Don’t Leave Your Leaves - 4 Ideas You Should Do Instead

[@jimk7866]

I'm in zone 6 and for 30 years I've been running my mulching mower around in the fall and chopping up big leaves into little pieces. In the spring all those little pieces have disappeared and the grass soil has been enriched. The Michigan State School of Agriculture highly recommends this practice of mulching.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Thanks for sharing

[@nanaeva1]

@@StoneyAcresGardening I go a step further, I put some mulched leaves in a 50 gallon container and take the weed eater and mulch the leaves right in the container, and it's so nice. I use it as mulch in the spring, I use it as a bottom fill for container planters as well.

[@msk3905]

I’m in MA and I am going through this now I never leave them I run mower over to mulch them then attach bag and run mower over again picking most up. Makes job super easy and mulches them down much more than if I just ran mower with bag once so end up needing a fraction of bags. Leaving is a pain, I’m with you they don’t disintegrate come spring and are slippery during winter. FYI, my landfill composts them.

[@simondalzell5635]

Great Advice. Thank you Sir. I Do part time gardening now in my semi retirement. Thanks and best wishes from an old bloke in North West England.

[@KendallRosalia-pq5qi]

This has been the most helpful video I’ve watched about leaving the leaves! I fell into gardening during pandemic, learning as I go and jumped on leaving the leaves. Guess what-everything you said came true! I killed the grass in multiple area, have found tons of slugs and was lost on what to do next. I want to help my pollinators but this was a disaster. Thank you for the wealth of education and providing solutions!

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Glad I could help!

[@noraalvarado8178]

I love leaves. I run the lawn mower over them and collect them in the bag on my lawn mower and then dump the mulched grass and leaves on my raised beds. Do this every year. And if more leaves fall I rake them and put them in a circular wire fence for the winter. Then come spring I use them on the bottom of my pots as a filler before adding soil.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Great ideas.

[@JenBloodAuthor]

Hi Rick. Love your channel and took your year-round gardening course this past summer, and it was hugely helpful. I saw this video, though, and wanted to clarify something that I think is incredibly important for people to understand. The animals you've highlighted as pests - snails, slugs, etc - are actually a critical winter food source for wildlife, including birds whose numbers have taken a huge hit thanks to habitat loss, pesticide overuse, and climate change. Additionally, beneficial garden allies like luna moths, great spangled fritillaries, woolly bear caterpillars, salamanders, gnats, and spiders all overwinter in leaf litter... A major point of #leavetheleaves is to give these critical members of the food web an opportunity to survive the season so they can fill whatever role they're meant to fill in the year to come. Gently moving the leaves to a more convenient location is a workable alternative if you can't leave them where they fall, but mulching or mowing over them as some in this thread suggest is as disastrous as bagging the leaves and putting them in a landfill. Composting or settling them in a leaf bin, as you suggested, is another workable alternative. The main point is to just leave the leaves whole and as undisturbed as possible, to allow the beings nesting among them to live out their lives and fill whatever vital role they play in nature. Thanks for all the wonderful information you provide and the great work you do, I so appreciate it!

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Thanks for the input.

[@Razzy-sr4oq]

They don't settle in the leaves immediately, as son as the leaves hit ground. By shredding up the leaves, they compost much faster.

[@twothirdsanexplosive]

Thank you for pointing this out! Also the point isn't to let them disappear as quickly as possible. The critters need all that until the weather gets warmer.

[@Randy_Smith]

I've found that leaf mold can be made relatively quickly with very little effort in Zone 5b. I have a plastic mesh pin that holds around 215 gallons. I fill it with leaves that I have mulched up with my mower. I soak the leaves and layer them along with a small amount of fresh grass clippings. Once the bin is full I use a stick to hollow out a hole in the middle of the pile and then pour in a mixture of coffee grounds and more grass clippings. I make sure that everything is really wet and within a few days the core of the pile starts cooking and hits 140 in less than a week. I keep the pile loosely covered with a tarp to hold in the moisture and help keep the heat from escaping. When the pile stops cooking I stir it up and add more water and green material to the center and start over again. I started last years pile early in November and by the middle of May I had a decent amount of wonderful leaf mold that I mix with my compost to fill my containers and top off raised beds that have settled over the winter.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

That's awesome!

