaves and topdress my no till beds,then well rotted manure on top! In spring ready to grow!
Perfect way for top dressing
One more thing about leaves: I also have used them -unshredded- as mulch for plants. Works well but it is also a great method for getting really, really huge spiders :-)
Spiders they stay in the nooks and grannies here
love making my own compost can,t beat it
agreed sorry about the late reply, YT didnt notify me of a load of comments
Nice vid Tony 👍🏻 Amazed at the effect of shredding has on the speed. Looks fantastic product in the bucket. You have given me an idea to built a leaf mould bin from pallet collars with some large holes drilled in the sides to get some airflow. Good tip to make the tea bag 😄
let me know how it goes Nigel. airflow isnt an issue with leafmould though, its not biological fungus dont care
Thanks!
Thank you for the information! I have been finding urine really does work to accelerate the process. I don't have a shredder so I try to dry out the leaves and crunch them in my hands and stomp on them while in buckets. Looking forward to using the finished leaf mold as seed starter.
Interesting. What kind of urine? Human or animal? Fresh urine? Or clumps of cat litter?
Thank you Sir 👏👏👏👏
Shifty looks around "urine as a catalyst". Thumbs up and a subscription.
Cheers Bill. welcome to the channel, I am sorry for the late reply, YT didnt tell me about your comment. I just found it
As expected now, great tips from your vids :) I was in Wales last week around the brecon area , should have popped over and pinched some of your leaf mould!!
Should have given me a shout mate
Top of the class Tony..again thank you Frank
Cheers Frank, This is one of last years videos Got a new leafmould one coming in a few weeks
I grow tomatoes in wire cages that I also use in the Fall to make leaf mold, but I just learned something new about urine.
AWESOME Sorry for the late reply. A load of comments said they were responded to even though they were not. I am slowly working through them all.
Thank you to have shared, I've seen all the videos of you and found one very nice, mà secrets of organic fertilizer plant care, while
Welcome to the Channel. Glad you enjoyed the video. Look forward to chatting with you more over the coming weeks
You did not do this job for a long time, it's a good thing for me to learn
Been using all my leaves. I usually run it over with the mower, then rake it into the beds. Really makes a difference with our blistering hot/dry summers!
Yes great for holding moisture in to dry soils.
Just thought to use these construction sacks for leaf mold compost; how did it turn out?
great idea
Hi thanks for your comment
you are doing a great job ! and going to be very successful
Hi Thanks, and thanks for your support too :') glad your enjoying the channel
GREAT VIDEO
Cheers Joe
Maple leaves break down extremely fast, but the beeches are thick and full of tannin. It's like trying to break down oak leaves. I have the champion American beech and its sister, so I get a ton of leaves every fall. I run them over with the mower and bag them. I also have the champion American holly, so I dump the shredded leaves under it's dark, damp shade to break down. I usually tap into it when I am making compost over the summer. It's one of my secrets for quick, hot compost.
Excellent video
Brill. Lots to come :)
If you have fruit trees, layer your leaves with windfall fruit for faster breakdown.
Yes that would break down much Faster, but it then becomes compost instead of leafmould. Leafmould is a fungal breakdown by adding fruit tot he processes you turn it into a bacterial breakdown. But your right if your just after compost adding fruit would def speed things up
Great advice thank you 👍
I shred them with a leaf sucker/blower or lawnmower and i use 'special' leaf mould starter (read: i pee on them)
Fantastic channel and hi from Australia, a quick tip if you add the leaves into large plastic bags it speeds things up super fast. Personally I just leave them where they fall. Also I have discovered the Back to Eden gardening method and find it has made my garden a wonderful place to work in. I add a foot of freshly chipped branches and the leaves over my entire garden and in no time it creates free soil and as you move up the mulch layer there's wonderful compost. I do add a little dynamic lifter under the layers.Oh and just subscribed.
Hi, thanks for subscribing. Great to have you aboard. I love Australia and spent around 14 months there. Back to Eden is a great way to garden and it is something we will cover in Brians garden next year, I think he is doing part of his as back to Eden. Great tip about the bags, It is covered in the other video pointed too. Thanks for your support, hope to get to chat to you regulary. Tony
Yes we will chat as I look at you other videos,have a great day.
Great video! Have nice day!
Thanks Catalin, you too :)
Love the way you teach! Can't wait to create leaf mold but want more info on a shredder please.
