Making Leaf Mould (No-turn Compost) || Black Gumbo

Leaf mould is an outrageously easy-to-make amendment for your soil. Using freely available leaves, this cold composting method takes longer than hot compost, but it is much less work. It has been called no-work, low-work, no-turn, or lazy compost. It has its own benefits too, and you should consider leaf mould for healthy and delicious vegetables.
In this video, Sam and I go on a "leafspedition" and gather up resources, and I'll show you how I plan to make a ton of this garden gold!
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Black Gumbo shares our suburban, backyard, sustainable gardening efforts. We work a small-scale, typical Zone 9a garden and raised beds, the kind of gardening accessible to all. We tend to take the slice of life approach and hope you will enjoy our family, our dog, our cooking, our adventures, and occasionally some commentary and advice. We love family, joy and friendship, and we invite you to enjoy these things with us!
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[@camiele4]

He’s learning and having fun too! Love it when kids can spend time outdoors.

[@ImprovedEngineering]

i really love the way your son is always around helping... Makin memories

[@DanielChavez-gs6sn]

It's good to see you having a good time with your son teaching all the good stuff

[@OrionsAnvil]

Great video. Nice to see a father and son working and having fun together. Good on you.

[@jenniferrice5877]

You can also put the full sized leaves into an old trashcan then use a weed wacker inside the can to chip them up small. They make a great mulch.

[@brightchange6065]

What a cute little boy!

[@Magnabee97]

I do the same thing every year. My wife drives while I jump out and grab the bags of leaves. The mono filament leaf shredders work great to pulverize them into almost a powder if there dry. If you pee on the pile the nitrogen in the urine will help break them down.

[@haarpanoid]

Old beer too, and without any ammonia present

[@juliek7650]

All the neighbors have their leaves bagged up now and they've done all the hard work!!! My husband thinks I'm crazy, but I know the truth. lol

[@waldenhunter1419]

N

[@christinefreeman488]

I'm also a leaf scavenger. For years in 12 extremely large raised beds, I've been lasagna gardening. Leaves change everything in the soil. The soil is rich and light. I try to stay close to home for the microorganisms. Don't want to bring weird diseases in. That sad, I just put the entire Home Depot bag in the gardens, split them open, and lay them down. Done! :) Excellent video and good advice.

[@newfreenayshaun6651]

Dude reminds me of my boy at that age. A great helper with ambition to have fun.😎👍

[@amywithay]

My neighbor offered me all his leaves for my compost bin! Score!

[@elizabetha6265]

leave that boy alone, his hair looks GREAT! :)

[@The.Ghost.of.Tom.Joad.]

Not sure how I ended up watching this in April, but so it goes. Love your vids. Anyway, to save time and not waste gas, I've taken to just walking on the bags to crush the dried leaves up, and then dump the bags straight into the pile. The consistency is about the same as being mown. Time's the same too: no need to pull the mower out, dump and pile the leaves, gather them again, etc. Plus it's quieter, so I can catch a podcast while doing the work to keep it from getting dull. Cheers... and keep up the great work.

[@georgiamae8367]

That's a great helper you have there!

[@royhoco5748]

last fall I harvested 180 50 gallon bags of leaves from my own lawn. I run over the leaves with a mulching mower to grind them up and sweep them up with a lawn sweeper, this also adds some grass clippings to the mix. I leave the leaves in the bags, add water and a handful of organic alfalfa pellets for nitrogen, seal the bag and leave it over the winter, come spring I have decomposing leaves in the bags that is added to the compost or the garden.

[@jksatte]

How big is your yard that you get that many bags of leaves? We used to have 3 huge oaks but cut them down sadly. Janice

[@royhoco5748]

@@jksatte 2 acres with lots of trees

[@glendathegoodwitch6987]

I like your son a lot. He is boyish and wholesome.

