On trash day, I drive down the streets of mature neighborhoods with mature trees -mostly oaks- and pick-up bags of leaves. I use them for compost and mulch. Great free resource.
Oak leaves are a little allopathic. Best leaves (aka gold standard) are silver maple. But oak will work if you double mow them to make smaller pieces and let them sit all winter.
Here in the northern regions of Australia, costs and availability of hay, straw and other mulching possibilities are limited in that we rarely have an Autumnal leaf fall so we have had incredible success using sugar cane mulch. Three years of cane mulching (rough cut and dry) mixed with fresh cut grass from suburban areas (green grasses UNDER cane mulch) have developed 8 inch deep soils that have made our neighbors jealous, grown vegetables and ornamental flowers in abundance and made our front yard (in suburbia) a place where vegies and flowers are occasionally stolen and many people actually stop by to discover how. Your input in the original ideas for this were part of the inspiration for our suburban experiment so thank you.
Jean Muehlfelt Love the way you said "keep the ground smothered in hay!" It absolutely works wonders. Have been using Ruth Stout's method for 5 years now and can say I'm glad she wrote the book Gardening Without Work. It has saved my back and given us great harvests compared to bare soil gardening. And great to see Huw keeping it out there!
I'm so happy I watched this video. I can find hay not straw. I get the hay, spread it and covered it with some landscaping cloth I had. I heard from everyone how I just ruined my lawn and the garden would be overrun with weeds. I removed the ground cover and planted my seedlings with potting mix in the hay. I mulched the top with my grass clippings and everything has been great.
Very good video. I would like to make one comment on the lawn clippings. Here in the US, many people use herbicides to get ride of dandelions in their lawn. That herbicide can wreck havoc on your garden area. So make sure you ask the people you're getting clippings from if they use any herbicides or pesticides on their lawn. :)
just put cardboard and or several layers newspaper on the ground and mulch over that with hay and or straw and watering well. no digging, no pulling weeds or disturbing the topsoil, if necessary i trampel down the tall weeds before putting the cardboard and or newspaper on. i plant directly in the mulch with some potting soil in the plant hole, and or for direct sowing put a layer of potting soil and or compost on top of the mulch, sow the seeds , cover with some potting soil and or compost if needed, water well and cover with row cover if necessary to protect from birds , frost etc. chicken manure pellets helps breakdown the mulch and feed the soil. bless you Ruth Stout!
I love your methods. I’ve been inspired to do a garden this year for the first time, thanks to you and Morag Gamble. Thank you for all your great ideas.
I have been doing this by instinct in my first serious year gardening in Bulgaria so you have just confirmed I am on the right track, also protects the soil from drying out.
I really appreciate this video. I live in a large city with a small garden. I have considered buying some wood chips, but there are so many people putting out bags of leaves for the city to pick up that I could use. I asked a neighbor for hers and she has been so good to share. I have also shared some of the vegetables from out garden with her, which helps her as well.
You are a very smart kid. I noticed the big difference with hay regardless I used all my plants once they died or out of season to provide nutrients to the ground, of course the sick ones or with diseases goes to the trash. Man you have to love garden if u want to make it work.
I built compost piles all winter with free hay, straw & leaves I collected and brought home. My chickens helped activate it. It was all done in 100 days and I've added them all to the garden beds. Now I'm going to try your plan since my neighbor says I can have all her clippings.
I live in Indiana, United States, and have dense clay soil. I was trying to figure out how the heck I was going to grow anything in this awful clay/dirt. I started experimenting with a straw bale garden last year, and the results were great! When I moved here there wasn't any garden at all. After 1 year with the straw bales, I got an incredible harvest last year, from the straw, after conditioning them, mostly herbs. The tomatoes didn't do as well in the bales. This spring the bales had all broken down, and we have WORMS finally! Also, seeds from last years garden self sowed and are growing like crazy, versus the same species of seeds that I have growing in containers with store bought potting mix. The difference in growth is incredible. Straw is more readily available for me, than hay, but I would use hay in a minute, if I had some. To start my NEW garden, in bad dirt, I put down a layer of cardboard, then put the straw bales on top. I conditioned them, loosely using the straw bale method by Joel Karsten. I found that you don't really need to follow his method exactly. If you get hay or straw bales in the fall, let them sit through winter, they are ready to be planted in the following spring. When they break down, you have a happier ecosystem. Keep mulching, planting, repeat. Your dirt will turn into healthy soil in no time. And the weeding is barely worth mentioning. It's so easy! You're building soil that gets better every year. Search for Ruth Stout Gardening, and you will see one of the pioneers of this method. It is fantastic! I love to experiement. Right now I am experimenting with burying buckets of compost in the garden, with holes drilled in them, so worms can get in, eat, then leave their castings. Worm castings are an excellent fertilizer for your garden, and they till the garden naturally for you.