[@ttb1513]

I do the same Randy. Running over a pile of leaves, with no bag on the mower, shreds them fine. I then push them into a 30 gallon trash barrel and carry them to the compost or leaf mold site. And adding water with each layer or load is so important, for compost or leaf mold. There is a difference between leaf mold and hot compost though, and you may find that useful to Google further. Hot compost has green material added to the leaves and bacteria that thrive and break it down produce the heat. The bacteria need the nitrogen from the green material (eg. grass). Leaf mold uses only leaves and no green nitrogen material. Leaf mold is a fungal dominated process though and, with few bacteria, does not heat up. Google leaf mold versus hot compost and you may find another thing to help your garden. I was amazed the first year I used leaf mold as a mulch. It helps with water retention and suppresses weeds well. Keys for speed: shred and add water to keep moist.

[@Randy_Smith]

@@ttb1513 That's great info. I understand the difference for the most part but I just thought adding the greens was a way of speeding up the process. The end result is much different than what I get from my compost pile.

[@DaisyIdes]

Another tidbit for those who live in the Northeastern US is that leaf litter is a favorite place for mice to overwinter. If you allow leaves to stay iver winter near your home, you are increasing the chance of mice getting into your home, garage, and cars. And worse (IMO) the white footed mouse (the most prevalent mouse in the NE) is the reservoir for Lyme Disease. Deer ticks, the vector for Lyme Disease, lay their eggs in mice nests. When they hatch the young ticks make their first feeding on the mice, which is how they become carriers for the disease. Mother ticks DO NOT pass Lyme Disease to their young. Mice do. By allowing leaf litter to be located close to your home you are increasing the chance for a member if your family to become infected by what can be a life altering disease.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Yikes! I did not know that! Lyme disease is not as common in the West, but mice definitely are. No way I would give the mice more places to hide!

[@helenmcclellan452]

My husband mows over the leaves and puts them in the compost pile. I prefer that method the best since over time leaves breakdown and provide great mulch.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

I agree! Putting them in the compost pile is the best way to go!

[@JenniferZadell]

@@StoneyAcresGardening Is it safe to take the neighbors bagged leaves not knowing if there yard has been fertlized or not?

[@JenniferZadell]

@@StoneyAcresGardening that's what we started doing this year but is it safe to take the neighbors not knowing if there yard is fertlized? What's your opion on this is what were facing right now?

[@stephenhall3647]

It is of great benefit and much less work to mower mulch the leaves into the lawn (specifically lawns). I've done it for many years with great results. I'm talking about inches thick layers mulched several times a season. No, I don't recommend leaving them on there whole, that would likely cause some of the issues you present. Great video and well presented. Thanks for your content!

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@teresaellis895]

I think most cities and town come around with a leaf pickup sadly ours has a certain date and it's too early.We mow ours and mulch into grass .I now have three compost barrels so the extra leaves I'm going to save in big contractor bags...hopefully hubby will mulch those for me first..leaves gathered too thick is just still there in spring in a muck mess...

[@beverlyboyce1041]

Used to get great leaf mold from a landfill in NC that was only for leaves. It sure helped my hard red clay to soften up.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Cool!

[@ellencox8415]

I leave my grass taller (3.5"), mulch mow after all the leaves have fallen as my last mow at 2", and have had 0 issues and the best looking lawn in the neighborhood. The baggers baffle me. So much effort to get rid of nutrients.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Nice!

[@a760541]

What we do is set the ride-on to cut high with the mulch plug in. Result - finely chaffed but dry leaves. Then we set the mower deck to do a normal grass cut with the grass collector fitted. Result - an ideal mixture of grass n leaves. Perfect for the compost bins The mixture is very fine and starts to warm up within hours. Hot composting it means we have "black gold" in about 6-8 weeks. Can be stored for use for next spring or used to top dress the lawns....

