How to Harvest Leaf Mold & 4 Ways to Use It
Every spring in temperate climates, shade trees wake up from a long winter's sleep. Their extensive root systems run deep into the earth, pulling nitrogen and other vital nutrients inaccessible to smaller plants. The leaves that form on the branches in spring and summer eventually fall to the ground in autumn. In the forest floor, fallen leaves slowly decompose, returning buried nutrients to the upper layers of the soil. Year after year, fallen tree leaves help keep the soil fertile for more shallow-rooted plants. Aided by earthworms and fungi, the leaves eventually break down into dark, crumbly humus. As nature's mulch, leaf mold protects the soil against extreme heat and cold. It stabilizes the soil, stabilizes pH levels, improves soil structure, and increases water-holding capacity.
Although it is not as potent as traditional compost, leaf mold provides trace amounts of 16 essential nutrients for plant growth. It is an excellent food source for soil microbes. Making leaf mold is very easy. All you need to do is gather the fallen leaves into a pile and keep the pile moist. It can take 1 to 3 years for new leaves to break down into brittle leaf compost.
How to use old potting soil 👇
How to Tell When Leaf Mold is Ready to Harvest
This pile of leaf mold is a year old. It is covered with hardware cloth, approximately 3 feet in diameter and 4 feet in height. Last fall I shredded the leaves before throwing them in the pile.
1 The pile is too dense. After opening the tank, it has a thick cylindrical shape
2 It is hard to believe that it was once filled to the brim with leaves. Now it is about 7 inches tall.
3 Only the top and sides of the pile are semi-deteriorated.
4 But take a spade and dig into the center, and you should see well-rotted material beneath.
5 Finished leaf mold is like finished compost - dark, crumbly, and devoid of individual leaf material.
Your leaf pile isn't complete yet if it hasn't shriveled up too much and the insides aren't completely broken down. If so, make sure to keep the pile moist and design for another year.
Other Garden Links 👇
Recovers leaf molds
Leaves in the pile decompose at different rates. The outer layer — exposed to the drying sun and wind — breaks down more slowly than the one in the center.
To get the best stuff, remove the least rotten leaves and keep them aside. Once you get to the inside of the pile, you can shovel it out and use the leaf mold in the garden as a soil conditioner and mulch. Or, it can be divided into fine growing media to make potting soil. While sifting, I found loads of earthworms. These guys love a pile of leaves, and raking your leaves is another great way to encourage more worm life in your yard. After screening out the larger bits, what you're left with is a dark, earthy material. The split-leaf print has a wonderful texture. It is remarkably light, soft, and crumbly.
How to use leaf mold
As winter mulch:
Less decomposed leaf mold can be spread around the garden as winter mulch. Winterize your vegetables by covering the beds with a 3-inch layer of mulch to protect bare soil. This will help keep the soil in place, protect it from wind erosion, and go a long way to keeping weeds at bay in the spring. Semi-decomposed material acts as a habitat for insects and beneficial microorganisms. As it continues to break down, it will condition the soil and add some fertility to the mix.
Related garden links 👇
How to get rid of crabgrass naturally
5 things to put in your vegetable planting holes
As a soil conditioner:
Fully decomposed leaf compost in the center of the pile can be added to the garden at any time of the year as a top dressing. Among its many admirable qualities, leaf mold works dynamically to correct substandard soils. It retains much-needed moisture in sandy soils that drain very quickly; In dense clay, lighten the soil to improve aeration and drainage.
Leaf mold adds valuable organic matter to mineral soils and attracts soil-dwelling microbes wherever it spreads. As an energy source for bacteria and fungi, it helps create a small microbiota for the true heroes of the garden. These young organisms – numbering in the zillions – improve soil structure, cycle nutrients, and fight disease, pests, and even weeds. To promote healthy soil in vegetable plots and ornamental beds, scatter mulch and leaf mold to a depth of 2 inches at the base of plants.
Other Garden Links 👇
To prepare potting soil:
Dig up your leaf mold and you'll have the perfect ingredient for homemade potting soil. Leaf mold is a soilless growing medium that is exceptionally good at retaining air and moisture. It shares many qualities like peat moss but is completely earth-friendly and sustainable. Leaf mold can be used as a substitute in any potting soil recipe that calls for peat moss or coconut flakes.
Along with compost for nutrients and perlite for drainage, leaf mold is an excellent component of the triple mix.
Mix together 40% compost, 40% leaf mold, and 20% perlite to make an all-purpose potting soil for planters, baskets, boxes, and other container garden plants.
To start seeds:
Leaf mold is a wonderful alternative to peat moss when starting seeds. It provides all the things a good germination environment should be – light, airy, moist, well-drained, and low in nutrients. To use leaf mold to start seeds, fill your pots or seedling trays with screened leaf mold. Sow your seeds, water them, then cover them with a moisture tent. These cosmas seedlings started sprouting in 3 days. By day 5, they were fully up and 'in' us.
House Plant Care 👇
.gif)
0 Comments