+1 on this technique. I've always used grass clippings as mulch in my garden. I use the bagger when mowing every 3rd time I cut the lawn and get a nice sized pile from our 1.5-2 acres. I just keep building it up on the beds and walkways all spring / summer. It decomposes almost completely over fall/winter and I just lightly turn it in where I plant in the spring. My soil has been slowly improving each year, too I'm increasing my efforts this summer and will be using both grass clippings and shredded / partially decomposed leaf mold in an effort to boost the soil significantly more.
My first time on here and i love what you do with the mulching as i do the same here in America and the CLOVER is the best plant for your soil to enrich it and true it has plenty of minerals for the body my favorite is red clover
I get grass clippings and leaves. I run the lawn mower over the leaves and use them as mulch. This year I put whole leaves as mulch in my front yard. I may cover with wood chips, maybe. It's working as I am growing wild mushrooms.
I created 6 raised garden beds this year. I am following your advice on the potatoes using straw. Everything is growing great. I was thinking of adding hay to my tomato beds. I think I am going to do that tomorrow. Thank you so very much.
This is a GREAT vid and yes the hay/grass mulch is the best as it does break down faster then the straw. Have been putting lawn clippings under lilac hedge for 30 years and man is that black and rich soil.
Now my battle is with the gophers (ground squirrel) as they are eating everything so looks like new raised beds with wire mesh bottoms. Glad still in early days of re-developing the garden.
As a straw bale gardener for three years now, I've started creating raised beds which are first filled with mostly old straw from my previous year, and then a layer of soil (about 4") on top. They start out full at the beginning of the season and break down to about 3/4 full. I plan to put this year's broken down straw bales on top of the beds once everything is done and then just plant into the mulch next spring. Over the winter there will be a sandwich layer of 2-3 year old straw mulch, dirt and then 1 year old straw compost on top. I will probably clear out some spots to grow spinach, kale, arugula and bok choy under a mini plastic dome green house. I expect the straw will do a good job of keeping it warm at least through December here in Michigan. I also have 4 35 lb bags of Promix that I picked up at Menards for about $13/bag (cheap!!) I will use those to cover this year's straw next spring before direct seeding carrots and other things like lettuce and spinach over the top of this year's straw. If anyone is interested, I still see a couple Menards still have it in compressed blue bags in the back of the garden sections!
Feeling super inspired, many thanks for your amazing content! We watch you with my toddler and you definitely have 2 super keen fans in Latvia 🤣 happy gardening and sending you lots of love 💚
@k johnson The woodstuffs need Nitrogen for proper composting. Epsom Salts can help some but I think that adding coffee grounds (free from the coffee shops) might be a better additive to aid in composting. Another alternative would be blood meal (N-rating of 12). Comfrey leaves are a great compost activator too. Borage leaves can help as well.
Going to be trying this in the garden this season. Hay bales are cheap or free around here. Lots use them as snow barriers or yo insulate wells and septic fields over the winter and then give them away come spring. Had so many weed issues the first 3 years so this cant make it any worse.
I prefer staw over hay and grass, I leave the straw out in the weather so it will start to decompose and then use it for mulch in the garden, grass clippings go in the compost bins for a nitrogen source to kick start the compost process. I collect about 200 bags of leaves in the fall for my compost bins. decaying straw and composted leaves are both very good soil additives and great for mulching.
Living in the desert, straw & shade cloth is an absolute necessity. Yesterday peaked 120* for a bit 🥵🥵🥵 Love learning from you in Northern Nevada USA 🇺🇸🍅🌱🥕🫑
Thank you for your valuable information! I am using saw dust as mulch in our garden, which I started recently. Dust from mostly coconut trees and jackfruit trees collected from a nearby mill. Hope it will work fine 😊
As mentioned by others, be sure to mix something with sawdust. I layered it in a raised bed, and 2 years later, when I dug over the bed, it was still intact as a layer. Sawdust makes great paths when spread thickly. Matts down and any weeds are easy to pull. A nearby cabinet shop allowed anyone to pick it up. You can see people loading up truck beds driving away!