[@WhatWeDoChannel]

I gather up leaves from the neighbourhood. I have one big day of work when I run them through a leaf shredder. I add them as the brown ingredient to my compost as I build it over the winter and spring. My compost is so much nicer since I started using the leaves as my main brown ingredient! Klaus

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Awesome! We love using leaves in our compost too!

[@JenniferZadell]

Is picking up neighbors leaves safe not knowing if the yard has been fertlized or not?

[@WhatWeDoChannel]

@ yes it is safe. Man made fertilizer and organic fertilizer have the exact same fertilizer molecule, it’s just that organic fertilizer has to break down more for the molecules to be released.

[@JenniferZadell]

@@WhatWeDoChannel ok great thank you been hearing so many negative things about the fertlizer in people's yard may be harmful to the compost

[@WhatWeDoChannel]

@ we do have to be careful with manure though. If the animals eat hay or grass that has been sprayed with the herbicide Grazon, the herbicide will still be in the manure and can damage or kill your vegetables!

[@sherimatukonis6016]

I was planning on mowing them with the grass mixed for compost. (With blended kitchen scraps)... Instead of the trench... Could I just till them in (now) for spring garden

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Yes that works too. But how well they breakdown will depend on what you winter weather is like.

[@DawnaRo]

The link doesn't take us to a video on fall gardening it takes us to a bate and switch area to sign up for the not-so-free gardening course he sells

[@bigl4765]

What about burning them in your garden them incorporate the ash inthe soil? Do you feel that would be beneficial?

[@psalm91...]

Yes. I love the smell of burning leaves. Lovely.

[@TwinKarma1]

I mulch up my leaves and put a layer in my raised beds. I always thought of mulched leaves as liquid gold fertilizer. In the spring I just turn over the soil leaves and all. The worms have to eat to.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

That's a great idea!

[@dawnmitchell11]

Question about the trench compost method. I live in a warmer climate, central Texas. Does it matter if that trench is in sun or shade? I have a side yard (north side) that is shaded by trees.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

The shade shouldn't affect it too much, especially in your warmer climate.

[@mattdegooyer5870]

Thank you for this content. It really helped me to understand.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mjvaquatics2626]

A minor correction....I think shredded leaves and grass clippings make GREAT mulch. Much like wood chips, leaves as mulch on the surface may affect some nitrogen near the surface, but do not tie up the nitrogen at the root level of plants. 🙂

[@vickycollins6656]

Question? By using the trench method will pests still infest my garden come spring? I examined my leaves and there are pin size holes? Thanks

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

I have not had any issues with it. Just burry them 12 inches deep and you should be fine.

[@jonthornton4083]

Your thoughts please, I’m making two 3’x6’1’ raised beds, layer of card board on top of grass 2to3 inches leaves mixed with twigs and small branches from my yard. Then 6” of garden soil and a small amount of homemade compost and topping off with potting soil mixed in with couple inches of the garden soil. Naturally will add fertilizer etc also. Thanks in advance

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

I would try to get the ratio of garden soil to compost up to about 50/50. No real need to add potting soil. I have several beds like that and they all do well. My daughter did a raised bed this year and we used all commercially bought raised bed mix (I think the brand name was Kellogg) plus a bag of compost and it did REALLY well.

[@jonthornton4083]

@@StoneyAcresGardening thank you that’s very doable the garden soil is definitely cheaper than the potting soil, have a good bit of potting soil mix left over from my grow bags,mainly I was worried about the layer of leaves being toxic since they are fresh

[@stephenmoberg8807]

I triple shred my leaves and put them in some trash barrels using a ratio of 3 parts triple shredded leaves to one part Black Kow. Get outstanding leaf mold in one year.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Awesome!

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

So what do you think of the idea of leaving your leaves? I'm not a big fan, but I do have some ideas to keep your fall leaves out of the landfill. Let me know what you think!

