Autumn Leaf Mulch 2022 Update

[@HelluvaGuy-t3c]

For years I quietly cursed my neighbor while I picked up 50-60 bags of leaves that fell from his trees into my driveway alone. The kids trick-or-treating at my house waded through six to eight inches of leaves on their way to my front door. They were so deep I used a snow shovel instead of a rake to round them up. Thanks to your video I realized what was once a problem is now a blessing. Thanks for sharing.

[@katiekane5247]

It's always astounded me that people take this gift, encase it in plastic & pay to get rid of it. Worse is those who feel they MUST convert this into smoke & flying embers, like it's a right of autumn! Thanks for giving the leaves the credit they deserve!

[@growitbuildit]

I couldn't agree more with you Katie - leaves are just about the single best free resource for the garden.

[@thehillsidegardener3961]

Isn't it crazy? Our place is down a country road about a mile long and there is a designated garbage collection point where that road meets the main road, and all year round I am constantly finding big plastic sacks full of "weeds" piled up there, and this time of year of course, leaves. I am always fishing them out of the garbage and bringing them home like some crazy garbage bag man. I mean, this is literally going to go in LAND-FILL! It's insane to me that your trees spent a year producing all this fertility from the sun and from deep down in the soil, and you are going to remove it from your garden and bury it in plastic! I rescue it and tip it all out in my garden (the weeds I'll put in the compost usually), but now the neighbours have started to realise I want this stuff and are bringing it round to me, lol. One thing is that the leaves are often walnut leaves - there is this abiding concern that they are allelopathic and not good to have in the garden, so that's probably why they get thrown out, but like with most of these bits of "common wisdom" it's only partially true at best. I have been composting a bunch of walnut leaves for a year now, and hopefully by spring I am going to be able to plant something in them just to see once and for all whether there is any reason for concern.

[@andreastyrberg7556]

And why burn something that just takes teh dark winter to decompose. so much unnecessary work

[@thehillsidegardener3961]

@@andreastyrberg7556 The only thing I can think is that people don't have room to compost or they think it's unsightly. Some of my neighbours tip all the leaves down the bottom of their garden (pine needles too) in a kind of common woodland area, and these piles have built up over literally DECADES, and I can go and fill up a wheelbarrow with aged leave or pine needle compost whenever I want, it's crazy (I've asked their permission, though it's not on their land anyway!)

[@theobserver9131]

It seems like our culture has a fetish for wrapping everything in plastic. We even wrap our plastic garbage in even more plastic. I think it's perverse and repulsive.

[@trumpetingangel]

Years ago, I had a large foundation hole from a 5-bay garage on my property. I couldn't afford to have it filled, so I instead asked the local landscapers to dump their leaves in it. Two years later, I had a huge garden of the most beautiful soil imaginable. Only the section with a concentration of oak leaves was behind and uncomposted. The yield from that garden was stupendous, with vegetables and flowers growing throughout. Three houses later, I still miss that garden!

[@growitbuildit]

Wow - that would have been amazing

[@hermanhale9258]

I have a big old oak. I like to shred the leaves with the mower set on two or one, to speed them along.

[@bexxISM]

Great video!!! I'm a landscaper with a lot of perennial gardens. On trick I've used to install new gardens over lawn etc is to use clean cardboard. I get product dividers from pallets at Costco. While others use roundup, machinery, hard labor.... I make a sandwich (carbboard, leaves, mulch, manure, soil). I found you only need 3-4 inches on top of the cardboard. Then I plant divided perennials from other gardens on top. By spring they've rooted through the cardboard and the decomposing sod feeds it all summer. A fresh layer of quality mulch on top gives the bed a nice neat look as any other. The plants come in looking well established!! I think I'll try a veggie expansion the same way.

[@growitbuildit]

Hi - it sounds like you are doing it the right way! I always prefer a no chemical option when possible. I like your mulch sandwich method. I may have to try it sometime!

[@Ajaxxgopw]

i love your metaphor: an open face biological sandwich. I'm going to steal that if you don't mind lol.

[@planterbanter]

I often tell people that ask how to improve their soil to ‘think of a forest floor’. Nature knows how to do things best. Sometimes it’s as simple as dumping heaps of leaves! Creating compost/nutrient rich soil, providing water retention, warmth/ cooling to roots when needed and many other good things! You are a steward of your land, looking after it and making it productive/healthy. Well done!

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you! I could not agree more with what you said. Getting the soil fundamentals right, or should I say, giving it the right ingredients and time to work, has done wonders for my overall garden.

[@farmertod6505]

"They are called leaves, because you are supposed to leave em there!" One of my favorite quotes. Your garden looks great!

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you Tod!

[@A3Kr0n]

If you leave them there they kill the grass.

[@GrammyMidwife]

@@A3Kr0n that’s the point! More food and pollinator flowers and less lawn. Grass has been entirely overrated in the past century. It serves absolutely no purpose. 😂😂

[@Wakwaw796]

Grass hater gang 😁

[@jamesbailey1502]

If tilling them in creates a nitro sink, at what point could I till them in to incorporate them deeper into the soil?

[@JohnDoe-l1kmya5s]

Thanks for the update! Your 2019 video is what got me started with composting. I've been doing it ever since and, like you, I've watched my concrete-hard, garbage, dirt turn into rich fertile soil. I've refused to use any kind of commercial fertilizer to prove to those I know that the scare tactics we've seen about nitrogen and fertilizer shortages are nothing more than false cries of a manufactured potential food shortage because of it. You 100% DO NOT NEED commercial fertilizer, that's a total lie, and I would even go as far as saying that commercial fertilizer actually harms your soil long term. Though, admittedly, I don't have any proof of that, as it's my hypothesis for current research.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you John - I'm really happy to hear you're having great results like I am. And I fully agree that it shows you don't need to use synthetic fertilizer. Although I don't think modern, giant commercial agriculture could do it. So you would need a system change to make it work.

[@tennesseenana4838]

I was told to wrap the base of my zucchini plant with foil for several inches up, and then wrap tulle around that to keep the vine borers from laying their eggs. I did that this year and didn't have any borers on my plants.

