How to Make Leaf Mold: Turn Fallen leaves into gardener's gold

Leaf mold is made from decomposed leaves and is one of the best soil improvers you can treat your garden to.
In this short video we’ll show you how to make your own leaf mold and use it to produce an abundant supply of soil improver, mulch, compost material and even great seed-sowing mix!

If you love growing your own food, why not take a look at our online Garden Planner which is available from several major websites and seed suppliers:
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Mixing grass clippings into composting leaves will help them compost faster and make it a better fertiliser.

[bayoutown]

We mow over our leaves, rake them up again, and mow over them again. We do this about 3 - 4 times until they are well ground up and we use the soil it makes immediately. Works beautifully! We have 7 acres and 6 of them are forest but we have trees all over the 1 acre where we live. We have an abundance of leaves and they are the basis for all of our soil that we grow in. Once you mow over the leaves several times, wet it and you will be surprised at the "soil" you seem to have almost instantly.

[dawnteskey]

We dump tons of leaves in the garden along with used straw from the chicken coops in the fall and let the chickens dig around in it all winter. By spring it's ready to plant in. Chickens are amazing helpers.

[ironleatherwood]

I am starting a new garden bed so in the fall I mixed leaves, grass clippings together and put coffee grounds and kitchen scraps on it all winter long. I turn it one to two times as week as weather permits, it has been a mild winter.

[adeleganolayisade]

Adding fallen leaves helps keep the compost bin warmer during the winter and the worms keep active

[maryannklein]

I layer my fallen oak leaves with my organic kitchen scraps . Keep it turned and watered. Perfect compost.

[tennesseenana]

I used my leaves as a top mulch on my plant containers to help them this winter. I also put them in big garbage bags, but didn't know about poking holes in them, so will be sure to do that. Thanks for that tip!

[luro]

It definitely works! I used decomposed leaves in my vegetable garden this year and the yield was unbelievable! Specially my greens!!!

[alluringone]

2 years!!! I’m trying to plant tomorrow son! 😂

[wmoy]

I make leaf mold also. I stop making a container to hold the leaves because it is hard to rotate the leaves at the bottom. Instead I just make a big pile and put two fencing or chicken wire pieces on top to prevent wind blowing leaves away or raccoons from digging into looking for by food scraps. The worms help break it down faster and we get worm castings as an additional benefit.

[elizabethclaiborne]

I use an outdoor upright vacuum made to mulch leaves into a handy bag on board. It’s nice!

[skwtdrv]

Wow your soil looks so dark and rich! Amazing!

[catfunksfabulousfinds]

Add a few shovels of garden soil & compost and it will decompose much faster.

[ilovemusic]

I use my own leaves and gather more from neighbours just to have enough browns to balance the 100+ jack-o'-lanterns I go around town collecting for my compost the first few days of November each year.

[rexmonarch]

In the Autumn I like to pile mowed leaves about 1 foot thick on top of the garden a let them break down over the winter. It insulates the garden so the soil doesn't get frozen. An added bonus is that it feeds the worms and keeps the fungi active during the winter. In the spring I turn the soil over -- and it's time to get the garden going.

[AlbertaUrbanGarden]

Evergreen needles don't result in acidic soil. They are acidic themselves however by the time they decompose the acidity is neutralized.

Great video on leaf mold.

[fishmut]

Turn your leaf pile every couple of weeks .... not months. Turning every couple of weeks will result in a faster leaf compost oh and keep moist or wet also cover it up with a tarp or something to help it retain moister and break down. That’s it. This is what works for me.

[avrilneilson]

Don't forget wood chips are great for spreading to subdue weeds and keep in moisture. They're also great added to the heap.

[robinhazeslip]

Love this video! Thnk u! I have lots of leaves but no room for actual compost pile/spot. Letting "nothing go to waist in the garden" is my goal😊

[mariansyrjamakikuchta]

I put a "leaves wanted" sign in my yard....I live on a busy street....and the neighborhood drops off bagged leaves.. I get hundreds of friends and I haul them to the community garden. There we use them to lay on pathways, till in to the garden soil, or build a huge compost pile.