[@explained3799]

I hadn't heard of this trend, but my thought has been that trees grow leaves and the leaves - when left on the forest floor - then feed the trees what it needs to grow more leaves I mulched my trees with their own leaves this year. I also take them to the compost pit for more soil next year. It seems a bit silly to me, to collect the leaves and then go to the store to buy fertilizer for the trees... haha...

[@bunkernate]

On my lawn, I mow over them and leave in place. On my blueberry beds I leave them be and lay small branches and sticks that have fallen in a way to help keep the leaves in place.

[@twothirdsanexplosive]

I'm sorry but you really missed out on a lot of important information regarding wildlife benefits. This isn't a fad, it's about undoing some of the bad practices we have made habits that are damaging to the local ecosystems.

[@philippickles693]

My municipal government collects the leaves and makes compost at the dump. Kitchen waste goes to a separate composting facility that is indoors

[@beverlyboyce1041]

I add leaves to top of raised beds for a bit then turn them under. I have deep raised beds. I do this in fall and winter.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Nice!

[@lindaowens6642]

Should you leave roots of plants in the garden and just till them in in the spring

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

I leave the roots of many of the smaller plants. I don't leave roots from big plants like tomatoes as they won't breakdown before spring. I'm also not a big fan of tilling, it really doesn't need to be done.

[@657449]

I keep seeing memes that say the leaves have the eggs of the butterflies, fireflies and moths.

[@hope2029]

I left my huge amount of leaves in a pile to compost year before last by where I garden and that year had a huge infestation of every type fly, mite fleas, mosquitoes and some kind of bug that left a bites where my flesh was being eaten. I couldn't go outside without being eaten alive and I am in a dry climate. Last year I got rid of those leaves and barely had any bad insects at all, or caterpillars. Don't know???? But I'm not leaving them again.😳😐

[@pattic.9376]

You are correct. Unfortunately, this content producer doesn't get it.

[@DawnaRo]

A voice of reason. People, talk to your city about having a place to take your leaves and make compost from them. Our town have the home owners rake the leaves to the butter where they vacuum them up and take them to the city composting. By spring they sell leaf compost which I buy every year. Win/win!

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

I wish our city did this.

[@AzriRich88]

I am already subscribed for your videos. 😁 Cheers! and Thank you my friend

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Awesome, thank you!

[@judyvance1556]

How long do they take to compost completely?

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

If you are adding them to an active hot compost pile then usually about 3 months. If you are just letting them sit on their own then it can take a year or more.

[@judyvance1556]

How about vegetable beds?

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

I like to keep my vegetable beds clean over the winter to keep the pest from overwintering.

[@vivalafrance9547]

our city makes them into compost in fact they have a separate pick up for the yard waste, like leaves.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

I wish more cities did this. Not everyone is like us and want to make our own.

[@rauljimenez8132]

No pesticides mixed with them?

[@KathysTube]

Thanks Rick 😎👍

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

You're welcome.

[@msmith7472]

I always use my leaves in my garden. They add nutrients and help retain moisture

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

That's great!

[@tinaharvey356]

This won't let you type much . I'm a master Gardner and college educated agg

[@AlternativeHomesteading]

I live on the edge of a national Forest and I have a ton of trees and leaves. I’ll drive over them with the lawnmower and purchased a leaf catcher bag and then throw them on top of my flowerbeds or just leave the some of the mulch leaves on the grass or on the property to burn at a later date. I can’t leave this many leaves on the grass. I’ll explain why. I live in a very humid and wet environment. The leaves are dry now but when they get wet, they are very slick to walk on. They also smother the grass . Because of the humidity and moisture they could create a mold or fungus situation. So the person who suggested leaving the leaves I’d like to know how many leaves fall on their property, where they’re located, etc.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

I wonder the same thing? We only have a few trees at our current home, but our last place had over 20 that dropped leaves. From mid October to Mid November my life was all about raking and composting!! :)

[@Willow-Tucker]

I left the leaves last year and it killed a naturally green lawn full of beautiful violets and we had diseased plants from mold which it said was from the leaves. It is quite wet fall to spring, zone 8.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Yeah, I have a spot from 2 years ago that I missed raking the leaves and it still hasn't recovered.