[@thecyclingcouple4438]

Hi Scott, nice to meet you here sir. The first thing i noticed in this video is how very helpful your son is. I love how he gets so much fun with the leaves before you guys chopped them. I like how you let him do that. I do the same thing with my son, i let him let loose. Life is about having fun after all. I got into gardening like crazy this year and my 7yr old son helps me in the backyard when I built my garden beds this past summer. He enjoys watering, harvesting and eating our produce which makes me very happy. I also taught him how to plant. I tried composting this year but with a mix of leaves and grass. So far Ive finished 3 piles using skids. Theres so much leaves in my hood in Toronto, 🇨🇦 right now but no more grass clippings for my mixture. Thank God I stumbled on your video and now will try your method to utilize these free leaves. Great video and thumbs up. Tell your son to keep up the good work. I love hard working kids like him who helps their parents, they are blessings and they will become good gardener too.

[@tomlamey7823]

I found that if you drive around your neighborhood in the spring and see bags of leave, grab them, they probably have been laying on the ground all winter, so you have several months of leaves already several months ahead in making leaf mold. They will probably be wet and a little heavy.

[@skee6706]

You had me with the urine comment. We got such a laugh out of that one. We have been doing the same thing for a decade or more. Works like a charm. hahahahahaha

[@jamescobleii5057]

Funny posted video cause I spent the day today doing exact thing and this is my first time... on another note miss when my kids were young and jumped in leaves your boy doing it brought back memories thank you for that

[@karenshields1878]

Viewing this today makes me smile

[@Cordelia0704p]

Love my leaf mold. I make it in the paper leaf recycling bags. I just leave them in the yard by my compost pile in the bags and they get wet and break down all year. Love my gorilla cart too - awesome birthday present:)

[@4RTigers]

I've repurposed about 60 bags so far and I really like the ones that have green grass clippings mixed in. They are perfect for the compost pile!

[@daniellesunley4807]

Great information thanks. I have decided this year to use fallen leaves as a bedding in my poultry shed. I hope the chicken scratching and poo will give me a good compost, hopefully better than the shavings and straw I previously used.

[@julieb9215]

My yard is small but I have tons of leaves. I blow them into a pile & then mow-mulch them. Some go into my regular compost bin but I’ve also started a leaf mould bin. Earlier in the year I managed to scavenge an entire utility trailer full of bags of leaves in one spot. Gave them to a friend who mulched them to put on her garden.

[@ScottHead]

Sounds like you are doing great and being resourceful! :-)

[@jimwilleford6140]

Julie B Both uses are amazing.

[@MrFirejun]

I just gathered 3 big bags and well chuffed I’ve just watched this video I guess I got to work a lot more hahaha I love how u get Samuel to interact with nature.

[@tomcahill6981]

I live in a retirement community in Pennsylvania. Most of the lots do not have any leaves to use like mine, but some do. I advertise in the community posting for bagged leaves annually in the fall, then sit back and wait for the emails to pour in telling me to come and get the bagged leaves. I have a regular compost bin as well with red wigglers. Lots of fun throughout the year.

[@leticiagr2222]

This video made me happy. Your son is adorable.

[@kc3621]

Great video scott! I actually have a huge mulberry tree just on my neighbors side which means I get half the leaves. I just mulch it right into my lawn. Saves time and effort where I definitely dont rake and bag ever. Plus my yard has about a foot and a half and in some places deeper of rich dark soil (having dug many places in my lawn). The info you gave in this video is exactly what people who care about gardening and their environment need to know and why.👍👏

[@wdfamily_027]

You are so lucky! I only got a small batch of leaves done when we got hit with, rain snow & cold. I did grab some, put them over a empty garden space. I’ll do something with them come spring. Such a great video, your son is adorable!

[@coleweede1953]

Exactly. The snow came and dropped every leaf here except the oaks and maples in one night in November, the next 2 weeks were so windy I didn't get a single bag this year, they just blew out of town, probably into some lake or river. No wonder the rivers here are so tannin rich

[@katseyeview9354]

I do this also! As a matter of fact, if the rain lets up in the morning, I have leaves to mulch that I cover my flower beds with in the fall. I already raked them out, and I mow my neighbors grass and I know theres nothing in it, because I planted the seed!

