I have a huge area on my farm that for years I’ve filled with leaves, grass clippings, corn shucks, tea bags, coffee grounds, garden scraps, egg shells, and other goodies go in. The chickens and ducks keep it turned. I’ve found the best fishing worms in there.
One of the BEST ways to minimize cost and fill a brand new raised bed is to fill with 50% dead leaves and then top with soil. By the time the plants put down deeper roots, the soil is ready. This can also be done during the fallow season. Turn soil before planting.
It would be a good idea, but the soil will reduce drastically as the leaves break down. Do you take out your plants and fill it up with more soil, then put the plants back? My soil level reduced in my raised bed, but I have a rhubarb in it with roots almost as thick as my wrist. I can't fill it up with more soil because the rhubarb crown will rot. What or how would you do it?
I don't use raised beds, so I just spread the fallen leafs all over the garden before plowing. Because my trees are still small, I also collect dead leafs from a couple of neighbors who are happy to get rid of them for free. Best natural fertilizer.
@Rolling Withthepunches I think I knew that, but as a non-native English speaker I do this kind of mistakes every now and then, thank you for pointing it out.
Here in Florida the soil is pure sand. I've been composting oak leaves for years. It only takes about 6 months for them to break down to dirt with all this humidity and hot weather. Best soil ever. Black, rich even smells like great soil. Add some organic alfalfa pellets and some compost and it's like magic. Don't fill your pots, I use 17 gallon tubs to garden in, with leaves. It takes longer to break down and when they do the container you put the leaves in and filled to the brim with dirt will look half full and you have to add more dirt. I made the mistake of doing this with a fruit tree. Ever try to repot a 7 foot tall orange tree. (Hint it's not fun) That being said, I have learned some things from you and other things you have done has reinforced things I have been doing for years. I appreciate your channel a lot. Thank you sir for your showing how to do things on the cheap and not becoming infomercials for junk that we don't need like so many gardening channels have.
i was just about to ask if someone tried this with oak leaves... people sometimes say things like how oak leaves are so bad because they are acidic and have tannins etc... having said that i live in up state new york so we get cold winters here so i may not have the same success you did. Separate topic: what do you mean with 'don't fill your pots', I did not get that part perhaps because I do not grow anything in my yard yet.
@@sdoken People will fill their pots or containers half way with leaves and not compost then first. I think it's part of the hugelkultur thing. (Filling your containers or raised beds part way with limbs, leaves and even styrofoam to take up room so you don't have to use so much dirt.) Then they rot down to a fourth of the volume they were when they were just raked up. So your containers end up only half full of dirt. You're losing volume is all. As far as oak leaves. That's basically all we have in Florida is various varieties of oak trees. Never had a problem with them. In fact people were marveling at my 25 foot tall okra plants grown in pots full of composted oak leaf dirt. Not bragging, just using that as an example of the quality of the dirt. LOL I started using leaf compost because we had bought a few yards of compost from a nursery and it was full of Grazon and it killed all my vegetables. Sorry to babble on.
@@MuscogeeCreekMan thanks a lot this is helpful... yeah i love it when something you already have at home works better than the store-bought version :) glad you had success with oak leaves.. hopefully we will also. i was always skeptical of the things i heard about oak leaves being bad anyway so this confirms my suspicion. thanks and have a good day. it's awesome you can grow okra
I mulch with shredded leaves during growing season then turn them in at the end of season. Once the fall leaves cover the ground I mulch the beds again til spring. I pull them back and plant and top up any thin areas. Then repeat each year. The smaller you chop them the faster they break down.
Thanks Jag for your great videos. I'm a beginner veggie grower and learning all the time from past mistakes, however I do enjoy what I'm doing and even learnt some things from your videos. I live in Johannesburg, SA where the weather varies from year to year which is rather challenging but persever.😊
I grew potatoes under a willow tree with leaves and of 5 potatoes I filled 2.5 boxes of potatoes. The secret is that the potato roots touched the willow roots during the season. The potatoes had a northern exposure for shade during the summer.
