I live in a high rise apt complex with a roof garden on the fifth floor. We have 30 raised bed garden boxes. Last Fall, the crows and squirrels teamed up to plant hundreds of black walnuts in the boxes. So many black walnut seedlings in the spring!

❤❤❤❤❤thank you

Beautiful! I put 6" or 8" of free local leaves on my potato garden every fall and spring. I harvest 200 lbs of potatoes every fall. The leaves keep the moisture in the ground for the potatoes, keeps the weeds down, add nutrients. Huge, huge potatoes!!

Perfect! Just the video I was looking for.

I'm curious that your soil test report did not address nitrogen at all. It's a major element of soil fertility and not reporting that at all is a major hole in the analysis. I'm also curious as to how those "optimal" ranges were determined and whether or not they recognized that different plant communities have different needs. There is no single "optimal range" for plants.

In my case the recipe is leaves and rabbit manure ;) Working wonderfully well.

Nutrient burns usually come from synthetic fertilizers. But things like compost or worm castings for example cannot burn your plants even if you grow directly in them. But you could burn your plants with fresh chicken manure or lots of fresh urine or blood but that’s all I can think of.

If I scar the seed (Morning Glory), would I ALSO soak it afterwards?? The seed packet is not clear & I’m new to this! Thanks, great video (although I’ll pass on the sharp knife & Sulfuric Acid methods 😝)

Great video! Thank you

Hi, the compost lesson was so awesome, I learned so much, thank you! I subcribed today as I found you on utube today so glad i found you... question please; what do you think about my ingredients compost, I started today. I have 3 chicken wire about 6 feet tall and 4 wide, 1 stand right on the dirt and the other two I laid plastic bags underneath because it was an are with gravel. All three cages had same ingredients, layers of cardboard on the bottom, yard greens, wood chips, soil, horse manure, wood chips, greens, straws, sand soil, and 2 gallon of wood ash, and I repeat until full then covered with card board; I water in between... I plan not to turn it so like a lazy compost and see how long it will compost as I am not needing it sooner. My next pile of compost will be similar to your mountain in which, I may have 80% wood chips and the rest ingredients as mentioned plus coffee materials and sawdust add to it. My other method will be in containers with holes on the bottom sit untop of ground soil and will be covered as needed and away from mice; same ingredients plus kitchen scraps. The last method might be quicker then the two methods because they will be in containers and I will turn as needed and closed for moisture, etx; Could you comment on all? Thank you so much for your compost video experience!

Do you cover the pile when it rains? We get pretty bad thunderstorms sometimes.

Where we can get saw dust for free like coffee grounds?

Thank you for sharing this video. So much good info.

I'm wondering what the nitrogen levels are. Thank You.

Have def over fertilized. I still accept ‘chemical fertilizer’ donations from friends and neighbors, and try to use it up and max out applications. The most likely burn/harm you will get (from ‘chemical fertilizer’) is from direct contact with plant tissue. I brush it off the leaves, immediately water it in; still a granule might lodge in a crown… making a brown spot. The appearance of the new growth is the best indicator of .. the .. nutrient profile .. Old leaves are old news. Leaf color, flower color, overall plant size gets scrutinized… Giant hits of P and K and folks will routinely say, ‘Omg I never seen such a big one! How are yours 5 feet and mine are 3?’ ‘Omg look at that leaf color!’ ‘Omg I’ve never seen the flowers of that species shimmer so much - it’s like hallucinogenic velvet!’ Too much and leaf tips dry up and curl etc. I believe it is very hard to burn with ‘organic’ natural fertilizers but i of course would not try to grow in pure manure etc.

Grats! Can’t add too many leaves. I used to live in high tax NJ suburbs and by the truckload the town collected leaves we all dumped at our curbs - unlimited free composted leaves at the recycling yard!! Deep sandy loam and tons (literally) of leaf compost made for one slammin’ garden! Many things I grew were ‘the best I ever tasted.’

Yt just brought your video to my attention. Thanks intersting citizen science. You might find it interesting to check the effect of adding leaves on water infiltration and retention. Also do you have rain worms in your area?

Do you mow the leaves first or just dump them on the garden?

In Germany, fully decomposed "compost" is defined as humus. It's a nutrient rich soil, which does not have any compostble material left. As long as there are still some decomposable materials left, it's compost.

How long after you put down the leaf mulch do wait until you plant? Can you plant seeds with the leaf mulch down? Thank you so much for your informative videos, i appreciate your straightforward, non-gimmicky style. Edit: Nevermind, I read your beginner's guide on your website. Exactly the info i needed, thanks!!!