[@screaminscott]

I do this too with leaves in our yard and neighborhood! Although I try to hot compost most of the time by adding grass clippings and coffee grounds. A couple of tips: 1. for easier wetting of the pile, attach your garden sprayer or a small lawn sprinkler to the handle of a shovel, and stick it in the ground right next to the pile. Turn on the water enough so that you get a good gentle spray onto the pile. Then just stir around as you add leaves. Its a lot easier that stopping all the time to water. 2. I found that lowering the mower to its lowest setting will vacuum up the small shredded leaves faster and more completely. That is, if you don't care about the lawn height in that area of the yard! (I do it in a area under one of our trees that doesn't have much grass)

[@inspiredtosoar3526]

Going to try that!

[@TheWormeryLLC]

brother from a different mother born across the pond... preach it

[@Dee.C]

I love my gorilla cart . Best money spent in my garden ever !!! I use it for everything , not just the garden. In my little area most people don't even bother with the leaves they have mulching mowers and that is good for the lawn and the environment. We gather what we can though.

[@sandrinefresne6575]

Free leaves yay. Great stuff. Your son has grown ! He ‘s looking handsome with that hairdo!

[@kessell637]

Your helper is a charmer! I love leaves for my garden, and I’ve recently discovered the joys of arborists wood chips, too.

[@bettye444]

I LOVE my Gorilla wagon. What a little helper!

[@doncook3584]

7:27 what great memories young people jumping in a big old pile of leaves. I’ve been mowing my street for years. Collect all the leaf bags from neighbors and mowing shrinks volume by 2/3rds plus speeds up mold growth. I’m 71 and still bow hunting but when I can’t hunt whitetails I can still hunt leaves. This video is very inspirational and illustrates that old saying “Best things in life are free”

[@honeydew4576]

We are super blessed where we live being surrounded by aspens, poplars and cottonwoods. The leaves literally fall into our garden beds. The Lord Jesus is so good!

[@Juanrivers2022]

I've been scavenging leaves and raking my avocado leaves for leaf mould. Teaching the next generation of homesteaders and gardeners, thats nice.

[@marthahaber7772]

Juan, avocado trees need their leaves left under them as mulch, the deeper the better. Collect all the other leaves you want, but leave the avocado leaves under the tree. It’ll thank you during avo season.

[@Juanrivers2022]

@@marthahaber7772 thank you, yes I do leave quite a bunch of them on the bottom of the trees. I will collect other leaves so I won't disturb the leaves close to my trees.

[@jackiehorsley9263]

I do the same every year what you did with your lawn mower I mulch my leaves In the fall Its the best stuff you could ever put In your garden

[@Angie-ci1lp]

Your so is having a BLAST😃😃 In those leaves FUN FIRST 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽❤️❤️😂❤️😂

[@josephkrupp7430]

I started 3 years ago with shredded leaves. I have neighbors on both sides, one with 2 oak trees and the other with 2 silver maples. They create about 9 cubic yards of shredded leaves. I only use about a third of the leaves in the garden. I believe next year will be a great year in my garden.

[@jimwilleford6140]

What a nice guy you are. I, too, value the trees leaves, given in Fall. The trees let the sun shine through in a winter, renew our hopes for Spring, and shade us from the hot sun in Summer, all the while, mining the earths crust for valuable nutrients thru Summer, then deliver their wealth in the form of dry, fallen leaves again in the Fall. Hard to believe that most of us prefer having our tax dollars spent on municipal leaf collection, so that our neighborhoods lawns “look neat and clean”. These lawns scorn the trees, God’s gifts, all to demand water of which there is far too little, to “ look “ clean and neat. Appalling! Thank you for your videos, and for the way you interact with nature’s bounty and with your son!

[@ScottHead]

Thanks for the encouragement. It’s really appreciated.

[@jimwilleford6140]

Scott Head Please keep pressing. I appreciate you.

[@tannerfrancisco8759]

I gave up on composting all together. I dig trenches in my garden beds and bury fish carcasses in there over the winter and I mulch with leaves during the growing season. The worms do all the work and I end up with awesome soil. I just bag the leaves in the fall and by spring they are full of bacterial and fungal activity. I'll put a 4" layer of leaves on the beds at least 3 times throughout the growing season and the worms eat them up incorporating them into the soil.

[@ScottHead]

You are composting in-place. Probably the easiest way to do it of them all.

