How To Use Leaves In The Garden. The Dangers Of Using Leaves Incorrectly. | Gardening In Canada

Old tree leaves are a staple of fall but it seems wasteful to simply throw them into the garbage. However, applying these to your garden the wrong way can be equally as damaging to your soil nutrients. This article looks at how to use old tree leaves in your garden properly.
Why Are Leaves Valuable For The Garden?
Leaves provide two things to garden soil. The first being different forms of nutrients and the second is a diverse group of microbes. Most forms of organic material are decomposed using bacteria. With leaves, the main decomposer is actually fungi. This means when decomposed leaves are added to a garden we increase the biodiversity of the soil.
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PLEASE SUBSCRIBE if you are wanting to know more on gardening in Canada & gardening in Colder Climates in general. My methods apply to the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 1 - Zone 6. As a soil scientist I always try to incorporate science into my videos. Soil science can be over complicated so allow me to guide you.
Leave a comment and let me know where your are gardening. And let me know what videos you would like to see in the future!
Ashley is an agronomist who has had a passion for plants since she was a small child. In the long summers as a child, she would garden alongside her grandmother and it was then that she realized her love for greenery. With years of great studying, Ashley had begun her post-secondary education at the University of Saskatchewan.
At first, her second love, animals, was the career path she chose but while doing her undergrad she realized that her education would take her elsewhere. And with that, four years later she graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a bachelor’s degree in science and a major in Soil Science.
Some of Ashley’s interests are KZbin, in which she posts informative videos about plants and gardening. The focus of Ashley’s KZbin channel is to bring science to gardening in a way that is informative but also helpful to others learning to garden. She also talks about the importance of having your own garden and the joys of gardening indoors. Ashley continues to study plants in her free time and hopes to expand her KZbin channel as well as her reach to up and coming gardeners.
#gardeningincanada #canadiangardener #soilscience

[@GardeningInCanada]

Here is a follow up video to this idea: Using LEAVES To Make Potting Soil!? kzbin.info/www/bejne/laeylH1jas-Agqc This article will help you understand how too use leaves with your houseplants as well. gardeningincanada.net/leaves-for-houseplants/

[@veronprehay1002]

Yep thanks much

[@LittleRapGuy]

Great video... :0

[@alfonsomunoz4424]

Too?

[@LittleRapGuy]

@@omeshsingh8091 The leaves that have dried out have also had their nitrogen and stuff pulled back into the trees before they fell. If they're still green then they have nitrogen also.

[@LittleRapGuy]

@@yx5881 The process of the bacteria and the fungus breaking down the leaves, mostly carbon, per many videos, people at nurseries, it pulls in nitrogen from around the earth around the compost if it doesn't have enough nitrogen for the decomposition. Green things have nitrogen in them.

[@groussac]

Iowa Zone 5a. I take my neighbors' bagged leaves, dump them in a line on my lawn, run the lawn mower thru them in mulch mode, run the lawn mower through them again in bag mode, and dump the pulverized leaves on top of the garden. By June, the pulverized leaves have turned to leaf mold. This easy process accelerates the conversion of leaves to leaf mold, increases the amount of leaves I can add to the garden, eliminates loose leaves blowing around the garden and covering up spring plantings, fertilizes the lawn where I mulch with the lawn mower, provides the garden bed with a protective cover over the winter, and saves my neighbors money that they would have to pay the city to haul off their leaves. Everybody wins. My process probably doesn't jive with your explanation of what we should be doing, but I'm getting good yields from my vegetable garden. I do use grass clippings when available, and compost, but the primary addition is the fall harvest of shredded leaves.

[@AlexRodallec]

divide your posts into sections, please.

[@andrewjames6676]

Here in NE France I use leaves 2 ways: directly on the soil for winter coverage (I never leave the soil bare), and composted in just the conditions you describe. I get fine crumbly leaf mould after one year. I'm lucky to have a good supply of leaves! Over a period of over 40 years I've changed a difficult chalk-loaded soil into a fertile tilth. 1/4 ton of squashes this year! And the blackbirds just love beaking around in those leaves.

[@CyberSERT]

How has KZbin hidden this channel from me for this long? I binge on gardening and soil videos every day, and I live in Canada. I subscribed 20 seconds in and created a list of a ton of your videos to watch over the coming days and weeks.

[@cherylmosher6026]

Great to have Canadian experience with lower zones 🇨🇦

[@iamoraal]

I have used leaf mulch for years now on my garden! Just run the lawn mower over them with the bag on, then toss them on the garden, usually at the end of the year when I can collect them from the neighbours. Putting them on your garden plots in the fall keeps the plots covered - I don't leave my plots naked, they are always dressed with mulch. It does great to keep the weeds down too!

[@baneverything5580]

We still have green grass here in Louisiana, Dec. 23, so today I ran my electric mower with a bag over brown oak and sweetgum leaves and green grass and made piles and long deep rows with it in my garden. I added some organic potting soil over it along with a small amount of urine and sprayed it with the hose a few times. I mixed leaves, green grass and urine to a large pile of pine straw too. Here in Louisiana these things break down very rapidly.