[@growitbuildit]

I may have to try that next year Nana. I had read about that and was going to try it this year, but just got too busy.

[@fayito9970]

Thank you for your videos. I have learned a lot. Now to apply it to my very poor clay soil . I am finally hopeful that I can have a garden! I really appreciate how you explain things.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you for the kind words Fayito - hopefully you can have the same success as I have. Good luck!

[@jonfranklin9361]

I started doing this after watching your videos. I had poor soil, not anymore. Thank you .👍🏻

[@growitbuildit]

Now this is the kind of comment I love to read! Excellent work Jon!

[@charlesburkhart800]

Glad you have room to expand. I am out of spaces, haha. My favorite parts of using leaf mulch is that it is free and it suppresses weeds. After a hundred or so bags of leaves every year, our garden soil is very dark and easy to dig with a trowel.

[@growitbuildit]

The results are truly amazing - and it is so easy. It is shocking that more people don't do this.

[@daytonaexpress7160]

This needs to be seen by as many people as possible every update is just insane. Thank you for uploading.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you for the kind words! I am happy you are enjoying the updates.

[@fatjonseatingadventures5429]

I love that people get rid of grass clippings and leaves… it’s free soil improvement.. using grass clipping mulch I noticed so much improvements. Next year I’m gonna try this, and worm farming

[@growitbuildit]

Excellent - I believe you will be very happy with the results Jon!

[@shneershiishonest]

Leaf mulch is my favourite thing to use in the garden! We moved in to our current property back in 2016, and both the front and back yards were almost entirely comprised of severely compacted and hydrophobic sandy soil that was so terrible even the weeds weren't willing to grow in it! Well, I only started gardening in 2020, but over the last 2 years I've managed to get the back yard into pretty decent shape by bringing in over 1500L of compost, broadforking the compacted sand, digging up all the limestone rocks, mixing the compost with our decompacted sand and using various nitrogen fixing cover crops as well as mulching using any organic matter I can get my hands on (winter grass, leaves, etc). However since I recently ran out of room for planting out the back, I decided to clear the overgrown mess out front that hadn't been used since we first moved in back in 2016. To my absolute delight, and due to 6 years' worth of leaves, sticks and grass breaking down, the hydrophobic sandy soil that was there when we first moved in had been completely covered by a 10cm (4 inch) layer of humus! Since learning about the power of leaves I haven't used our 'green waste' bin for anything other than broken thorny branches that don't decompose for years.

[@growitbuildit]

Wow - that is a lot of compost! Sounds like you've done a great job improving your soil. I share the same philosophy on soil improvement - add organic matter any way you can. It really is the best way. Nice work!

[@fenrirgg]

I use thorny branches (cut in pieces of 15cm) from mezquites to keep dogs away of my front yard. It works but they decompose and I have to replace them every year, imagine if they were buried haha.

[@shneershiishonest]

@@fenrirgg I was actually planning on doing something like that but using living 'deterrents' such as planting a bunch of bougainvillea and nettles at the front of my property, but local laws prohibit the placing/planting of things that 'potentially harmful' to the public or local animals.

[@hkschubert9938]

Wow !!! I did exactly what you said about building a compost mound out of lawn clippings & undyed bark mulch from HDepot & potting soil & water & layering it & wetting it AND NOW 24 HRS LATER IT IS OVEN HOT !!! It is so hot that I couldn't leave my hand stuck in it. YOU ARE THE BOSS !!! THANK YOU !!!

[@growitbuildit]

Congrats and keep her going. Turn n feed it regularly. The mulch may take a bit longer to decompose

[@hkschubert9938]

@@growitbuildit ?Turn it daily? Every 2 days? Every 3 days? Weekly?

[@growitbuildit]

Compost, when made with grass clippings should be turned every 24 to 48 hrs , until your pitch fork meets no resistance and you can turn the whole pile with a light consistency. Grass clippings rapidly decompose, and will turn into a mat. When this happens all the air is squeezed out and it turns to sludge. Frequent turning keeps it aerated and hot

[@growitbuildit]

Once it turns easily, just turn it weekly

[@hkschubert9938]

@@growitbuildit ok thanks. Thursdays will be my Turn-it Day !!

[@christinamiller4741]

My house had been a rental property for over 30 years and nobody amended the soil. When I dug my first garden, I used a chisel and hammer to break up the soil. Three years later, the soil is much healthier and softer due to leaves. Thanks for your video - I wish more people would save and use their leaves.

[@growitbuildit]

Wow Christina a chisel? Dang. Well, it is nice to hear that you have improved so much using what nature can provide. Happy gardening!

[@christinamiller4741]

@@growitbuildit Ha Ha! Yes. I thought it was concrete at first. Just compacted clay-based soil.

[@brianwhite9555]

YES! By all means, mulch your garden with leaves, grass clippings, even shredded paper. These are free organic resources that most folks want hauled away. Like you, I started out gardening in clay soil, but I continuously mulched throughout the growing season and through the fall. Over 19 years, I went from having no topsoil to having 8" throughout the garden. I even built two large leaf bins so I could stockpile excess fall leaves and used many of them to make more compost. Weed suppression and an increase in worm populations is of great benefit to the gardener. Good job - keep it up! :)

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you Brian! That is inspiring to hear your results.

[@jcdiver522]

I love these videos and really enjoy seeing the difference it’s made over the years. I started gathering my neighbors leaves last year and they were even bringing them over to me. I have a much smaller property in a more urban area but made some raised beds and started a backyard chicken flock.

[@growitbuildit]

That is awesome that they deliver them to you! I've got to load up the back of my car as much as I can.

[@y0nd3r]

I would love to do that but we have an invasive cat problem where I'm at. Ferals and supposedly cared for cats, but the owners let them outside, unmonitored, to play in traffic.

[@smas3256]

@@y0nd3r A few neighborhood cats came to our backyard and garden hunting moles. Big invasion we have this year.

[@y0nd3r]

@@smas3256 I don't have a mole problem and if I did, I would not use cats to take care of them as that is an ineffective solution. Cats are an invasive, introduced species that causes far more harm than good in our environment and need to be culled.

[@jacquelamontharenberg]

Leafs are gold. Been gardening with them for years.