WADR, Jag, I learned that turning the dead leaves under soil depletes the soil of nitrogen. I suggest leaving leaves on surface to maintain soil nitrogen. Otherwise, great video. Thanks!
I’m curious if any leaf type will do. Here in San Antonio, TX, we have “Live Oaks”. They have a small leaf that is rather thick. I’m not sure they break down quick enough for good, fast results. I have areas next to the house that I might rake after a few years, and the leaves may be brown, but they still seem in tact. Am I out of luck using such leaves for brown matter? Thanks, and also a thumbs up for such good content.
You always make sense on all the nonsense...hahahahaha...thank you cause i have some many many leaves every fall...this video has really help me beyond belief..Thank you once again...
Yes, certain vegetables that like alkaline soil or higher pH for example sweet potatoes, however not basil and potatoes since they like acidic soil. Burn leaves will be more alkaline.
@@DaisyCreekFarms My goodness, I appreciate your reply. I always thought other people were implying not to use them if they weren't shredded....not that I could ever figure out why.... since just falling from the tree is the way nature does it. Thank you! Re-subbed.
I have a huge area on my farm that for years I’ve filled with leaves, grass clippings, corn shucks, tea bags, coffee grounds, garden scraps, egg shells, and other goodies go in. The chickens and ducks keep it turned. I’ve found the best fishing worms in there.
One of the BEST ways to minimize cost and fill a brand new raised bed is to fill with 50% dead leaves and then top with soil. By the time the plants put down deeper roots, the soil is ready. This can also be done during the fallow season. Turn soil before planting.
It would be a good idea, but the soil will reduce drastically as the leaves break down. Do you take out your plants and fill it up with more soil, then put the plants back? My soil level reduced in my raised bed, but I have a rhubarb in it with roots almost as thick as my wrist. I can't fill it up with more soil because the rhubarb crown will rot. What or how would you do it?
I don't use raised beds, so I just spread the fallen leafs all over the garden before plowing. Because my trees are still small, I also collect dead leafs from a couple of neighbors who are happy to get rid of them for free. Best natural fertilizer.
@Rolling Withthepunches I think I knew that, but as a non-native English speaker I do this kind of mistakes every now and then, thank you for pointing it out.
So timely! Thank you.
Here in Florida the soil is pure sand. I've been composting oak leaves for years. It only takes about 6 months for them to break down to dirt with all this humidity and hot weather. Best soil ever. Black, rich even smells like great soil. Add some organic alfalfa pellets and some compost and it's like magic.
Don't fill your pots, I use 17 gallon tubs to garden in, with leaves. It takes longer to break down and when they do the container you put the leaves in and filled to the brim with dirt will look half full and you have to add more dirt. I made the mistake of doing this with a fruit tree. Ever try to repot a 7 foot tall orange tree. (Hint it's not fun)
That being said, I have learned some things from you and other things you have done has reinforced things I have been doing for years. I appreciate your channel a lot. Thank you sir for your showing how to do things on the cheap and not becoming infomercials for junk that we don't need like so many gardening channels have.
i was just about to ask if someone tried this with oak leaves... people sometimes say things like how oak leaves are so bad because they are acidic and have tannins etc... having said that i live in up state new york so we get cold winters here so i may not have the same success you did. Separate topic: what do you mean with 'don't fill your pots', I did not get that part perhaps because I do not grow anything in my yard yet.
@@sdoken People will fill their pots or containers half way with leaves and not compost then first. I think it's part of the hugelkultur thing. (Filling your containers or raised beds part way with limbs, leaves and even styrofoam to take up room so you don't have to use so much dirt.) Then they rot down to a fourth of the volume they were when they were just raked up. So your containers end up only half full of dirt. You're losing volume is all.