[@nicolasn4702]

Hi Ashley! I'm Nicolás, I study Agroecology at Universidad de Rio Negro in the Argentinian Patagonia. These are topics that I really love to study and practice! Thanks a lot for making these highly dense and informative, yet incredibly simple to assimilate videos! In fact, since our climates are very similar, we at the far south can take a lot of useful stuff out of them. There is a huge lack of good, accessible scientifically correct information and education about soil science around here, specially in relation to cold weather agriculture. Fortunately, I'm trying to establish myself as a professional English to Spanish translator, so maybe I could help a little with that ;) I would like to translate this particular video to Spanish (and maybe some others too), so I can share it with my university colleagues and friends from our gardening project... For free, obviously. I'll send you the file when it's finished, so you can upload it. Would that be OK? Thank you again. Have a happy spring! 🌺🌻🌼🌷🌱

[@lisat9707]

WOOWW. Nice offer! I hope this comment boosts yours up so she can see it. Your english from what i could see is impeccable. Good luck!

[@rnupnorthbrrrsm6123]

What a great way to share this amazing information to Spanish speaking gardeners !!! Blessings to you !!!

[@kaleyjanenigh]

I hope you ended up doing this! ❤

[@suellenw561]

We live in Michigan on the edge of USDA Zones 4 & 5. A friend in town brings us her oak leaves. Husband "mows" them to shreds & puts them on the gardens - some composted already & some as mulch for things like strawberries & asparagus. depending on how long they've been here. We all benefit. She disposes of leaves at no cost. Husb gets lots of exercise. I get to play in the "dirt" each summer. Thanks for the info.

[@jthepickle7]

I guess this is a You Tube way getting hits. Compost is a mixture of water, nitrogen (poop) and carbon (leaves), straw, last year's garden,even wood chips - in small amounts. Leaf mold is water. leaves and time. Leaves contain Potash and are very useful - the P in NPK, but best used composted. Make some leaf mold and don't be afraid to use leaves. And stay away from videos that waste your time!

[@teebillingsley9643]

I collected leaf mole in the 40’s with my mom and have been making my own the last forty years. I thank you for the explanation why this works so well. You did an excellent job. I will be back.

[@leochiang6659]

This is the most detailed, scientific, yet simple explanations of leaf mold I’ve encountered. You have a knack for these types of topics!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Haha well thank you!

[@frederickgleaton1410]

I think I missed something. Are you introducing mold into your leaf bags or does it appear naturally? If you are adding, what exactly are you adding?

[@kelliefarkas2095]

🎉❤😊

[@ttb1513]

@@frederickgleaton1410 The "starter" is present naturally on the leaves.

[@kelleclark]

Making it WAY too complicated :( Been using leaves as mulch for years in my garden...grows beautiful veggies!

[@baneverything5580]

Do you think burning some leaves too in my garden area can improve the very thin, poor topsoil on top of hard red soil? I have to move fast to improve my soil. I started by planting Southern peas and green beans everywhere this year including Red Rippers that grew vines all summer. There are lots of pines and sweetgum trees here and just a few oaks. I started saving grass clippings too and mulching with them immediately while green. This saved my baby fig tree this year.

[@danwalter2175]

​@@baneverything5580sorry to pile, but one other thing- I don't know how well pine will work, I suspect it lowers pH, and burning it can make low levels of pitch (tar). Using as mulch is fine, and may lower pH as well.

[@HatedJared]

I just dig a big pit every fall. Rake the leaves into it, and bury the leaves. Come spring they are usually decomposed because they stay warmer under ground.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Nice! That’s a good setup

[@BigAlSparks]

ah, so... since my leaves were 1. aged in a cage for 1 full year, 2 broken down in a mower, and 3 spread over entire garden at 2 parts, to 1 part aged horse manure, I want to know what your going to do about that guarantee ??? :P lol it's ok, I still gave you a thumbs up tho :P

[@rubytuby6369]

My garden is basically a leaf compost pile about a foot deep every year. By spring it’s only about 6 inches deep I never mix the leaves in the soil only leave them on top., The worms to do the rest.

[@GardeningInCanada]

nice!

[@marcbergeron8690]

I am not a fan of shredding leaves with the lawnmower because it burns fuel and releases more greenhouse effect gases. To accelerate leaves composting, I pick earthworms when they hide under containers, or after a heavy rain. Just a few earthworms will multiply quickly, chomp the leaves and transform them into soil far more faster.

[@GardeningInCanada]

That is fair. There are those roller mowers.

[@mysteriousMatchStick]

Been using an electric lawnmower for the last twenty years.

[@CCisRight]

Here we are "lazy composters" we put the stuff in the pile and mix.... we have great stuff. Why complicate the process?

[@seanrobinson6407]

This lady is smart and all, but this is way too complicated in my humble opinion. I find that earthworms take care of everything and verimecium is the perfect fertilizer and soil amendment material. Worms eat and excrete and they don't give a darn about chemistry. Kinda like me!😊

[@pelenaka]

I've been mixing in shredded leaves to the soil in my raised beds inplace of peat moss. The soil is more reddish clay than dark dirt. Compacts easily. I'm also adding composted cow manure (bought) & wood ash. Should I add in alpha feed for added Nitrogen to this ?

[@GardeningInCanada]

You most definitely could

[@nedcramdon1306]

2:03 - Invasive species These trees are all over N.S. Norway Maple. Very damaging.

[@roncaldwell699]

Sandy compacted soil benefits from organic matter such as leafs cut up or whole and worked into the soil. Nitrogen levels in the soil can easily be improved using a variety of nitrogen additives but the composition using leafs significantly increase the viability of Sandy Loam soils but not Clay loam.