[@growitbuildit]

Absolutely!

[@combitz]

Done this for a few years now, another tip if you want to help speed up the leaf breakdown and make the nutrience accessible earlier is to cut some nettles, fill a bucket 3/4 full with water, place the nettles in the bucket and cover it for 2 weeks. It will smell stinky after this time but water the leaf mulch with it and you'll almost half the breakdown speed. I wouldn't water any winter greens with it just use it more as a winter feed for the bacteria to use up in the leaf breakdown over winter to release the nutrience in early spring. Keep going it's looking good, thanks for the vlog.

[@growitbuildit]

Thanks for the tip!

[@miked8227]

I’d like to ask if you could explain to me what nettle is and where could I get it? I basically live in the woods and leaves are a huge part of my spring and fall cleanup. Usually I just dump them into the surrounding woods but would like to start taking advantage of them for my beds. Thanks

[@trumpetingangel]

@@miked8227 You can look up nettle online to be able to find it. The easiest way to find it is to be "stung" by stinging nettle! It's a brief stinging, then brief itching. It's very nutritious cooked up as a green (the stinging disappears with cooking), and has a huge variety of minerals when broken down by soaking in water. You can also just throw nettle into your leaf pile and it will compost along with the leaves, leaving its minerals for the garden where you use the compost.

[@joyhamilton4248]

My husband and I always enjoy your videos. Lots of great information and inspiration.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you so much Joy! I'm very happy you and your husband are enjoying them and finding them helpful.

[@paulkleinmeulman6394]

I can't remember why I subscribed to your channel, but I did like this video. Very helpful and well documented.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you Paul - I'm glad you enjoyed it. If you try it, I hope you have the same success I have had.

[@kathrynmettelka7216]

One year I collected 140+ bags of leaves from my neighbors. That seemed a little obsessive, so now I do a more reasonable number, 100 or so. The results in my garden are stupendous, especially since in Texas we have "caliche," which looks a lot like road base. Few plants like it, and digging through it requires ingenuity and persistence.

[@growitbuildit]

Hi Kathryn - I would go back to 140! I've not seen 'caliche' soil, but can imagine how tough it is from your description. Adding organic matter is the way!

[@NutmegThumper]

I’d suggest making one pile of leaves and watering it periodically if dry. This will generate intense heat (I use a compost thermometer) which will aid in decomposition. You can spread it out after a couple months. A rototiller might help move that black soil deeper to help the roots.

[@growitbuildit]

Thanks you for the suggestions. I actually like the 'natural weed barrier' of the leaves. So that is why I don't compost or till them. But, my soil is quite rocky, so tilling would be risky as I may very well damage the tines.

[@alfonsomunoz4424]

I love that your kids wanted their own vegetable garden.

[@growitbuildit]

I agree - I couldn't say no to them. Getting them to love gardening is something I always hoped for.

[@smas3256]

@@growitbuildit Love to hear this. Children are curious, inventive and adventurous. Please keep us posted.

[@growitbuildit]

Will do. Next year we are going to expand and fence in everything. Then we will give them space. And they like growing watermelons, which can take a lot of space!

[@rubytuby6369]

This is my fourth year doing a leaf mulcher garden. It’s basically gardening in a compost pile that I never turn or mix in. I can chop and drop all the plants in the fall and then just cover with a foot of leaves in late October.

[@growitbuildit]

EXACTLY! That is basically what I do too.

[@lessalonelouann]

I spent hours tilling my garden this year. It's about 7'x75'. The spot hasn't been used in at least 10-15 years so it was extremely difficult and I had to go over it several times. Luckily, I had help. I'm excited to start this process in the fall so I don't have to break my back. Thanks for this awesome info!

[@growitbuildit]

You are very welcome! This really is the single best thing I've done to my soil.

[@EastofVictoriaPark]

I think I'm going to try to replicate your process on a smaller scale. The results look great.

[@growitbuildit]

It has been working for me for several years in a row AC. I hope you have the same success I am.

[@honest1966]

Thank you for your video. I am leaning more and more each day from veterans like you. I just moved to the suburbs and still learning how to use leaves and cut grass for my benefits because it is natural. I truly appreciate it.

[@growitbuildit]

You're very welcome Lisa. Congrats on getting started in gardening

[@jakobbrun6535]

Great video - the improvement is so nice and visual from several angles: growth, soil colour, easily workable. It is just a win-win-win, and what a paradise it must be for the soil food web. Don't grow plants, grow soil! I go to a nearby football field every fall and sweep up leaves from there. People look at me as if im crazy, but they have not seen my garden :D

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you Jakob! I'm happy you enjoyed it. And I completely understand you getting all those leaves!

[@PhoenixBook1898]

Grow soil, nicely said. In China the peasants are called those who grow soil 種地的lol. Now I understood why.

[@kellyy8114]

I am very new to gardening, only had a patio garden last year, but planning for raised beds this year. This is by far the easiest gardening method I have ever seen and makes the most sense to me. Can wait to collect all our leaves and grass 😂

[@growitbuildit]

It is absolutely the easiest way to build soil I've found!

[@veronicabell1738]

Thank you for continuing to show your research and progression. I dumped bags and bags of leaves in 1 area where I have berries growing. The results, my raspberry bushes grew to about 7 tall. I have already started filling my raised beds with fallen leaves. I’m excited to begin the collection process again. Thank you so much… very helpful!

[@growitbuildit]

You are very welcome Veronica - and I'm glad to hear you are having great success with your raspberries & leaves!

[@tbluemel]

Great job! I believe soil is about 90% of successful gardening and you proved/showed that!

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you Thom! What is amazing is that I've transformed mine for basically no money!

[@noraalvarado8178]

Wow love the updates and your garden looks great. I started my garden with cardboard with 10 inches or more of woodchips. Then put the raised beds on top. In the raised beds every year I mulch my grass and leaves together and pile them on the raised beds. My soil also looks better every year. I use my leaves for everything as a filler. On the bottom of the new raised beds that I put in this year and in my flower pots. Gardens never seem big enough and us gardeners are always expanding because that's just what we do lol. Absolutely just love all your video's!!