As far as oak leaves. That's basically all we have in Florida is various varieties of oak trees. Never had a problem with them. In fact people were marveling at my 25 foot tall okra plants grown in pots full of composted oak leaf dirt. Not bragging, just using that as an example of the quality of the dirt. LOL I started using leaf compost because we had bought a few yards of compost from a nursery and it was full of Grazon and it killed all my vegetables. Sorry to babble on.
@@MuscogeeCreekMan thanks a lot this is helpful... yeah i love it when something you already have at home works better than the store-bought version :) glad you had success with oak leaves.. hopefully we will also. i was always skeptical of the things i heard about oak leaves being bad anyway so this confirms my suspicion. thanks and have a good day. it's awesome you can grow okra
I mulch with shredded leaves during growing season then turn them in at the end of season. Once the fall leaves cover the ground I mulch the beds again til spring. I pull them back and plant and top up any thin areas. Then repeat each year. The smaller you chop them the faster they break down.
Always lovely information. Thank you.
Thanks Jag for your great videos. I'm a beginner veggie grower and learning all the time from past mistakes, however I do enjoy what I'm doing and even learnt some things from your videos. I live in Johannesburg, SA where the weather varies from year to year which is rather challenging but persever.😊
Congrats i like it cos my yard full of falling leaves from my longan, rambutans and mangoes leaves , thank you for infos
Your channel is so underrated you need more subs!!
I knew there had to be a benefit to dead leaves. Great video!
Great video! I've been using or mulching fallen leaves for years.
This is so good
I grew potatoes under a willow tree with leaves and of 5 potatoes I filled 2.5 boxes of potatoes. The secret is that the potato roots touched the willow roots during the season. The potatoes had a northern exposure for shade during the summer.
Inspiring & great video! thankyou!
Wow, My best friend, It's so beautiful video !!! enjoyed watching your video
Thanks so much brother. I love your idea
Great tips Thank you!
Thank you for this information!
Thank You ❣
WADR, Jag, I learned that turning the dead leaves under soil depletes the soil of nitrogen. I suggest leaving leaves on surface to maintain soil nitrogen. Otherwise, great video. Thanks!
I’m curious if any leaf type will do. Here in San Antonio, TX, we have “Live Oaks”. They have a small leaf that is rather thick. I’m not sure they break down quick enough for good, fast results. I have areas next to the house that I might rake after a few years, and the leaves may be brown, but they still seem in tact. Am I out of luck using such leaves for brown matter? Thanks, and also a thumbs up for such good content.
You always make sense on all the nonsense...hahahahaha...thank you cause i have some many many leaves every fall...this video has really help me beyond belief..Thank you once again...
🤗🤗🤗Thank you ❤
yup!
I heard to turn over the compost pile every 6 weeks, so what is the best?
No 6 weeks is too long, compost needs aeration. I would say turn atleast every 5 days.
Nature’s mulch!
context is everything...
👍😊👌
My clueless neighbor burns his leaves. Awful!
How about burn leaves, can i plant in it?
Yes, certain vegetables that like alkaline soil or higher pH for example sweet potatoes, however not basil and potatoes since they like acidic soil. Burn leaves will be more alkaline.
😉
dead leaves are very acidic they will affect your PH levels
What about wind, wouldn't that just blow it everywhere
Not if you keep it moist
I have walnutsI do not recomend them for compost. Keep separate for at least 2 years because they are hamful.
Only in Pakistan.
Shoot. I don’t have any leaves. Before I moved here, I had more leaves than I knew what to do with.
So then why does everybody say you have to break the leaves up first?
Oh, nevermind. I see he doesn't answer anyone.
Unsubbed.
Shredded leaves do decompose faster. I usually run them through my lawn mower.
@@DaisyCreekFarms My goodness, I appreciate your reply. I always thought other people were implying not to use them if they weren't shredded....not that I could ever figure out why.... since just falling from the tree is the way nature does it. Thank you!
Re-subbed.