[@keithbenjamin8545]

Thanks for the video. I double shred leaves, put them in large black trash bags and give them a good soaking. I let them sit in the sun for a week with a couple cups of spent coffee grounds in the middle of the bag. After 7-10 days, they are moved to the shade until the Spring. Living in northern IL, I find this helps breakdown the leaves for use the next season.

[@GardeningInCanada]

I love that idea!

[@ronaldandolsek4637]

I totally agree with you. For the past five plus years, I have driven my garden tractor backwards to shred the leaves, then blow them into piles. I learned this from a friend, who works at a famous cemetery, where the "old timers" taught him how to grow grass on a fresh grave within seven days with leaf mulch and burlap. I wish that you had asserted your expert and correct premise at the onset, then explain the damaged that whole leaves will create. You are 100% correct. Thank you for your expert explanation. I appreciate and respect you.

[@Lochness19]

I took some partially broken down leaves out of the roof eaves last November, left them in a corner of the backyard over winter, and used them mixed with peat and sand when I potted my peppers and eggplants in late May and they did great for me this year.

[@GardeningInCanada]

thats so interesting how that can make a difference

[@kimmanning4989]

Montreal, Canada zone 5a . We used to make leaf mold our cycle was about 8 months. Now I mow like before and use as mulch before winter. In spring I check to make sure it’s nice and fluffy lift any large leaves leftover from fall. By fall clean up I have no more leaves on beds. That said I have noticed a couple beds have needed nitrogen. But on the whole way less work and great results. It’s easy to add a little nitrogen when needed.

[@mumbairay]

Let grass grow out just before leaf fall Mulchthe leaves into said grass with a lawn mower That easy

[@GardeningInCanada]

That is an awesome idea! love that

[@milkweed7678]

Once a week I get the leaves for 4-5 weeks. Shred with the garden tractor and use the yard sweeper. Pack down by walking on them in 3, 3 sided pallet bins. There is always some grass clippings mixed in. Takes about 1 1/2 years for it to be totally composted with no turning it. The total volume of compost ends out being about 1/2 of 1 bin or about 1/6 of what I started with. Neat video.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Thats a long time! but lots of people will find that comment helpful

[@jdoboy6835]

"There is always some grass clippings mixed in." EXACTLY! That is the key point,, whether piling, binning, or bagging. AND then flipping or mixing the pile even once a year, will certainly speed things up. Too many people BLOW their (oak & Nut) leaves into piles, & 5, even 10 years later wonder why the leaves are not totally broke down into humus. I chop them up good with the lawn mower & make sure that there is enough grass & water mixed in,,, then I bag 'em. Usually, one or even two years later, the mixture is very broken down, the unwanted grass & weed seeds are fermented & the mixture is ready to deep till into the garden,,, WITH triple 10 & LIME. I read somewhere, where it takes 100 years to build 1" of top-soil in a forest, & only 10 years if the acreage is grass & legumes,,,, & is mowed down every fall! ASHLY,,,, I'd like you to make a vid showing the difference/ acids/ tannins in certain leaves. Say Maple vrs NUT & OAK leaves. Like a rolling compost bin of each, with so many pounds of greens add to each. THAT would be scientific!!

[@krisyallowega5487]

I love this stuff! I make sure to soak the leaves before storing them. I find that it is way too dry here in Manitoba in the WInter. Also, I find that the freezing and thawing really shatters the leaves. The method works great on Scot's Pine needles too. I have a couple of them on my property and the fallen needles really choke out the lawn. The needles take about one extra year to completely compost but I have time. But the majority of my hot compost is leaf and pine needle based. I have found when I age my compost for 6-10 months or more I have tiny mushrooms on top of my compost. So in a way I maybe doing a little fungal decomposition as well? Again, I thank you for your time and expertise

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yea that sounds like an awesome set up! Especially if you are noticing it being dry in Manitoba.

[@hermanhale9258]

Thanks for explaining why mushrooms grew on my leaf bin this year, but not other years. This year I did ignore it for a long time.

[@baneverything5580]

Here in Louisiana weird little brown wrinkly mushrooms covered the mix of pine straw, green grass clippings, and old potting soil I used to mulch my baby fig tree this year. I also added all the sunflower shells and whatever seeds the birds didn`t eat to the mix and any spoiled squash and cucumbers I had. The 5 inch fig tree grew multiple 3 ft limbs and several smaller shoots which I took cuttings from to root inside to make more fig trees next spring for me and the birds. I`m gonna plant figs in a nearby field for them. The birds help a lot with garden pests when they have babies to feed so I try to keep them fed and provide clean water each day and take pics of them to share with trail cams. The Cardinals are the stars of the show and crack seeds for their young when they get older and they get along with most other birds except Bluejays. Plus I do everything I can to create an environment for the frogs, toads, lizards, and harmless snakes and leave the wasp nests alone because wasps feed their young garden pests too and actively hunt them all day. If I hang up a couple of LED lights in my garden at night the frogs, lizards, and garter snakes swarm in to catch the bugs and have babies by the hundreds. I dug a tiny "pond" for them during the drought this summer and kept it filled and shaded. My yard was like a zoo this year. @@GardeningInCanada

[@johnjude2685]

I ran lots of leaves into my 8 hp mulcher chipper and grass clipping and garden foliage waste and had about 3 inches of these in a mulch about 3 inches on my peppers bed last season and this spring after planting seedlings that had worm casting and micorizomes ( believe best seedlings ever).planted double row of peppers and 27 bell peppers top them with brown paper to help against then top with 2.5 inches compose for protection from weeds produced bells starting July 1 all season and after counting pass 250 still producing believe I got 300.but certainly very near.I never did as well Mid Ohio zone 6a Had a large bag for my local firefighters. Thanks always listening to you very hard.