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you Nora! Sounds like you've got a very productive garden! I expanded our garden by about 75% this weekend. I was able to put about 1/2" of compost on top. Now, I will wait for leaves!

[@Ajaxxgopw]

Finally a mulching tip that has visible proof of success and seems super easy to do. Thank you!!!

[@growitbuildit]

You are very welcome Ajaxx!

[@sacdigitaldesignweb]

Beautiful. I have only two young trees, red oaks, but they dump ton of leaves so I built a compost bin for them last year. The bin was full last fall but now it’s only half fall and I’m getting ready to transfer the leave mulch to my raised beds and make space for new leaves.

[@growitbuildit]

Excellent Thomas - keep using those leaves!

[@umiluv]

That's the way to do it! Sounds like you got a nice simple system that will give you the stuff you need in your garden.

[@FrikInCasualMode]

For even better results, shred the leaves and mix in nitrogen-rich material. Grass clippings work really well.

[@bullpaxton2001]

Yessss I got a leaf mulcher last year and I love it. It is amazing. Makes your yard smell like a forest and quickly turns into rich topsoil. So glad to see you spreading this wisdom!

[@growitbuildit]

It is the best thing for soil that I've found Bull!

[@bearrivermama6414]

Nicely done on the continued progress reports!!! I live deep in the woods of northern Minnesota and leaves are a very bountiful resource. I’ve been composting them for the last five years but decided to directly apply a thick layer to my beds this year. I was curious about other peoples experience. Hands down your content is the best for presenting a case for leaf application! Thank you for sharing but also sticking with updates!!! I’ll be tuning in for more

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. I hope you get great results like I have. Good luck!

[@apiecemaker1163]

I have woods behind my house. I’ve put it on my compost pile but now see that I need to be adding it directly to my garden beds. Enjoyed the video.

[@growitbuildit]

Excellent - if you've got extra you can still use them for compost. But I've found so much benefit from the mulch that I just layer them on my garden.

[@apiecemaker1163]

@@growitbuildit yes your garden has improved dramatically over the last couple of years. Permaculture at its finest! Thank you.

[@ourbackyardhomestead]

Great video! I haven't tried the leaf mulch yet (other than just leaving the leaves from the trees), but I did try a chipdrop. This was super educational.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you - I'm glad you found it helpful. The leaves have done wonders for my garden.

[@Theultrazombiekiller]

We have about 1,200 square feet of in-ground garden and 22, 8-foot long raised beds on our property. We just covered everything in about 6 inches of cottonwood and oak leaves. We did the same last year on the raised beds, and in February I buried the leaves in fresh compost to break down for about 6 weeks in the beds before Spring planting, we had great crops this year. Im excited to see what it does to the in-ground garden this year.

[@growitbuildit]

That sounds awesome - I'm guessing you will have great results in-ground too

[@aaron_brown7324]

Excellent video I have four giant oak trees on my quarter acre yard and that is a whole Lotta leaves to get rid of in a very small area this is exactly what I’m gonna do I’m kind of looking forward to them falling now

[@growitbuildit]

That's great Aaron - I hope you get the same results that I do!

[@jayneteal-jeffery6283]

Oak leaves do take longer to decompose. Shredding will help. 😁

[@elisabethjones4917]

I'm so glad to see you still doing videos!!! Every other one I've watched has been from at least a year ago! I'm headed outside to snag some more leaves 😆 thanks for the tip!!!

[@growitbuildit]

You are very welcome Elisabeth - I make movies a bit more infrequently than most channels, but try to make them very helpful and high quality when I do put them out.

[@umiluv]

Nice work! I'm using grass clippings and leaves to make compost. I have raised beds because I wanted to grow food THIS year lol. I have the same type of soil you do. I plan on keeping with the beds since drainage is always such a problem with clay soil. But it is amazing to see how cool nature is. I also have neighbors who are cool with me taking their leaves every year. I have to get on that. Need to make all the nice bins out of hardware cloth.

[@growitbuildit]

Cool - I understand wanted the production you can get from raised beds. The real test for leaf mulch for me will come next year. I've expanded our garden, and am now looking at bare soil under my lawn. I have flipped the sod pads, so there will be a thin layer of composted grass. But other than that, I'm spreading a layer of compost, and then will apply as many leaves as I can.

[@bomashishalisa6434]

Your videos are awesome. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. My husband following your instructions last Fall in our vegetable garden and in only one year, the soil has improved tremendously. Thank you for the 2022 update too. You suggestions are wonderful; it's amazing how working with Mother Nature can far exceed any manmade things.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you so much for the kind words Lisa! I'm very happy you enjoy how I make my videos, and even better to hear that you are having great results as I have! Keep up the good work, and thank you again!

[@gregkillmeier8560]

I do the same but put landscape fabric over the leaves during the winter. It seems to keep the leaves in place, help retain moisture, allows rain to get through, and prevents any winter weeds, etc.

[@gregkillmeier8560]

I also chop the leaves up with the lawnmower before putting them on the bed.

[@growitbuildit]

I've found that the leaves tend to stay in place for me. But, they are bagged, which probably helps them stay interlocked better.

[@abraham3901]

man, im always looking for "gold" picking up 19 bags of oak leaves tomorrow. good stuff. Thanks x the video indeed. Have a great year everybody.

[@growitbuildit]

It really is like gold for our soil. Thank you for the kind words - and good luck!

[@WardCastle]

Your channel is really excellent. Packed full of concise information. Love the documentation. Thank you for sharing.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you Ward! I'm glad you are enjoying my videos.

[@gregmaine5521]

I’ve been adding ground leaves to my garden beds for many years. I get the leaves for free from my neighbors using my DR leaf vac and mower. I plant peas and beans just by scraping a 4” wide path clean of leaves and slightly furrowing with a push plow. I then cover with the mulch and what soil was furrowed. I have had good results. I also us 3 gallon pots with the bottom cut out to help plant reach the soil. Also, I find that you need to add N2 to account for all the composting that is going on in the soil. Nice video. Greg

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you Greg - I may just try your method of seed planting if it has been working well for you.

[@tarawatterson4188]

Neat to see the changes across multiple years!