[@judyvance1556]

When I have leaves, I don’t typically have grass clippings.

[@jesseibarra5539]

Okay you're right about the pest but I got something that'll take her all those damn tests two drops of neem oil one drop Dawn dishwashing liquid spray down all the leaves first the floor then the leaves I drenched it all the way around I've never had problems not like this but if I just leave it like by itself oh yeah best believe those bugs will attack

[@missdebrami6862]

I multch them into grass and put layers in my garden. Box gardens they work fantastic in them for filling in space . I put cardboard over them w leaves n cuttings and my compost . Works great . I dont let them sit on lawn in bunches, that is bad for lawn

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

That's a great idea!

[@missdebrami6862]

I saw it on u tube because I was filling boxes n it takes soooo much dirt which cost alot if you have to buy it. So it said to mix w greenery, like grass and mix at bottom 6 inches of box, then put compost in over it , then cardboard then new dirt. Cost half as much n by time plant gets the roots that deep it has broken up a lot. My tomatoes did fantastic. !

[@missdebrami6862]

Also I cover the box gardens w cardboard over winter w board to hold down over winter. It doesn't erode then 👍😉

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Did the soil level settle over time?

[@BernieYohan]

Honda mulching mower. I start blades high and just keep going till I can blow it into the Garden beds 🛌

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Good idea!

[@honeydew4576]

It's hard to know who to believe on anything. Unless we each become botanists or insect experts, how are we to know who is correct?

[@paulinemcleggan7585]

Mother nature knows best. She has been dropping her leaves since the beginning of time. I agree to take them of the lawn. Slugs ate a pain, however they will help to rot down the leaves. Fallen leaves feed the fungi.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Leaves are so great for the garden! Mother Nature definitely knows best

[@dmark6699]

Our garbage service gives us different containers for yard waste. They chop it up and compost it and sell it.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

There are areas around us that do that too!

[@hortenciabeltran4666]

I don't have a problem with the lawn dying...

[@xcbigd]

Amen. I use leaves to naturally mulch my native plant gardens and I've noticed a huge spike in pollinators and other insects in my garden. I think his focus is primarily on traditional vegetable gardens and lawns.

[@jojow8416]

When I was a child my father would have us rack the leaves in the park across the street from our house and cart them home. He would dig huge trenches in our garden in which the leaves were buried. My mother's garden produced enough food for 7 children and two adults. It saddens me when I see the this gold being trucked off to landfills. They also provide food for existing vegetation in your yard but people prefer chemical fertilizers because they know nothing of nature's gift to their yard.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Leaves are amazing! It's so sad to see them bagged up.

[@freshfireoganic879]

The world has been no til since the beginning of time up until the point where humans and modern ag techniques changed that... dust bowl cough cough dust bowl

[@TNmountainguy]

Man, you gotta get to your point faster

[@cbak1819]

If you like fire flies leave some leaves

[@r5yamaha]

I rototill the leaves and grass in the veggie garden. Now our soil is rich black with many earth worms.

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

I do the same with the trench composting.

[@brendavalentine-bates7737]

Finely the truth

[@ichymcgee2315]

mansplaining! Grow food not Lawns.

[@nicholasnarcowich9163]

Maybe your wording ... Other in steed of Better ... would have been more widely received.

[@despicabledavidshort3806]

Dear Lord, get to the freakin facts. You talk to much

[@mr.chartier9256]

I unsubscribed. 6 minutes of exasperated, melodramatic sighs. Lecturing in a condescending manner. This is all common knowledge if you garden, but it can also be found elsewhere on KZbin, and on better, less arrogant channels. Reminds me of coach Brian in Everybody Loves Raymond. “Okay?»

[@StoneyAcresGardening]

Okay! Sorry you didn't like it. Thanks for watching!

[@PDingenen65]

@@StoneyAcresGardening some people smh. Thank you for spreading info!