[@chadtruitt1979]

What are your thoughts on putting shredded leaves in the garden in the fall and allowing chickens to work the leaves before tilling in the fall? I live in Western North Carolina. Thanks!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yea! Love it!

[@curtunderwood8039]

I have multiple landscapers drop off leaves in the fall. I received around 300 cubic yards of shredded leaves last fall. I hope to have alot of leaf mold this year. I have a question about using it as a ferttiizer. I see online that the NPK of leaf mold is approx 2.2-0.8-1.6. I hear people say it isnt really a good fertilizer but In addition to all of the trace minerals and microbes, wouldnt 250 pounds of leaf mold have similar or more N than a 50 pound bag of 10-10-10 ?

[@GardeningInCanada]

It would take a long time to decompose. So I would treat it more as an “investment”

[@JS-jl1yj]

It's November 2023. I don't know about the rest of the North America, but In the province of Ontario, Canada, we have an epic white powdery mildew on all Maple trees. For the past 40+ years, I have been composting the maple leaves. But this Fall, I decided not to do that. I worry that the powdery mildew might survive inside my compost bin and create havoc in my veggie garden when I spread the compost everywhere. What is your opinion?

[@GardeningInCanada]

Most definitely the reality. This is highly debated among scientist. But when it comes to powdery mildew you rather be safe than sorry.

[@michaeleeten7783]

The city sweeps the streets in the fall and brings me truck loads. I use them the second spring. I lay whole potatoes on the beds and deep mulch with the leaf mold. I rotate through the 32 beds season by season.

[@antiowarr9467]

All I do is follow the original gardener and it works every time every year, year in year out. What I do is what God does just lay it on top and walla. FACT

[@PatrickKazmierczak-j6i]

Hi. I live in the UK (Cambridgeshire). I use leaves at this time of year but was wondering if I could bag them in black bags and leave them in the greenhouse overwinter. Would that work? Really interesting video btw!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yup!

[@chesterhobbs7244]

I've come to the conclusion that you cannot create a mediocre video. Thank you so much for your efforts!

[@GardeningInCanada]

HAHA oh my goodness thats a huge compliment

[@johna8973]

​@@GardeningInCanadau R gardening 🪙 Gold

[@squidbeard492]

Just plant clover if you need more nitrogen. Bonus it grows better than grass at least for me.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Clover is good lawn alternative

[@chrisleyton38]

I put all my leaves into my chicken yard and let them break the leaves down over winter and sift the chicken yard in the spring. My veggies and flowers love it.

[@GardeningInCanada]

sounds like an awesome setup!

[@JAN-gu2nw]

Oak & walnut leaves? I’ve heard good or bad? Myth or fact? I have a ton of oak leaves, here & hope it’s good to add to compost & garden & leaf mold???? Thanks

[@GardeningInCanada]

It’s a myth the newest video I have posted in the comments talks about this.

[@Sk-zw7bb]

The easiest thing to do is use the leaves as mulch in your garden beds.

[@rosskstar]

I've got 4 pallets wired together for a compost bin - i'm layering leaves with cut up corrugated (brown boxes/ no tape) then toss my pee over it for the nitrogen.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Very nice!

[@bluedragonfly5]

How can I best use oak leaves for compost?

[@mischasavoie1882]

Very interesting all those videos, thanks for the advices! It makes me wonder if i am doing something not so greath after all. I put shredded left on the soil of my garden the limite weeds and help reduce water lost during to evaporation( i got underground irrigation). I never realy get it mixed with the soil.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Best of luck!

[@felixfelix6499]

Thank you. I live under a California live oak canopy (7 enormous, mature ones on half an acre). Unlike my neighbors (Facebook and Google folk), I leave the fallen leaves and find they make a nice mulch. I have been doing this for a couple of decades and I have said good-bye to my gas powered leaf blower, which is what ALL of my neighbors have their gardeners use weekly (7 per week). They are into tidy... no leaves (they are carted away) leaving mainly bare dirt (which wafts up in the blower power and covers the leaves of their plants and mine. I hose mine off so the plants can photosynthesize... the have very few plants compared to me (I am a long-time gardener). Anyway, other than the fact that the live oak leaves are very prickly, thick and hard, I wonder if you have anything to say about them. I heard they make an acidic environment. A couple of decades ago I even BOUGHT LEAF MOLD (which they no longer sell), until I realized it was decomposed versions of my oak leaves. I have witnessed fungi growing where there is water (dog vomit, and so many other types, including the white fibers) because originally I put down wood chips. I have several compost piles, but mainly throw in the decomposed oak leaves from the rain gutters and flat carport roof there and leave the rest on the property. They cover the paths and most of my yard.