[@growitbuildit]

I agree - I just wish I had taken better pictures when I started. It is actually difficult to get good pictures of soil depth unless you dig decent sized holes.

[@mrs.t4382]

Great update, thank you. Leaves are quickly becoming my favorite mulching medium.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you - glad you found it helpful. I agree with regards to leaves.

[@sandrajohnson9926]

I think lawns need to be used for gardens instead of perfect lawns. Don't ever use chemicals. We use leaf compost & bark. Been gardening over 50 years. Just keep adding & it builds up to beautiful humus. We have clay & rocks. It's been a battle. Thank you for the encouragement. God bless.

[@growitbuildit]

You are very welcome Sandra. I couldn't agree more.

[@mangisda]

When we bought out house we had to use synthetic fertilizer just to keep plants looking ok. Got to a point where we stopped planting. One fall, so uninspired to be gardening, I got lazy and piled up all the leaves into an empty garden bed, 2 years later I noticed how good the soil looked and started to plant a few, and now I have a lush garden and I don't have to bag leaves. I just mow over the leaves with the clipping collector.

[@growitbuildit]

Exactly!

[@cooperbookout]

Autumn 🍂 leaves falling in 2022

[@mike1graz]

It's awesome when you have enough leave to do this to your beds, then try to make individual piles of black leaf mold and Berkeley hot compost if you could save them long enough while they're dry

[@growitbuildit]

I absolutely love leaves - they've done more for my soil than anything else.

[@roncaldwell699]

I use leaf as my carbon source when composting with horse manure and it creates a blue ribbon compost! This year I am adding leaf as my mulch around the Bell Bean cover crop. I live in a new Sacramento development without any tree's so I have to visit older area's and harvest leaf. Leaf is totally ignored so I get as much as I want!

[@growitbuildit]

Nice! Always great when you can score a ton of leaves for free.

[@GrassyForkFarm]

Wow! Thanks for this video. I’m going to add a bunch of leaves to my garden area! I also have a compost pile to add some in. Looks like there’s hope for my soil yet after seeing yours.

[@growitbuildit]

Excellent - I bet you will have great results just as I have. Good luck!

[@spir5102]

Thanks for the information about squash bugs. In all my years of gardening, I've never been able to grow squash because of squash bugs and or squash vine borers. For one thing, I didn't know how to build my soil back then, so the plants were not their healthiest. I appreciate the info on how to be vigilant and to get rid of them.

[@growitbuildit]

Squash vine borers have ruined many of my crops over the years. I'm going to be researching BT this year, as it looks like a somewhat natural insecticide that will kill them, but not harm humans. From my brief research thus far, it is a bacteria that is naturally found in soils. So, it isn't a synthetic fertilizer. I not totally sure if I will try it or not, but may try both that and wrapping the stems in foil. I like to grow gourds and pumpkins on some 'no mans land' adjacent to my property. Some years I do well....and others not so much. I attribute a lot of the losses to squash vine borers.

[@spir5102]

@@growitbuildit thanks for your quick response. I started trying BT last year. To me, it seems complicated to know when to use it and which pollinators it will and will not kill. Some sources say to use it early in the morning and when the sun hits it, it dries out and it will not kill pollinators. I feel like I have to do more research before I'm sure that I'm not killing pollinators. If you do use it, a video showing how it works for you would be greatly appreciated. Keep up the great videos.

[@bigwheelsturning]

Another thing I did this year was a "deep mulch". I did a "cut and cover" with the leaves in two of my beds to get more leaf mulch down low into the ground. I started at one end of the bed and used a hoe to pull back the dirt. Then I put a "liberal" amount of leaves in the trench. I stomped it down good to get as much mulch in the trench. Then I turned around and used the dirt I first dug up to cover the leaves in the trench. That created a new trench and I filled/stomped it with leaves, and used the dirt in the direction I was going to cover that trench. I just keep going that way until I got to the end and brought in some compost from my pile to cover the last filled/stomped trench. That would work with your "hard soils" to break them up sooner and to get the compost action going down deep quicker.

[@growitbuildit]

That is a lot of work, but as you say, that should work very nicely to get instant 'good' soil. I actually spread compost on my lawn in the most compacted, sun-beaten parts every Winter just to get some organic matter into the soils. Just top-dressing. Like with the leaf-mulch, it just seems to trickle down and get consumed by the grass. The excess grass clipping growth is then mulch mowed over time. Our ground is much softer to walk on in places I've done this.

[@Desron58]

For reasons I won't get into, I won't be gardening much for the next 3-4 years but starting last fall, I'm adding leaves mulched with my push mower from my yard and my next door neighbors. I intend to keep doing this in an effort to improve the soil and for weed control. Even when I begin gardening again in earnest, I'll add as much leaf mulch as I can each fall.

[@growitbuildit]

The results will speak for themselves, thank you for doing that. And hope you can restart gardening sooner. Good luck!

[@kennethjohnson347]

your soil looks great i just filled my garden up with leaves yesterday and will cintinue to do so every fall, that and around all my trees and flower beds also

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you Kenneth - I'm sure you will have the same success I have had using this method.

[@ruthstolz7127]

I rake my leaves onto plastic shower curtain, put them on fenced garden, them push mower over them. I also get many buckets of composted leaves from municipal compost pile, composted manure and composted vegetable scraps.

[@growitbuildit]

Sounds like you've got a great system Ruth

[@hrbacon]

I have an unmowed field that I am slowly converting to native prairie bit by bit using this method. The leaves do a great job smothering, and in the late spring i plant seedlings like you show, and it really does the trick. I do have to weed a little, mostly just virginia creeper vines and blackberry that don't seem to mind being smothered.

[@growitbuildit]

Virginia Creeper is a beast of a plant. Tough as heck.

[@EDLaw-wo5it]

Great video! Fortunately I already started and have several neighbors lined up to collect leaves from. I too am laying a thin compost layer. Thanks.

[@growitbuildit]

Excellent - good luck E.D. That is great you already got some leaves lined up from your neighbors.

[@gregstafford8064]

Right on dude. I went a little ham on the leaf collection this year and I thought I went overboard. Now I'm gonna grab more

[@growitbuildit]

Amen to that Greg! Get as many as you can!