[@coleweede1953]

That's my father's favorite method as well

[@deitykush]

omg grinding blending and vacuuming with the lawn mower is genius. why didn't I think of that. pure genius. ide by you a beer of i could.

[@veracampbell9583]

Good information thanks. Can’t get leaves like you but my yard is full of them. Loved seeing your son playing. Reminds me of when mine were small playing in the leaves. Thanks.

[@angelasheppard7197]

Love little Phoebe in the background

[@jackiehorsley9263]

I do the same with my leaves every year Its definitely great stuff

[@dereka8041]

I'm doing the same thing in Kentucky, but with my own leaves. The last couple of years, back when I had a working truck, I would drive around, in my area, and pick up bags of leaves. I don't throw mine into a composting bin. I throw mine, immediately onto my garden. That's the only difference I saw, in your video. Anyways, it's very hard to go wrong, when you use your own leaves and grass clippings. They'll breakdown, in about a year. You'll have a light, grayish brown color, loamy top soil. I love the stuff! It will retain your moisture too, smother weeds, and fertilize your garden, all in one substance.

[@jimwilleford6140]

Derek A Derek. Do you toss it directly onto beds you intend to plant in Spring?

[@dereka8041]

@@jimwilleford6140 Yep. Just throw them on there, in spring, carve through the leaves, then carve through the soil, plant your seeds, and that's it.

[@christophergruenwald5054]

That’s the same thing I did, only I threw them on there right after collecting them in the fall. Let the worms and the microbes in the garden break them down. No sense in handling them so many times. I don’t compost either. My scraps just get thrown on top of the soil as nature will break it down naturally on the topsoil.

[@barbarahumphrey3103]

I really enjoyed watching this today!

[@judasplow25]

Another little trick to speed up decomposition spray leaves with sugar water. Great vid!

[@dottiebaker6623]

We use our leaves to make leaf mold because we know we haven't sprayed any toxic chemicals on the yard. If you're gathering leaves from any place you don't know, I'd leave those alone. Yeah, trees may not have these chemicals, but how many of those leaves are from bushes with much shallower root systems? Also, love the urine idea! All free.

[@whyme5024]

Thank you. Loved the little guy and doggy having good old days fun. Nice touch.

[@EricaGates0623]

Such great information! Thank you for your time!!

[@barbarafucci5834]

Great job. Well worth the watch.

[@davidpost6444]

Greetings, My dad used to gather the neighbors leaves in black plastic bags. He would bring them back home and run water in the bags and leave them over from one year to the next. Poof! instant compost/mulch!

[@raphaelahons3479]

What a wonderful helper you have ! Excellent work with the mower 😄

[@ScottHead]

He's a keeper.

[@charlottesmart750]

I got this stuff by jobes its compost starter put on top of all my compost which was two 50 gallons tube watered it down in 3 mos I had the best looking drit I have ever seen . Great stuff

[@jimwilleford6140]

Charlotte Smart Another few great product to hasten decomposition are organic alfalfa pellets, cotton seed meal and coffee grounds. Most restaurants and coffee houses will give the used coffee grounds and they are considered a green, rather than a carbon. High nitrogen and the other elements at lower percentages.

[@PleasantPrickles]

You’ve got good helpers! 🍁🍁🍁

[@upupandaway5646]

I been doing this for years ,make a hig difference , great work

[@toneyjohnson8910]

I love my leaves I do both compost and leaf mold. enjoying the videos very much

[@LiliansGardens]

Oh I enjoyed all you shared here. I have my leaves which I piled high outside my fence.I wait a whole eighteen months.... but the final productis great as you described. Your son sure had fun.

[@PBarrPrince]

Subscribed! I'm headed out to rake! I really appreciate your explaining about grass clippings. I hadn't thought about all the chemicals that might be in it. Sigh. There's so much to learn. You make it fun AND smart. Thanks again.

[@FloridaGirl-]

OH MAN! I did this all the time in the fall! Leaves are the best! My compost was awesome!!

[@fannybuster]

A lawnmower with a bagger is excellent for picking up dry leaves and they're half ready to decompose being chopped -up.