[@GardeningInCanada]

leaving them behind is completely okay as well

[@bryansteen2219]

I live in Jamestown NY, zone 5 and collect shredded leaves and top my garden in fall, let it sit on top all winter and till it under in spring. It helps to keep the soil lighter for growing root vegetables, and adds nutrients. I also fertilize when tilling.

[@MareSimone1]

Thank you Ashley, really valuable information here I've started to create some leaf mold and I've learned a lot from watching your video. I'm also using a compost system from Japan, called Bokashi. Have you heard of it yet? It creates compost from kitchen scraps in a super fast and efficient way by fermenting, using an activator that speeds up the composting process. I'd love for you to do a video on it especially how to make your own Bokashi ''bran'' and liquid inoculates. It just takes about a month to create compost this way.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yea! I have one video on it but i can do more

[@davidg813]

Mother Nature knows exactly how to break down leaves she doesn't need plastic bags and all this other stuff and everything works out just fine

[@GardeningInCanada]

The Plastic bag, increased humidity etc is all to simply speed up the process. if you are comfortable with mother nature's speed than that works too.

[@tomtaylor7871]

Can you plant in strictly in leaf mould , like filling a raised bed with just leaf mould.

[@GardeningInCanada]

You could try. I think it would be too acidic so adding lime maybe needdd

[@SirSloop1919]

worms eat leaves, worms make worm castings, worm castings is a fertilizer, the nitrogen issue is solved! Also you’re probably going to be fertilizing anyways, so any nitrogen deficiency can be easily “fixed”. Id rather have all the worms in my bed, mycelium activity, water retention, and minerals than just nitrogen anyways.

[@georgedonatelli4962]

I llive in southwest bc Canada very little frost lots of maple leaves and grass clippings suggestions

[@GardeningInCanada]

Grass clippings for mulch, leaves make leaf mold

[@krustysurfer]

Leaf compost is awesomeness stuff... Most people throw away the leaf gold and then buy it back in the spring from box stores at a inflated price...... Keeps people employed right? Thanks for the video Aloha from lower western Michigan

[@KHKH-os6kt]

Use used coffee grounds and used egg shells.

[@janw491]

I put old dry leaves into the chickens run. The girls loved them. Then after the leaves were shredded and 💩 on I put them in the compost then on the raised bed in the fall.

[@danwilkinson2797]

I soak a bit of leaf mold in water for about 24 hours then water that into my house plants for the beneficial microbes.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Very nice!

[@islandgardener158]

We mow the grass that is deep in maple leaves, shredding as finely as possible. Making a row of leaves is better than a pile. Living on the ocean we make several trips to the beach and collect kelp. So before we bid our garden good night for the winter we put a layer of kelp on the raised beds then and 2-3 inch layer of shredded leaves. Then off to the lumber yard to pick up discarded lumber wrap and cover the boxes. The worms love it all and feast all winter long, creating beautiful soil. Save those leaves they are great mulch in the following summer during hot spells. Shredded maple or oak leaves are the best.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Love this setup!

[@islandgardener158]

@@GardeningInCanada works really well, we have been doing this for 7-8 years. Our soil is just beautiful, full of life, couldn’t be better

[@annieem5693]

I'd like to do this too. How do you rinse the salt out of the kelp?

[@islandgardener158]

@@annieem5693 depends on the kelp/seaweed if it is dripping wet dump it on a tarp/the ground and spray with a garden hose, if it’s dry, we don’t bother, shake it when picking it up and dump it in the beds. I like it about an inch thick. More than that, it doesn’t break down by spring. Worms have to work harder on the kelp than the leaves

[@rap5374]

I just learned that kelp contains heavy metals, arsenic and lead surprisingly. Not at toxic levels but enough to be in your plants.

[@blackgunsandgardens]

Very informative..I appreciate you sharing…Salute!!!🍃🍃🍃

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Brockthedog315]

Every fall I mulch as many leaves as possible with my mower and then put them all over my perennial and shrub beds. I have so many earthworms and my soil is very friable. These leaves usually hang around until mid summer before they are gone. I’ve done this for years.

[@kurtcurtis2730]

I put the leaves into a barrel and stick a Weedwacker in there to shred them. Then I add to compost pile.

[@GardeningInCanada]

love that!

[@AlvinMcManus]

Now how about a video on leaf mold: What is it? How to use it? Can you make your own? I'd love to see your perspective on this additional part of soil building nutrient enrichment on an organic level.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Great suggestion!

So if I keep the plastic bags on the sun during the winter its ok for the funghi?

[@GardeningInCanada]

Semi shaded is best

[@nancywolf3786]

i live in a cold climate (zone 5). can i put the leaves in a bag and seal it up? if so i can make compost over the winter in my basement.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yup! That is exactly how you do it

[@Rymorin4]

Using leaves to protect the soil surface in my garden over the winter, but will rake them off in the spring.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Thats an appropriate application

[@suzannestack7784]

In the summer I build my " yuck" bucket. Rain water and every weed I pull and a handful of leaf mould goes in to create a bacteria rich slurry. Come fall I stuff garbage bags with leaves. I take my 1 gallon watering can and about 1L of slurry and top off with rain water. I then water each bag with this. Usually by the end of the following July my new leaf mould is ready.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yuck bucket haga i love that

[@davekibble3556]

Every fall I rake my leaves into veggie garden, cut up with mower and and till into my sandy soil. They always seem to disappear into soil by spring planting (gets rid of the fall leaves) Am I doing the right thing? Anything I could do to improve/amend my process?