[@MickyBellRoberts]

I use the abundance of leaves on my property for mulch etc. I use them to make compost, it is free. I have enjoyed your video and have subscribed.

[@growitbuildit]

Making compost is an excellent way to use them. I just really like the natural weed barrier! But thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@BGTech1]

I wish more people would think like this. This is definitely the solution to helping keep moisture in the ground in drought areas.

[@growitbuildit]

Hi - I agree 100% with your comments. This does a great job at helping everything retain moisture as well as provide natural soil life and nutrients.

[@sherimatukonis6016]

Without seeing other videos... You could try woodchips for the walkways... They last longer and are still beneficial. Also, planting herbs, especially stronger smelling hers, inter mixed or nearby, can deter ALOT of common pests. It makes it harder for them to identify the plants they are looking for. Check out poly culture or interplanting.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you Sheri - I will look into that.

[@cynthiabonnes9717]

Trying this method this year to deter deer around my woody shrubs and saplings they keep over”pruning”… while I like the help and glad they are getting nutrients my plants are unable to get the benefits of the sun since they never have leaves… my HOA doesn’t allow fences and I don’t like using chemicals as a first resort, so I need to be creative.

[@sherimatukonis6016]

@@cynthiabonnes9717 I also would plant a deer garden of all their favorites further away from MY garden with leftover seeds... If you have the space...

[@cynthiabonnes9717]

@@sherimatukonis6016 unfortunately most of what I’ve planted are their favorites. Even the plants that are resistant. Foliage is that poor here. Everything is inedible to them otherwise. Very sad.

[@HAXUSOfficial]

I just came across your videos. I live in FL and just bought a property that I was to start planting in. Of course, it is all just sandy soil. Luckily it is completely wooded and so the whole floor is like 2” of leaf mulch. Oak and pine. Unfortunately, that alone hasn’t really fixed the sand. I’m glad I found your video though and I’m thinking of ways to go about improving my soil. I think I’m going to pick an area where I will basically gather all the leaves so that I can concentrate that mulch and hopefully speed up the process. I cut some trees down also so hoping to mulch some branches with a chipper. On top of all that, I’m looking around for people getting rid of wood mulch and just soil. I think I’ll pile everything up in a spot like you did and hopefully I can at least start getting some compost out of it

[@growitbuildit]

Sounds like a good plan Zeus - I haven't had to try to fix sandy soil myself. But I am confident that with enough organic matter, you can greatly improve it.

[@mikeross4]

Good afternoon from near London, England. A very interesting video and your results are excellent. The leaves are also falling off the trees here and I cut my lawn yesterday and filled three large bags with a good mixture of grass and chopped leaves which I have spread on one of my deep beds. My soil is heavy clay with lots of stones and flint over chalk so I try and put as much compost and leaves as a mulch on it as possible and as I have been “no dig” for about 10 years it has improved significantly. Our leaf fall has only started recently so there are plenty more to come! The only seeds I sow directly here are Parsnips and Carrots, everything else is grown in modules and transplanted, so moving aside the mulch, planting, then using the mulch to suppress the weeds around the new plantings is easy and effective. You have an excellent channel and I enjoy watching your videos even though our growing conditions are quite different. Keep up the good work!

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you so much Mike! I'm very glad to hear that you are having the same results as I am. It sounds like you were starting from some very poor soil as well. Leaves are falling right now (peak fall color - Appalachia is really beautiful now) and I am gathering leaves from neighbors. As of tonight I gathered about 36 black trash bags full of leaves, and 10 extra large bags from another neighbor. I flipped sod pads to expand our garden, so next year it will be 17x30 (plenty of room for my kids watermelons). But thank you so much for the kind words. It really helps inspire me to keep up with videos, focusing on quality. I really appreciate it. Good luck with your garden this year!

[@paulkish007]

Awesome results, Leaf mulch is a winner. My mom used to pay the neighborhood kids one dollar per bag of leaves and use the leaves as mulch. Also I harvest mulch from neighborhood stump grindings.

[@growitbuildit]

Excellent Paul - your Mom had a great idea. As of today, I have collected around 55 bags of leaves for the coming Winter. But I still haven't broken down my garden yet and still have to harvest some stuff!

[@beckymiller6703]

I have used collars to plant my seeds in thick leaf mulch. I cut out the bottom of pots worked like a dream!

[@growitbuildit]

I may have to try that Becky. It sounds like an excellent idea.

[@seamus6994]

One thing to add here on leaves. I watched a video where a guy used a number of different organics to winterize his plants. Straw on some, Pine Needles on others and several other things. During Winter he placed a Probe Thermometer in each of the different Mulches. The plant roots covered in Leaves had the warmest temperature. Good to know, because I always used straw living on a farm.

[@growitbuildit]

Interesting - I usually can get lots of leaves from my neighbor with the large Sugar Maples. I guess that works out for me keeping my plants warmer into the Fall.

[@kcluu9390]

I enjoy this series/video. I dug a 6 foot deep grave like hole and put all my leaves in there. Lets see how the Spring does with this

[@growitbuildit]

Wow! That is a big hole. I bet your going to get some awesome composted leaves from that.

[@bigwheelsturning]

I just dumped a "big wheel cart" full of leaves on one of my garden beds today. My neighbors blow them into piles and I come and haul them away. I have my paths covered in wood chips and they have broken down to where they are almost soil now. The plants can't decide if the beds or the paths are a better place to grow. I find that my potatoes (70 pounds this year in a 3x35 bed) have smoother skins when they grow in the wood chip paths. For starting small seeds like carrots, I make a V in the leaf mulch and fill it with sifted compost, and plant the small seeds in that. They seem to enjoy it and produce large crops.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you for the tip on planting by making the V - if that is working for you, I may have to try that!

[@bigwheelsturning]

@@growitbuildit Using the sifted soil, it's easy to place the little seeds and have them germinate while surrounded with dirt. Once they grow and hit the compost, they take off.

[@GamerdevilPro]

This is awesome! It's always mind-boggling to me when I see how ppl manage their garden in a way that "requires" them to put in many hours of labor and additional fertilizer rather than thinking about how to manage it in a sustainable, more permanent way.