[@SuzyTopAgent]

These were interesting tips that I hadn't heard about, thanks

[@chriscarr9793]

Thanks Scott

[@squirrelsarepeopletoo6678]

No leaf ever leaves my yard, some go into my compost bin and the rest I just mulch with my lawnmower . What falls in a planting bed stays there and is broken down by springtime. My township has scheduled leaf pickups, just bring them to the curb and they vacuum them up . It drives me crazy that my neighbors don't see the value in them. I'm glad I found your channel a few days ago and I subscribed. Pocono mountains Pa zone 6A

[@servihomestead4324]

Great explanation on the roots of garden plants not going very deep. Thank you for the info!

[@ScottHead]

Thanks for watching!

[@lsuman38]

I have plenty of my own leaves and vouch for your system. I use them in my garden spot . By time I am ready to plant in late March or early April, the nightcrawlers have done a number on the bottom half. Good fishbait for that time of year too!! Win-win!!

[@jamestyrer6067]

Thanks for this information

[@janwc1]

Sooooo helpful! Now if only we can find a video with as many remedies to tomato problems/threats to be anticipated and end of season seed gathering. Thank you for your channel from our family of new gardeners.

[@ScottHead]

I have some tomato problems, I'll try to highlight them in a future video.

[@666Necropsy]

great video. i learned the same. run the leaves over first without the bagger. man they will shred down to as fine as you want. just after the mower you can get it as a perfect mulch. its great that your son is sharing in your enjoyment.

[@kipnguyen2277]

I am new to gardening and I spent about $12 per bag for several bags of leaf mould compost back in the spring and thought I am going to go broke if I keep using this stuff. After I watched your video this morning, I texted my lawn guy and he dropped about 5 bags of leaves at my house this afternoon. I also went to Amazon and bought a leaf shredder so I can try this. Hopefully, over time, I can recoup the cost of the shredder. Fingers-crossed! Thank you so much for this video!

[@jimwilleford6140]

Kip Nguyen imho, you will never be sorry.

[@charlenekociuba7396]

ah gee, that is a cost. I get free leaf compost from the city recycling. I get my fill each week till I am done. I just keep on going like the energizing bunny. I have reduced the "weedwhacking" chore to less than two hours. It was six hours. I just spread wood chips deeply whereever there isn't something growing like veggies and flowers. Just another strategy for my retirement years.

[@mightyporky]

😁 This is the second or third video of yours I have watched today.. Normally I am not impressed unless the demeanor of the person is impressive, you young man appear to be exactly the man I would recommend to anyone. Thanks for sharing. JBJ in Texas

[@jolIyjoeker]

Thanks for the video! The only reason I don't go around collecting leaves from neighborhoods is because of the herbicides and pesticides you mentioned. Your comment about the trees drawing nutrients from deep gave me hope, however leaves are the trees way of 'giving itself' nutrients via annual topdressing of its leaves. I am an amateur gardener, however I am strictly organic and someday hope to sell my products and I am not willing to take the risk without seeing the results of case studies. Thanks again!

[@m.a.cm.a.c9308]

Thanks, great show!

[@andielliott7721]

I LOVE leaf mold....

[@FeliciaCravens]

One day I hope to get a comunity composting program out here on the west side, but until then, I'm experimenting with different methods in my backyard. This week we started harvesting leaf bags too, and will be kicking the leaf mould into high gear! I can't wait to compare results next fall!

[@jimwilleford6140]

Something Fishie A yard at a time will eventually prompt others to do so. Nothing like results, and I guarantee the neighbors are watching,

[@maryrothfuchs9404]

@@jimwilleford6140 Very true! I started gardening in my back yard, when the new neighbors moved in, they saw and started gardening (young couple with 2 children and the kids help!) the man next to them started gardening (even though he doesn't like veggies but his new g/f does.) and then the house next to them was sold this last year to a young couple with 4 kids and they are HUGE gardeners!! I'm loving it!

[@tngardener231]

I have a leaf sucker upper/ mulcher. It takes awhile but it breaks it up real small. I just dump it on my cleaned out beds every year and turn it once. By spring it looks pretty good. I’m going to give your way a whirl too 😁 since I garden alone I try to look for the lightest quickest way to get things done.