I live in the Southern California desert, so mulching is essential especially in the summer time. I use cut grass, shredded palm fronds and chipped mesquite branches mostly. I did start a bed of alfalfa this year just for mulching. Three inches is the best to start, and just keep adding more each season.
When I went to horticultural college (Capel Manor, Potter's Bar), I was told different materials should be rotted/allowed to stand for differing amounts of time, because in the process of breaking down valuable nitrogen is absorbed out the soil around the plants first and is only later released back into the soil. Fresh grass clippings around plants can burn soft stemmed plants, since temperatures reached by bacteria can be extremely hot (just put a hand in a pile of grass clippings left for a day. My dog likes to sit on the 'grass heap' I've made in my back garden because it gets so warm there). Also, there is a danger of mildew spores forming in grass in damp climates. There is a mildew that can later lead to a condition called Farmer's Lung. This type of mildew is distinguished by 'white spots' that can be seen inside clumps of damp grass. If you wish to mulch in this way, don't disturb the grass afterwards or wear a mask if you need to move it about for some reason.
I am feeding my cows grass hay and peanut hay in the garden to build up the soil will see how this will work out with 2 inches of hay and cow manure for this summer's garden. Also will plant okra for stakes for my tomatoes and pepper plants to see how this will work.
In Kansas you mostly have 2 choices. Wheat straw or prairie hay. With both you need to make sure it's cut before it goes to seed. I got some wheat straw one year and grew a ton of wheat! I now only use seed free prairie hay and it works fantastically.
Can't talk long Hew, I'm off to my garden. That is how much you have inspired me. I have one problem, I like your voice so much, my phone is covered in dirt all the time. You are lovely. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Regards Sherie Rodrigues
What a nice video. You did a great job. And the drone view, loved it!!!! The garden is looking amazing, and you look very handsome! We missed you!! Tell us about the exams!!
Lovely video, Huw. That’s a very interesting idea. But what about slug proliferation? That’s the only thing that worries me. Would be very interested to know how it went for you on that front.
I have used cut grass as a mulch in NW London, I also use the first cut in spring to build compost piles with horse manure from local stables, cardboard from local garden centre and leaves/twigs from local woods. The other great mulch I used last year was comfrey cuts: this is really good to use on the potato bed and means no earthing up is necessary. I tend to put this down using the third and fourth cuts in July and early August so I can use the first two for making concentrated tea. I must say that the ability to source hay bales would be great, but farmers seem to focus on the horse community rather than gardeners! Perhaps you could be a pioneer setting up a network of hay suppliers to UK gardeners?
I love your passion, I have been comparing the Eden method with the tilling method and the Eden method is far better, I have 7 acres and chickens so use wood chip, grass cuttings, cardboard and chicken sawdust bedding. I just need more of it!!!! lol
I just came across your channel and absolutely enjoy it. It is very practical easy. I am Tammy all the way from Malaysia. Keep those video coming! God bless!
i finally started my own market garden this year and was hesitant about using hay and straw mulch because so many of my farmer friends warned against it - youll have weeds, youll have slugs, you cant hoe the ground then... well i eventually did it anyways because my sandy soil was drying out way too quick... well now i barely have to water, no slugs yet, few weeds that are easy to pull, and my veggies are growing great! I've since gone back and mulched up most of my beds and rows, and now i don't need to put in an irrigation system anymore!
Good video! I have lots of hay from the nine guinea pigs I look after...usually it goes on the compost heap but I may try using it as a mulch as well. Cheers, xx
I proud my brother your style about farming,I wish letter Iko do it also, ones I have money to buy land.as of now, just for planing,because just now I’m here working other country,KSA. Ones again thanks your idealistic.
used to be out West that straw was cheaper than hay. Here in Massachusetts straw is now as expensive or even more expensive. I agree hay is a good mulch and doesn't really cause a lot of weed problems, and has more nutrients than straw.
Thanks to watching the Ruth Stout Method video from ‘ Back to Reality’ i have embarked on using hay to compost and grow our food in. Absolutely love these methods.