[@growitbuildit]

I'm 100% with you - I love to garden without spending money, yet still get great results.

[@carolinedenaro866]

Thank you for sharing your gardening results, I wish more people were like you!!!

[@growitbuildit]

You are very welcome Caroline - I'm really glad you are finding it helpful!

[@tracyguillemette6255]

I wish we could do that, we have only red oak leaves. We rangle them into rabbit wire rings and layer grass clippings. it takes about 4-6 months to get some nice leave mould. In that time the rain and wee critters have broken the leaves down and the ph has come up some, so we cover our beds and meadows with a 1-2 inch layer every year. seems to do the trick.

[@growitbuildit]

Hi Tracy - in my experience, if you've got a system that works, keep doing it. Oak leaves are notorious for taking long to break down.

[@imlew7853]

Great idea. I was contemplating to shred my leaves to mix them with my raised bed for added amendment in preparation for the next season. Your idea of fully amending the soil and leaving the unshredded leaves provides insulation in cold months and ready mulch for warm planting season. duhhhhhh Why didn't I think of this idea. But I thank you.

[@growitbuildit]

Haha - glad I could help!

[@ChessKombat]

This is year three of watching the progress you are making. I just started last year so I am right on your toes! I look forward to this video update every year! Thank you for sharing.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you! Glad you have been following along. I bet you are going to have the same success I have been having!

[@leonmoon4378]

Thanks for sharing. I will take this info when I get a garden. For my yard, I def mulch them into the soil. Your videos reassure my decision to do so.

[@growitbuildit]

I'm glad I could help you out!

[@thwKobas]

Keep on mind that some trees and it's leaves are not so good for soil as they are a little bit "toxic" to other plants, to say it like that, you can see that best, if you seen walnut tree, there is barely any grass below. Nice video btw. Thumbs up.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you Kobas! With Walnut leaves, while I've never used them heavily in the garden (never had much access), I have used them in compost with no ill effect. Also, I have used tons of Walnut sawdust in compost without issue as well. Just an FYI. While a live Walnut Tree will harm many types of plants via constantly secreting Juglone, once it is dead (or the leaves/wood), there is a finite amount that is eventually decomposed by bacteria.

[@sadiea4381]

I have had a compost pile for the last 3 years that consisted mostly of leaves. I don't get much for greens because our landscaper puts the grass back into the earth. So all this time I thought that because i didn't have the right balance of nutrients, it wouldn't benefit my garden as much. Well after watching your video, I realized I was so wrong. I have plenty of area that I could plant on, just have clay for dirt underneath the grass so never bothered. This year will be different and I can't wait to go utilize the buckets of leaves I have and have still to gather.

[@growitbuildit]

That is excellent Sadie! I'm very happy I could help you out. Good luck on starting your new garden!

[@Herhighness211]

Watched this video 2days ago. Collected 15bags of oak leaves from neighbors between yesterday and today. Collecting more tomorrow. My yard smells amazing with these leaves. I’m so excited to keep going. Highly likely I’ll cover the whole (small) backyard and just make a wood chip seating area.

[@growitbuildit]

Excellent! Oak leaves will take longer to decompose, but they will still decompose nonetheless!

[@Herhighness211]

Since the original comment (& ur response) I’ve collected and spread abt 30bags of maple leaves that range from extremely finely ground up to roughly ground maple leaves. I’m in heaven. Waiting on a woodchip delivery this weekend. I’ve connected with a farm giving free compost and another farm willing to give me alpaca poop! I’m just a small urban gardener but I’m giving it my all. This video has significantly impacted my quality of life and I appreciate you for it. THANKS!

[@growitbuildit]

You are VERY welcome and I am so happy for you!

[@fergusdangerfield156]

Brilliant video my friend, great results. One of the very best ways to improve your soil. Thanx for posting x.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you Fergus - I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@rosewood9839]

I don’t have access to cow or horse manure. Only one bunny that isn’t even mine is all I have. I never thought about using leaves for mulch. I have been winter overing my shrubs and many other plants with leaves for years (pulling pots next to the house and then covering with leaves). I have hard clay soil and have been digging it out and using “real” soil. This is a great idea and I’m going to start tomorrow! Thank you ❤

[@growitbuildit]

You are very welcome - this is the single best thing I've ever done for my soil. Good luck!

[@vigilance4749]

I love your documentation of everything. Its a great contribution to science if you ask me.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you!

[@repurposedart9897]

The compost is wonderful to add before adding the leaf mulch. Great little garden.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you! And I agree about the compost!

[@tatts4life838]

Your video last year was very helpful for our garden this year. Our yard is a dense orange clay. I joke with my father in-law that if you dig down a foot you can make clay pots. Last year I mowed up the leaves and ended up with a large amount of poplar seedlings in our garden this year. This year I plan to blow our leaves into a pile and then grab large handfuls of the leaves and run it through our leaf and stick chipper and see what that does. The idea is that most if not all of the seeds will be at the bottom of the pile and stay in the yard

[@growitbuildit]

I'm glad you found the last video helpful. Sorry to hear you had a bunch of poplars germinate. I haven't had that happen, but I'm mainly dealing with Maple leaves. I think you have a good idea with the chipper, as I believe you are right and that the seeds will likely stay on the ground. Good luck!

[@tatts4life838]

@@growitbuildit so for the first leaf clean up of the year I ended up with a 5 foot tall pile that covered an area of about 20’x10’. It took forever to grind up but our 15’x7’ garden has a nice layer of shredded leaves 8 inches deep. The shredder worked great on the leaves but I ended up with a lot of stems because they just didn’t shred. So the garden looks like it’s covered in toothpicks. But the good thing is there are no poplar seeds in the garden. I probably have to do this one or two more times before the leaves all fall

[@growitbuildit]

Nice work. That is a bummer you've got to do that, but you'll love the results.

[@tatts4life838]

@@growitbuildit I would rather spend an hour plus shredding leaves and not get poplar seeds in the garden than spend around 20 minutes using the mower to maybe chop the leaves and have a ton of seeds in the garden. Our county does leaf collection and now when I drive through the neighborhood I’m wishing we had the yard space to make a compost pile just of leaves so I can make more dirt.

