How to keep soil fertile using only local leaves and grass?

GreenGlobetrotter

What’s the best way to keep soil fertile without any outside inputs at all?

I sheet-mulched beds with nothing but leaves and grass clippings gathered nearby. First season tomatoes came in strong, but this year the soil packs down hard after rain and the plants look smaller overall.

NatureNest

The leaves and grass you gathered nearby can settle into a tighter mat once they’ve broken down a season or two, especially after heavy rain squeezes the air out and leaves the surface almost like a crust. That first flush of fertility fades when nothing’s left to keep the structure open underneath, so the roots hit resistance sooner and the plants show it by staying smaller. Watching the beds after a storm, it helps to see whether anything’s starting to pull that layer down naturally or if it’s still sitting separate.

cityseedling

That settling after rain makes sense once the clippings break down and lose their bulk. I wonder if anything’s starting to burrow through and loosen it from below, or if it’s still one solid layer.

GreenGlobetrotter

Checked a few spots and it’s still one solid layer underneath, nothing burrowing through that I can see.