[@GardeningInCanada]

It’s likely just decomposition. How warm are you winters?

[@davekibble3556]

@@GardeningInCanada I'm in zone 5B waterloo ont really like mowing and tilling my many leaves into the garden .A good way to get rid of them every year. Good idea?

[@sejfok3704]

THANK YOU for the well put and super easily understood video explaining LEAF MOLD !!! You 're awesome !!!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad it was helpful!

[@peternyc]

I have a mountain of dry leaf mulch that I made with my lawn mower last Autumn that I want to use as top dressing/mulch when I plant new Nellie Stevens hollies and skip laurels this Fall. I've kept it covered and dry. Can I use it as top dressing/mulch or should I get rid of it?

[@GardeningInCanada]

yea i would use it as a mulch

[@peternyc]

@@GardeningInCanada Thank you so much. I have another question related to this, but I don't have the time to get the info and prepare the question. I'll get back to you if it's alright. Thank you again!

[@frankburns8871]

My brain can't stop blurting "the perils of rock and roll decadence" (GnR reference) every time I read "the dangers of using leaves incorrectly." Fix me!

[@Brokersong]

I have a pile of lawn dirt, debris, and kitchen scraps under my bushes party shading the pile. I added fallen leaves last week. Will this turn into soil? Am I doing this for any positive outcome? Help.

[@GardeningInCanada]

I would leave it till spring and then incorporate it.

[@Brokersong]

@@GardeningInCanada just to clarify; the leaves are on top of the previously grown pile. Shod I remove the leaves onto it's own pile?

[@wbshappy1]

I am in Ohio, USA. I look at leaf mould as a good "base"" material for garden soil. I've used my rototiller to crumble my leaves into a leaf mould pile. A day after doing that, the pile is a little hotter than I wish it would be (140° F/60° C), So Ill be stirring it up a little to cool it off. In the spring, what resource is there to tell me what to add for each specific plant I want to grow in it? For example, I know flowering plants (to include tomatoes, peppers, etc; beans; cucumbers; and flowers themselves) like and need Calcium and magnesium; Brussel Sprouts are heavy consumers of boron. What resource is there to guide me on other additives should I use on my leaf mould to make them 'perfect' for each type of plant?

[@janetbeach2762]

Hey im in Florida. I have a huge oak tree. I have been doing leaf mold for many years. Luckily here its relatively fast. Thanks for the info.

[@MikeV607]

Leaves fall after the growing season so they can be tilled into the garden soil where they will readily decompose before next year's planting. So you can stock pile shredded leaves to use as mulch next season, OR pile to make leaf mold, but it's also just fine to till them into the garden - yes they will tie up nitrogen as they decompose, but this is over by next season. 😊

[@JWHealing]

THIS is what I am wondering. If the nitrogen deficiency is gone by late spring from tilling leaves into garden beds in the fall, then why not tell everyone this? It's so much easier.

[@joedefazio1464]

Could you use something like oyster mushroom spawn

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yea!

[@cantseetheforestforthetree9673]

While leaf mold is an incredible product worth making in its own right I just want to debunk the notion that many people simply won’t have the necessary resources available to balance nitrogen:carbon ratios for composting leaves. The fact is literally everybody produces a high N byproduct of their own metabolism that works wonders when added to a leaf pile that we call urine. Simply pee on the pile every day for the first month or two depending on the size of the pile, or when your context prohibits doing so directly ( due to the risk of catching an indecent exposure charge) find a private place and collect into a bucket. I’m not sure the exact ratios off the top of my head, and I basically just wing it going by experience and observation of the piles progress, but one could fairly easily calculate the proper ratios for ideal N:C balance in the pile.

[@GardeningInCanada]

haha yes this is true

[@claygreen4723]

I live in South Carolina and call it Carolina Gold Organic Liquid Fertilizer or CGOLF brand. It sounds better than a bucket of piss when I tell people what I use on my roses!

[@blueskies6475]

@@claygreen4723 lol

[@carolynsteele5116]

Really great information! I gathered 30+ large bags of leaves from neighbors and ran over them several times with the lawnmower, and they’re happily sitting in pallet bins decomposing. Question: I understand that leaf mold compost is great for soil structure and water retention…but what I’m not clear about is whether composted leaf mold adds enough nutrients to the soil to be used in place of regular bacterial compost?

[@laurabehenna7950]

I'd like to I'd like to know the same thing!

[@ttb1513]

I 3rd the motion!

[@freedomovereverything1776]

Leaves add a lot of minerals to the soil. The biggest benefit that leaves bring is food for worms and other beneficial insects. Then they poop and leave you with rich soil.

[@carolynsteele5116]

@@freedomovereverything1776 Thank you for answering this question! So it appears that leaf mold will enrich the soil over time. I filled my grow beds with broken down leaf mold last spring and added fertilizer… had ok results. Maybe this year the veggies will be bigger.

[@freedomovereverything1776]

@Carolyn Steele No problem 😊 and yes it usually takes 6-12 months to break down. Your soil will only get better the more you do it.

[@mariabentele7909]

Hi Ashley. My last years leaves got too soggy in the spring, now they are smelly. I don’t know what to do with them? Thanks for your help. 🙏❤

[@GardeningInCanada]

lots of flipping to get some oxygen in there

[@mariabentele7909]

@@GardeningInCanada thanks so much for your reply. Yes. I also added dry straw.