Jeannette i have that covered in the other 2 leafmold videos i have. However this year i am building a home made shredder that i hope will work much better. So stay tuned for that in a month or two
Simplify Gardening have you got an update about building a mulched?
Anne Hollier Hello. No update yet! Still would like to know more
Good morning from Auckland, New Zealand it’s Wednesday, November 20, 2019
morning Peter Sorry for the late reply. A load of comments said they were responded to even though they were not. I am slowly working through them all.
Nice! Now, I know it is basically composted leaves!
Yes but rather than microbial its fungal
this is a good system, thanks for the share
Cheers and thanks for the support :)
Thank you for watching my content. If you enjoyed this video you can view more like it here --->th-cam.com/video/Gg1cosZY6k0/w-d-xo.html Don't forget to like and share my content. Thanks, guys :)
N
great video.
You seriously burned your hand digging through leaves?
love it tony
Cheers as always Don.. now go tell them take those decks down mate :)
Thumbs up Tony
Cheers Patrick :)
Thanks for the video. What to do about lots of non-beneficial insects in the leaf mold? I had some beautiful dark mulch after 2 years but lots of shield bugs and box elder bugs seem to overwinter in the leaves and bug babies crawled out when I went to spread the mold in spring!
You could check it, but to be honest if your using it as a mulch then it wouldnt be an issue. The other thing you could do is spread it out and allow light to get to it, the bugs will all climb out of it
Hi Tony,don't know how many times I've watch this vid. I've just collected approx a cubic metre of mainly oak leaves. They had been raked into a pile in a wooded garden and have stood for about a year. The uder layers are quite wet, I have them in a wire netting cage, should I be turning these periodically as I do with compost??
We bagged up three bags easter weekend, I left them on the ground all winter. Some had already gone in a large tub then we had all of that rain. Now I lovely golden water from the rain that came upon the leaves. What do you think about that being a fertiliser Tony?
How much time between the four shreddings? Great vids, thanks.
They can all be shedded in the same day all 4 times, you just need it fine
Wow that looks like great material. Based on your video it would appear I don't shred my leaves enough! Do you water the piles/bins every 10 days throughout the winter as well? Thanks for sharing, this was very helpful.
Just make sure they are moist. but don't water every 10 days it will be too much
Which one is better nutrient wise, compost or leaf mold?
Compost is better for nutrients Sorry for the late reply. had some issues with comments not showing that they had not been answered, so I am getting through them
This was a great follow up to last year mate. The one ton bags will hopefully mean there is loads for you. All the best.
Aaron's allotment thanks Aaron
Realizing this video was posted just over a year ago I"m hoping this post can still get a reply.
Hello from Kansas City in the US. Have been looking for a way to recycle the from our more than 2 dozen trees on our property and excited to put these details to use.
I have some questions after watching several videos.
A video spoke of transferring the leaves into the 1 tonne fiber bags instead of the plastic wrapped mesh bins.
* Do you still wrap the bags with plastic?
* Do you still cover it with carpet?
* This was a year ago, is there a follow-up video showing how well the new bags worked?
Several references to the water. All seem to mention urine, manure and even dirt from a forested area.
* I believe a comment in one video stated a 10-to-1 water/urine ratio. Is that correct?
* Understanding this is a fungal breakdown, does it matter how much manure to use in the water?
* Is the teabag of dirt a replacement for the manure or in addition to?
Video states keeping the leaves damp (watering every 7-10 days).
* Should the leaves be turned/rotated when they are watered?
* How long should the watering done?
* How do I know when to stop watering?
* How do I know when the result is complete?
Hi thanks for your questions, I will do my best to answer them fully for you.
We use many forms to make our leafmould, the plastic wrapped bins and the one-ton sack both work really well so either would be ideal. yes, cover the top with carpet to keep the warmth in during winter. 10/1 urine water. With manure just soak a load in water and then use that don't need to water down.
The teabag is a replacement for the manure /urine as this already has the fungal spores in so all your doing at this stage is multiplying you don't need to attract them.
Water the leave until they are good and wet and then leave them to drain until moist once the process starts you shouldn't over wet them you want to be able to keep moist but not have excess water if you squeezed them in your hand.
When the leaves look like soil or well-rotted compost you're done.
Thank you very much for such a quick reply.
I have two 3'x4' wire bins of mulched leaves to be transitioned into my my first fungal experiment as soon as the 1 tonne bags arrive.
I'm very excited about my first successful execution of this technique and having a way to dispose of the bags upon bags of leaves we collect each year.
One last question just came to mind.