[@tngardener231]

P.S. I love seeing kids just be kids. Just having good fun outside and I need to get the gorilla cart!

[@lis819]

Good stuff!

[@GreenLove1]

I have started grinding up my leaves too - but gosh, gotta put a mask on! That thing kicks up a lot of fine dust, and my throat hurt for many days after I mowed down my leaves. Gorilla cart - YES - changed my life! It's been a year almost since you made this video, Scott - time to show us how your leaf mold has been developing! BTW, that stuff also is amazing mulch, especially after you grind it up!

[@lizdietrich6801]

Second time watching this! So cute and full of such good info, thank you, Scott!!!

[@ScottHead]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@christophergruenwald5054]

My parents were going to have someone come in and remove their leaves. So I just came over and mowed them up with their bagger mower for them and hauled it to my garden. I just dumped them onto of my garden though as a mulch. I no till my garden.

[@citizenshipkingdomofgod8108]

Do you utube videos on gardening?

[@charlenekociuba7396]

Here's what I did. I found someone giving away old wood chips. I put them through my composter along with the blades from my iris. ( no chemicals, just the greenery) for the nitrogen, then I topped off the raised hill rows, getting them ready for next Spring planting. I brought home about 7 half bags as they were heavy to haul upstairs. But now I have covered my raspberry bushes with organic materials, spread some unprocessed where there was soil loss and raised those hilled rows. Pretty good for free stuff. Now I will look for those bags of leaves from the city folk who just don't want them. LOL Last year I used every bit of the ones I gthered in my 'no dig:.

[@franlowry9230]

You show soft leaves, like Maple and Oak. Can I also use live oak leaves? I have tons of them and they always seemed too difficult to break down.

[@jean-pierreposman7282]

hi Scott i was planning to do that as wzll this week because my neighbour have a lot of that brown gold in his backyard . see you in the next video . have a good gardening day . jp

[@davidforrest399]

Point of correction. Tree roots grow where available resources are. The majority of tree roots are in the top 12" of the soil just like any other plant. Some species will grow deeper, but that is wholely dependent on soil structure, porosity etc.

[@briarpalek9254]

Even though you were given no credit for the info, you are totally correct 👍 those trees will absorb whatever is on the surface. Easily verified by looking at the root structure of any toppled tree from storms etc.

[@SuesSecretGarden3]

Thanks for the information

[@cornholius]

I like how your showing your kid how its done. I hope he gets the "bug"!

[@ScottHead]

One of the main reasons I garden is to have a place to share with my kiddos.

[@kinglouie1545]

First video ive seen, very informative definitely subscribing

[@yuksanng8864]

your son is a good helper.

[@diloresalii8024]

Wow nice 👍👍👍

[@vidili68]

free is good Keep on growing Have a good day 👍

[@richardamersbach6356]

I just discovered something day after Thanksgiving everyone puts out there ornamental bundles of straw I've got more than I need to cover my garden as a mulch

[@satkunanandanthirunavukara7715]

Satku-- good advice Thanks

[@hud.likemud]

Ornamentals are good for feeding the bees. And nice hat!

[@royhoco5748]

addendum to my previous comment, I bought a used electric cement mixer I fill the mixer with decomposing leaves and add chunks of bricks which pulverizes the leaves into small pieces and I add that to my garden, raised beds and flower beds. the leave pieces break down quicker, retain moisture and add nutrients to my soil and earth worms love the leaves.

[@chriss2295]

Thanks for pointing out that others yard waste could have chemicals.

[@barbiec4312]

That’s the best kid. ❤️

[@deewinston5651]

Hey Scott, I came back to watch your video on composing leaves. I saw a man on you tube instead of using a lawn mower to chop up the leaves. He put some in a trash can and used a weed eater to chop them up. I had never seen any one do that. I guess whatever will chop them up. I have seveal bags to chop up but since I don’t have a big composter, after I chop them up I am going to put holes in the bottom of big contractor bags and stack them up. If I just fold down the tops some and leave the bags open where rain can get in, I think they will compost down. Thank you for all your helpful information.

[@ScottHead]

That's a good idea with the weed eater!