[@ceaseanddesist8036]

I understand it will lock up some nitrogen while decompossing., But if the leaves just lay on the ground and are not burried into the soil the temporary loss in nitrogen should only be at a very shallow level of the soil. So in practice it makes next to no difference since the root of most plants are way below the affected area anyways. So this would only be a problem if you are planting out seedlings?

[@GardeningInCanada]

It can cause issues yes. That’s why it’s effective in weed control.

[@wregils]

Thank you for information I can understand and use. You have a knowledge of what you are talking about. Your presentation is great. Most KZbin videos are poor entertainment with a bit of information . I like content. Guess I am weird but mould is how I spell it.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad it was helpful!

[@roontunes]

SEAWATER FERTILISER hello from soggy Ireland. Can you comment on this particular hack/rumour. Japanese rosarians are using sea water ( diluted of course) on their roses to promote flowering and plant health. And can you include your views on using seaweed in the garden, especially for growing roses. Many thanks for all your work and I’ve just discovered your channel and am busy bingeing 😊 so forgive me if youve already covered this.

[@unknown-ql1fk]

I was made a new raised bed over a grass lawn. I started by using all my leaves (15 large silver maple) shredded with a lawn mower and dumped them as a base about 2-3 ft thick in the fall and covered with a tarp. Spring time i added about 8 inches of screened topsoil on top. I planted squash seedlings and in each hole i put about 1/2 cup of fish fertilizer and 1/4 cup of bone meal. Worked like a charm. 3 yrs on and add shredded leaves as mulch each year and its a massive squash bed basically free. I do add bone meal and direct bury fish waste (yellow pearch guts/bones) kind of randomly in the bed about 8-12 inches deep

[@GardeningInCanada]

That is pretty darn cool!

[@rockyll0508]

Wow, that's great. Did you incorporate the topsoil at all with the compost?

[@wbshappy1]

so the difference between leaf mould and compost is the difference between browns and greens? I've seen ratios of greens to browns ranging from 3-1 to 30 to 1. I don't produce that many greens (from weeds and grass clippings!) certainly not enough to hang with all the browns I get from all the silver maples I get leaves in the autumn. Oh, I'm in Zone 6a (Ohio, USA) other than testing, is there a good test to know that my compost is, or is not compost? I've got a large pile here--large to me anyway--70 cm,. perhaps precipitously, I've sifted out the finer stuff through a 1/4 inch mesh. It looks dark brown in color. I've piled the sifted matter up separately to break it down further if possible, and dumped the undigested grass matting and bigger pieces back into my "Cooking Bin" and turned it. (This one is my moistest, and tallest pile rich with all the worms I can find, temp bacterially controlled at around 90°F-a tad cool, I know).

[@tic857]

How different is leaf mould to a high carbon worm bin? I have a worm bin and I'm guilty of not putting enough greens in it, so whenever its gets low, I usually just toss in crumbled dried leaves from whatever wind swept pile I find. I have to say visually unfinished vermicompost with high carbon is very similar looking to the leafmould I use to make in the backyard, and the leaf mould I use to make in the backyard would typically be pretty high in worms too.

[@GardeningInCanada]

I’m not sure actually that’s a great question. I just looked and there isn’t study on that either

[@Val-ee4hd]

I mulch with leaves every year. At the end of the year when I take out my old plants I till them in and with any leaves left in my pile. When the leaves fall again I mow them up and make a pile. To keep weeds down through off season I cover my garden with the shredded leaves. In spring I can push those back and plant my plants. I prefer putting my leaves in the garden so as they break down all that goodness goes into the soil below for my plants. All excess leaves go into a pile to break down and be used for weed control as they break down in my garden through the growing season. Smaller pieces of leaves do not blow away like the whole and half pieces do. I have many leaves so this may be hard for others to do. You can ask people who bag them up if you can have them. They will more than likely say sure take all you want. :)

[@markalford5406]

I usually just cover my raised beds with different leaves every year and maybe add some handfuls of alfalfa pellets on the beds in the fall. Around early May my leaves are mostly gone and I just mix the beds by hand and plant. My garden usually is pretty good.

[@GardeningInCanada]

That's a great idea!

[@rnupnorthbrrrsm6123]

I live in zone 3 in the USA, northern Minnesota and it is hard to find cold climate gardening information…..so thank you !!! I subscribed because I love your content !!! Blessings

[@GardeningInCanada]

Welcome aboard

[@lisat9707]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Add liking and subscribing to the middle and end of the video!. Ive watched a few and only remembered when someone in the comments mentioned subbing!

[@robertreznik9330]

Use a nitrogen and sulfur source to decrease ratio to carbon. The C:N of leaves is 60:1. Adding Ammonia sulfate 21-0-0-26 will build soil organic matter. OM has a 10:1 ratio, N source to leaves is needed for good decomposition. Lime is needed if the ph is low. A few lbs of N per 100 lbs of leaves will turbocharge the microbes.

[@crazysquirrel9425]

I use a mix of both chopped and whole leaves. Whole leaves on the bottom of the planter barrel, then mix in the chopped leaves into the potting soil and that fills the rest. I put on some Alaska Fish fertilizer, triple strength mix with rain water. I figure in 6 months of cold weather, it should be quite usable by mid spring. I will water with either sugar or molasses water mix to feed things until they get populated. I have no 'greens' in the fall. Most people don't. Note: If you put large bags of leaves next to your foundation, you can lower your heating bill slightly while keeping the leaves warm in the winter.