Would one or more bags in a greenhouse produce enough heat to 'warm' a greenhouse/poly tunnel/hoop house during the winter?
No dont forget it gets warm for a couple of days and then gets cold you dont want the heat after the first week or so as it would kill the fungi that produces leaf mould. for heating in the greenhouse your better making a hot bed from fresh manure, a 3x3x3 bed would be sufficient to keep a green house or tunnel frost free and you could germinate seeds above it on a pallet or similar. Hope that helps
Some more questions.
My attempt was delayed 6 weeks, however, did receive some bags this week and had an amazing day today to transfer our mulched leaves. Was not able to use manure but did create some tea with some local green space dirt as you suggested as well as some urine. Fingers crossed. Thank you again for your previous responses.
Your video states that the leaves need to be watered every 10 days. You spoke of the tea made from dirt from your local woods. Is that the type of water to be used?
When watering the leaves in a 1 tonne bag, how wet do you keep the leaves? Is it possible to over water?
You had mentioned when done correctly this will break down in 4-6 months. Is there any thing that can be done to speed up the break down any further?
Nice 👌👌👌👌👌
I found some decomposting leaves under the pile of leaves in our property that has been un raked for years and years. Can I just add those decopost leaves directly to my flowers beds or wait till those leaves completely broken down like yours before adding them? Thanks a lot and your helps and tips are fabulous.
Sam Cole you can add them as a mulch right away Sam
We Are The Coleys - Adding to what was already said.
Even the "fresh" leaves can be added as mulch. They will turn into compost one way or the other. It becomes more a question of your individual choice. Based on aesthetics, intention or any other criteria of your choice.
Bottom line is don't waste them. ;-)
Cheers
Does the 1 ton bag allow for drainage at the bottom?
Where did you get that huge bag for your leaf mold?
You can buy them in any hardware store they are 1 ton bulk bags
I hope you see his. Not sure what you mean when you say that you shred the leaves 'four times?' Four times before you start or, as I assume, during the six months at some sort of time interval?
Shred the leaves 4 times before yoy stack
Tony, Since this process is fungal rather than bacterial, should I not use horse manure to make the "tea" for wetting the leaves?
Horse manure is bacterial too. but it makes no difference its fungal dominated as that comes from the leaves and the fungal life will breed quicker than the microbial life.
@@simplifygardening Many thanks, my friend.
Can I use green dried leaves for leaf mould? Is there any chance of fungus attack in tomato plants if we mulch by leaf mould?
informative video
Thanks glad it was of interest
is it recommended to leave the bin bag outside or inside? does it matter if rain lands on your bin bagged pile of leaves?
How well is the leaf mould going in the one ton bag? I am going to start it this year with same method!
Wondering the same thing.
Hi Tony. Great video. Can i try to make leaf mould in a plastic bin? If so, do i need to drill some holes in it? I'm not sure if ventilation is needed. Thanks, Dave.
Yes its fungal so needs air
What did you put in your watering can around 5:25?
Hi. Why is it necessary to put the woodland soil into a hessian bag, and then into water? Would it not be the exact same just to put the soil straight into the water?
Because you would block any rose you use on your watering can and the soil can go back tot he compost later
6:35 add molasses, whey, the water from rice (3 days), egg shells, and you turbocherge this mixture. Then it can be diluted, and added to the beds as well as th4 leaf mulch and compost, accelerating the decomposition process
How about LABS added to leaves? Would this increase breakdown?
Fab informative video, thanks so much. How long do you leave the hessian ball of woodland soil in water? And do you add pee to the resulting solution before sprinkling it on each layer of leaves? Or is the pee separate?! Cheers.
it can all go in and leave it in for an hour or so Sorry for the late reply. A load of comments said they were responded to even though they were not. I am slowly working through them all.
Hi there Tony.
I have a question, I have started a leaf mould bin I have holes on the bottom and sides of the bin and full of chopped up wet leafs with some earth from the ground from where i got the leafs and urine mixed through. I was wondering how often should I aerate the bin?
Thanks Marc
You dont Marc. Leave this to get on with it. Did you shred the leaves?
@@simplifygardening hi tony, ya i did. thanks for the reply/
I used to pick leaves up on the road for a job I would not suggest using them. I would go to a local park and rake them up in the grass
Totally agree with you Bryan too much pollution there
Throw in some food scraps like coffee grounds or vegetables, and it will really jump start the process !