[@flatsville9343]

I do a variation of your deep leaf mould practice. Direct seeding is an issue. I've found that if you rake back to bare soil & use some finely screened leaf or other compost to hold seeds it works. Sometimes I wii trench a shallow line or dibble a shallow hole to hold seeds before covering. I've has to re-bag leaves off of those rows until the seedlings come up. I mark the rows with stakes & flags in case they get covered with wind blown leaves. I place fewer leaves on beds I expect to direct seed. If I've raked off big mounds, I also cover them with staked down bird netting.

[@growitbuildit]

Those sound like good ideas. I was actually able to pull it off with full leaves this year, by doing a similar method as yourself. I went to bare soil, firmly pressed the seeds into it, and covered with a not-so-fine compost, but firmly covered to ensure good contact. I then placed cedar fence pickets along the leaves I had removed to hold them in place, and that seemed to work. But your flag method for marking sounds like a sound idea too.

[@odannyboy7735]

I'd also recommend adding some green mulch into the mix as well to help round out some soil nutrition by adding N.

[@growitbuildit]

Hi Danny - the leaves are actually broken down primarily by mycelium/fungi. So the soil isn't really robbed of nitrogen. That is what most likely explains my large, healthy plants.

[@odannyboy7735]

@@growitbuildit just imagine how big they'll be with more N! If you're adding manure or something each year that will give the N as well. But having the green mulch would add it without the need for manure etc. Try throwing some lawn clippings in the mix. Mycelium will break it down just like the brown leaves, which are adding the PK to the soil. Or grow cover crop before adding the leaves.

[@jean-marclariviere7618]

Your garden looks amazing Sir...been doing the leaf method for last 30 years...5 years ago started new gardens from scratch, new soil, Square foot method..i love..great soil to start with and since i live in the forest, leaves are ...everywhere in fall..just about to do it again next week, also i created a bin to do more...again will be following you and your progress...kids garden..best things to do

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you Jean-Marc! Sounds like you've got an unlimited supply and a great system going.

[@TacticalCaveman997]

My new yard has two huge oak trees. Absolutely using it as mulch

[@growitbuildit]

It's a heck of a resource

[@kicknadeadcat]

I couple of things I do. I do what you do, in the fall I add shredded leaf mulch and compost. Use a pitch fork to just slightly move the soil not turn it. And then I add indigenous microbe solution I make myself. I do a soil drench rather then spray. You can dilute a 5 gal batch to make 25 to 50 gals or more. Once that’s done I cover the whole area with a 12 year landscaping material. This will keep the sun from killing microbes and keep weeds from growing. It also causes leaf mold to grow faster and decay the leaves faster. In early spring I will do another soil drench, cover again and it’s ready to be planted in about 3 to 4 weeks. This is my third year, I can go down to 16 inches of black soil starting with clay.

[@growitbuildit]

Sounds like you've got an amazing system going there. 16"??? Wow!

[@hollyr1049]

Thank you for this video! I'm starting this technique this year (right now). I didn't have a garden last year because the year before I felt like I was just feeding deer 😮 This spring we put up a fence and i was back at it. In the one year that I didn't garden my soil went from bad to worse. I compost but it was never enough. I dig my beds by hand and as much as I hate to admit it I'm getting too old for that s@#$! So I dug my beds (hopefully for the last time!), added about an inch of compost and now I'm covering them with as many leaves as I can rake. I also added seaweed to some beds as I live on the coast in Maine. My goal is to source everything from our property. Aside from the seeds of course. Although I did have some green beans go by so I let them go to seed. I am curious to see how I will plant seed rows but improving the soil is top priority! Thank you for giving me hope for next year!

[@growitbuildit]

The fence, even a small one can do wonders to dissuade them. Somehow they are staying out of my garden even though it is only 4' tall. But the compost and leaves will do wonders for you, making it easy to dig. Good luck next year. Oh yeah - and I've found that you will NEVER have enough compost!

[@deanrichardkhamani1210]

Thank you!! I have been collecting leaves too but did not know why but it was a 'feeling' of some sort. Its bought about criticism, unwelcome comments, interference, downright bad ill will and hate from neighbours so i switched to 3 am - 4:30 in the morning just to avoid them. My friend has given me some type of bean, I think its called 'field beans, (he swears by them and their roots will burrow down deep) to plant but I didn't know what the effect would be on the incoming pants in the actual clay clogged up growing area I will be using for crops. Now I know what to do. Plant them in the leaves I have collected, but with a thin layer of good soil. I should have a good amount this night fall to finish the collection. The temperature in England, United Kingdom is riding at -3 degree Celsius. Not funny. All things being equal, by May 2023 after I have used 'Vitax clay breaker' in Jan 2023 on the intended growing area and rotavated in this leaf & bean/worm 'compost'/mulch in, in March...one would think the horror of clay soil will end. I refuse to 'mock up' a clay God and pray to it. So the plan on the actual growing area is to spread 'Vitax clay breaker' at the end of Dec 2022 and then another 10 kg tub in late January 2023 and rotovate the 2nd tub 'in'.

[@growitbuildit]

I'm not familiar with vitax clay breaker, but leaves will definitely improve it. Keep getting them no matter what anyone says

[@Fire-Queen]

Very interesting to see the difference in the ground layers, throughout the years! We just started a food forest on an allotment this year, and have had a lot to build as it was such poor soil and filled with debris. We will certainly start documenting the soil layers, to show what we have done with mulching and make soil improvements visible.

[@growitbuildit]

Excellent - good luck on your allotment and mulching. I bet you will have great results as I have.

[@chrisgraham140]

Out of all the composting I do I am surprised I never thought about doing this. My neighbors pile leaves every year and I just walk one or two houses and collect them to add to my compost pile. Thank you for the information!!

[@growitbuildit]

You are very welcome Chris - glad I could inspire you!

[@billstallard7148]

Impressive, and thanks to all the commentors for some great ideas I never thought of.

[@growitbuildit]

Thank you Bill

[@anhtruong3645]

I am so happy see your Chanel tonight and will start doing tomorrow.Thank you for sharing.

[@growitbuildit]

Excellent Anh! Good luck on your leaf barrier!