[@lxmzhg]

You need to use pee to correct the nitrogen imbalance.

[@GardeningInCanada]

I have a video on this 😂 kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5jTYYxrpshkaZIsi=weNMPEjnaJhpm5qa

[@Dr.Reason]

I have lots of leaves and grass clippings in about equal mass, been combining them into large piles for years but have yet to see any change. Just white mold like hair grow a bit in spots. No heat ever. I used to turn them, tried adding beer, lime, dirt, water, etc, but nothing works. After 4 years I checked again and there was a little bit of black slime on the leaves around the edges sort of like what you get out of your roof gutter. That’s it. Just piles and piles of leaves and grass like a mummy. Oh, I live in Alaska, so that probably matters.

[@brianseybert2189]

Last fall I made a leaf mold enclosure with shredded leaves that was approximately 6' by 6' and 4' tall. I then insulated the sides and top with yet more bagged leaves. Early this spring I removed some of the bags on top and dug into the pile to see if was totally frozen. It froze down about less than a foot before I got into loose leaves. After removing all the bags in mid May the pile was pretty compressed so I did lay out some tarps and turned the whole thing. From November to May the pile dropped from 4' to less16". I observed than in the compressed section there were no worms but in areas of less compaction it was loaded with native and even red wigglers. I have my worm bins in the same area during the summer and it appears some of the escapees survived the winter in the insulated bin. I found this too in my insulated winter compost, red wigglers. I shredded the bagged leaves and used as mulch on my beds and grow bags. I started a new bin with the left overs, did not want to slow down the process started Last November. This spring I used last years finished leaf mold as a seed starter and in my potting mixes. It worked fantastic! Plus the benefit of worms in almost all of my transplants. I am hooked on leaf mold, thinking about doing 2 large bins this fall. An aside. I had to reseed a couple areas of my lawn this spring where sweet potato vines killed the grass. After I loosened up the soil, aerated it, seeded it then covered with a dressing of leaf mold. the grass grew fantastically. Glad I had some leaf mold left over. Enjoy your videos.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Interesting! Is the moisture retention semi high with the mould?

[@brianseybert2189]

@@GardeningInCanada Actually, the leaf mold retained more moisture than the peat. Plus I did not get any algae on the leaf mold as I did with the peat. Gotta love leaf mold.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Very cool

[@daleschimpf]

Greetings from NS. I’ve seen a few vegetable gardening videos where people shred up leaves and put them in their beds around plants to keep the weeds down, retain moisture, etc. Would this also be a good approach in addition to actually composting the leaves?

[@cherylwilson716]

Okay I totally screwed up. I had my husband mow over the leaves in November to chop them up and collect them in his bagger. Well we container garden and he poured said chopped leaves on containers. He started to dig them in and turning them under. So great now we are going to have Nitrogen depleted soil. Now what? How do we fix it. I am guessing with some slow release Nitrogen fertilizer, but what kind and how much? Would Alfalfa pellets work? Ugh I am just so upset because we need this supplemental food to make it through the year. We don't have a ton of money to throw supplements at it either. I could just kick myself. Any help is so much appreciated.

[@Dingolay1]

Thanks for this video. So to verify, using dried leaves for cover mulch is GOOD, correct?

[@B30pt87]

Hi! I loved this. You gave me insights I hadn't connected before, and you did it easily. Many thanks. (I'm so glad I found your channel. I'm in California, not Canada, but the actual differences are minor.)

[@SlipMahoneyBowery]

Shredded leaves on top are the best cover for a garden I think. Works great as Mulch and is processed slowly into the soil. They will suck Nitrogen if you put a bunch IN the soil though. Leaf Mold is a present from heaven. I make it always but the best of all bests is to scratch around under an old oak tree in the woods for the top 1/2 inch or so of that beautiful black stuff. A couple of five gallon buckets of that will revitalize a good size garden.

[@maddieprivate1]

I built a huge open bottom raised bed last fall, bottom layer logs, then put several bags of leaves on top of that and I've been burying kitchen scraps in the leaves all winter. I plan on topping with about 10 inches of soil this year and planting veggies. I'm in the black soil zone of Alberta. I am a new urban gardener and know nothing about gardening except what Professor KZbin told me. Will it be ok to plant in if the top couple of feet are soil? The leaves are not nearly close to being broken down yet.

[@maryoshea933]

Do you think vermicomposting would destroy aminopyralid and salmonella etc

[@TheTrock121]

When I get woodchips that are produced by freshly cut Summer hard wood trees especially Maple, the chips are often hot. Do the sugars in the green leaves and cambium layer substitute for Nitrogen?

[@jeffa847]

I've never understood why you are supposed to put layers of green 'nitrogen' material and 'carbon' layer versus just mixing them together in the compost bin. Leaves and wood chippings from tree trimming I just lay on top of the garden and pathways - seems to be working great and wow it saves a lot of turning or piling up compost.

[@ellenorbjornsdottir1166]

the correct spelling depends where in canada, too. in the east (or if you are more UK-influenced) you'd use the U, in the west (or if you are more US-influenced) you drop it