What are some of the best seeds to use this technique with??

id add a little bit of calcium

Made it to the end. Very informative . Thanks very much 👍

This is my 3rd year with swampmilkweed, last year blooms galore, this year none. There was a lot of leaves grow vibrant but no blooms in every different areas throughout my yard, what could be problem with no bloom this year?

That’s I have the same issue. My red bee balm has almost no seeds

I wonder about the gases that come from the pile, are they not bad for the atmosphère ?

Well done great video. Thanks for taking the time!

Great vid

Was sent here by another KZbin channel:@fastgardeningMichigan Thanks for sharing you knowledge and test results.

I've got alarm bells going off. I don't know about Pennsylvania, but here in Massachusetts, when I put a pile of leaves on the ground in the fall, by the time Spring comes and I'm ready to start planting - I stll have a pile of leaves on the ground. A layer of leaves at the end of the year is not a compost pile. When last year's shredded leaves are combined with grass clippings over the growing season, the pile will generally compost and break down over the entire season, and be ready for the NEXT year. That's TWO years for the SHREDDED leaves. A simple leaf pile will sit there for multiple years, gradually going black and being broken down by fungus and bacteria. I don't see how a layer of leaves on the surface can fully break down over a single winter - AND then get transported down into the existing soil to make a deeper topsoil layer. Remember - browen down leaves are not soil - it's just organic matter that will eventually be fully decomposted by bacteria and disappear. Top soil is organic matter PLUS organic matter. So where do those extra inches of topsoil come from?

THIS IS THE BEST INFORMATIVE VIDEO I HAVE EVER SEEN ABOUT MAKING COMPOST THANK YOU VERY MUCH

Great video! Thanks for sharing 👍

Are these fragrant at all?

Do you have any videos on Cornflower or any other flowers? I really like the way you did this video 😊👍🏽

Thanks for your video , I have been gardening with natives for quite awhile , my only concern doing this is on host plants if there is eggs laid on the leaves you are discarding precious Lepidoptera , how do you prevent this ? At first I was thinking leaving the cut stems at the base of the plants , if the eggs are lucky enough to have time to grow on dry leaves ? It’s a concern of mine , my New England asters would benefit from it . Thank you

Well made video…and even better content that took 4 years to make

Hi, quick question.. will pine straw mixed in with leave harm anything ?

GREAT VIDEO, THANKS FOR SHARING. ACTUALLY GOING OUT TO GET LEAFS NOW...THATS WHY I'M WATCHING YOUR VIDEO.... THANKS AGAIN.

You are my composting hero. This is the video the composting community needs. No one talks about this. I just got into composting this year. I was prepared to go ahead and try this as an experiment this winter not knowing what to expect, but knowing I wanted as much compost as possible come spring. I already had coffee grounds lined up from my office and everything. The timing of me finding this video was perfect. Watched all the way through. (The pumpkin idea is brilliant)

Výborná vychytávka děkuji

NOT that simple for people a) in anything >Zone 8, and/or b) having high clay content in their soil. Breakdown and increase in organic content is much much slower and so your results are not generally reproducible. Happy for your results and very good job documenting the progress over the years, a highly informative video, thank you.

Question - why keep them in the shade if you don't want germination; why not just wait until a later date to sow them and keep the seeds in the freezer if they need stratification? how do you know when to bring them out of the shade? i definitely lost some seedlings due to early germination last year so I'm curious.

why don't you make a new garden patch or expand the current one with your next leaf mulch and compost? looks like your current patch (old and new) are already doing great! congrats ;)

Hello, this is the first time I ran across your videos, great job. Do you root till the leaves into the ground or just leave them to decompose on top. I just moved into a new home in Georgia, all I have in my back yard is clay. I’m wanting to do a garden next spring and have been composting the grass clippings, leaves and household garden waste as well as eggshells and coffee grinds. So again, do you root till the leaves in or just leave on top. Thankyou in advance!

Great to know, what to do with "twin trunks"?

Thank you for the effort and knowledge you shared

Anyone try a cover to insulate the pile?

هل هذا اليانسون العادي ام النجمي.

I placed 4 inch shredded leaves on my beds along with 2 inches of horse manure last fall. Then applied diluted bokashi liquid over the leaves. It had all but disappeared the following winter. It amazes me that the soil and things that live in it can consume so much material. The soil is so much better for it. I will be doing just leaves this year. I think the bokashi boosts the fungal breakdown.

Good info, thx. I want to try them 😊