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My neighbor in Boulder got me to try leaf mold instead of mulch, and my tomatoes went crazy
My neighbor Ruth has been growing tomatoes in Boulder for like 30 years, and last May she handed me a trash bag of black crumbly stuff from her leaf pile. She said to spread it 2 inches deep around my plants instead of the bagged mulch I always buy. My Roma plants ended up taller than the fence by August, which has never happened in my 6 years of gardening here. Has anyone else switched to leaf mold, and do you bother turning the pile or just let it sit?
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carter.joseph1mo ago
Did you notice a big difference in how the soil held water after you put that leaf mold down? I ask because I tried the same thing a few years back and my pile turned into a slimy mess, so I clearly did something wrong. My neighbor told me the key is letting the leaves break down for a full year before using them, and mine were only six months old. Now I just let mine sit and don't turn it at all, mostly out of pure laziness if I'm being honest. The bottom of the pile is always the good black stuff, so I just dig from there each spring. Sounds like Ruth knows what she's doing, and a free bag of that beats hauling mulch bags home any day.
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