What if I just bury them in my garden
In fall of year ? Will this help
If you bury them that will use nitrogen from the soil and its more bacterial than fungal so turns to compost rather then leaf mold
They don't die, they go dormant.
Really dumb question, which company makes the bags? I can't find them lol
How did using the ton bags for making leaf mould work out for you? Any hints or tips / things to avoid?
I did this by accident. Last may I planted potatoes in big totes and used leaves for the filler.... suprise!!!
ha ha its good stuff
❤
So I recently brought in a bunch of leaves into the garden and no now I'm being bombarded by ticks. I won't use any chemicals and the Eagles an hawks would be having thanksgiving with me if I free ranged chickens. Any other tips for getting rid of them somewhat naturally? I'm about ready to go out and rake them into piles and burn them😕
Catlin Ive never had ticks come in on leaves are you sure thats where they came from? Sorry for the late reply. A load of comments said they were responded to even though they were not. I am slowly working through them all.
@@simplifygardening Yeah it was the decomposing leaves all matted together in thick layers. But they seem to have scattered and i dumped lot of wood chips over the area.
I scrape mine up from the carpark. Pre chopped and composted. Pollution, it's everywhere anyway.
I think the amount of pollution in a carpark would be a ton higher, but everyone has a right to decided whats right for them
Hi, can i use a sac, perforated, to make leaf mould, because i don't have those bins or paper bags
Yes, absolutely you can use the sack just keep it moist
Would adding compost accelerator to the leaves help with breaking them down faster?
No Georgia this is fungal break down not bacteria
are 'fresh' green leaves considered nitrogen or carbon? Thanks.
Ok guys
:)Sorry for the late reply. A load of comments said they were responded to even though they were not. I am slowly working through them all.
I puposely collected my leaves after it has rained on them.because I want the earthworms too. This means I cannot shred it. Any other advice on how to fasten the creation of leaf mould.
Add soil every couple feet. Soil makes compost turn black on no time
shredding is a must I am sorry for the late reply, YT didnt tell me about your comment. I just found it
yes good tip I am sorry for the late reply, YT didnt tell me about your comment. I just found it
great tips tony thanks for sharing mate.
atb
Anytime Jamie, hope things are good your end mate
Not got a lawn. So not got a lawnmower. Yes I've got a pair of scissors! Hand-crafted leaf mould! Stay safe sir.
Great video, please provide captions. Thank you.
Hi Linda. Leave it with me and soon as I have a bit of time I will get CC sorted for you
Thank you!
Hi Linda. The CC is done for ya. Hope it helps. I will try to do future video's but it may not be when they are first uploaded
Tony
Thank you so much!
The captions helped a lot. Thanks again for doing this for many of us. Cheers!
Hello, your accent sounds Welsh to me. Can i please confirm if my Cymraeg radar is on target?
Hey Cat. It certainly is. I am from South Wales :)
@@simplifygardening :) thanks for confirming. Cool! I was born in Australia, but Nain was from Wales. I keep wanting to learn the language and to visit. Lovely to come across the accent. Cheers!
i use my lawn mower to pick them up as its a village less contamination
Yes lawn mowers are brilliant for this Paul
wow!
Hey Zarah. :)
You mentioned the other video where you show your wire cage method and you're trying the new method with the white bulk bags. Which method gives you results you are looking for? I'm certain both will work, but which is better in your opinion?
I found the 1 ton sacks was much quicker to break the leaves down
@@simplifygardening Did you put holes in them?
Just subscribe to your site, and wanted to tell you hello from New Orleans, Louisiana UNITED STATES.
Do you put coffee grinds in your leaf mold to speed up the process?
Hi Rick. welcome to the channel and thanks for your support... No i dont add coffee grounds as thats a nitrogen source, when you add them it turns it into compost not leaf mould, It gets to hot for too long, we want the heat to start the breakdown then need it to cool for the fungal spores to take over
UK Here We Grow thanks Tony, now I have to start a new leaf mold with just leaves and leave out the coffee ☕
It's worth it, in the long run, Rick. The Coffee ground is good to use in the garden as a nitrogen source or to mulch with but it limits what you can use the leaf mould on. If you just use the leaves and maybe the tea made up from woodland soil this allows you to use pure leaf mould as a seed starter, an additive to bed, to be added to the potting mix. the list is endless
Well where's the problem with compost? It'll finish faster and have more nutrients..
"No i dont add coffee grounds as thats a nitrogen source" - yet you add urine which is pure ammonium nitrate/ nitrogen??