What to do with the leaves in autumn?

Dried leaves have several uses

Autumn leaves cover the ground as soon as the temperatures begin to cool and the trees let them fall. This leaves a landscape that for many is very beautiful, but for others, not so much. And, of course, in a garden they look beautiful, but having a patio or terrace full of leaves is not always the best. What do we do with them?

It is possible that your first reaction is to throw them in the garbage container, but I am going to tell you about other uses that you can give to the leaves in autumn.

Uses that we can give to the leaves in autumn

Dry leaves can be compost

There are several uses for autumn leaves. We will explain them in detail below so that you do not miss any:

Compost for garden soil

The leaves are very nutritious; Not surprisingly, they are the main food factory that plants have since they transform the light energy of the sun into starches and sugars. Of course, when the cold arrives, their situation worsens: the temperatures drop, the degree of insolation is lower and lower, and therefore, little by little they will dry up and fall.

Therefore, it is highly recommended to leave them on the ground, because as they decompose, they will release the nutrients that were used to make them, in addition to those that she herself produced during the photosynthesis. In addition, we give the tree the opportunity to recover part of these nutrients.

Mulching or mulching to protect plants

Autumn, and especially winter, are two seasons when many plants can have a hard time, for example, those that were planted this year in the ground, or those exotics of which we are not clear if they will be able to overcome these months well or not in the open without any protection.

One way to help them is by putting the leaves around the trunk (s) or stem (s). In this way, we will ensure that the roots are at a somewhat higher temperature than they would be if they did not have the padding.

mulch for the garden
Related article:
What is and what advantages does a mulch in gardening have

Organic soil amendment

The organic amendment It is used more than anything to improve the properties of a soil, enriching its nutritional value and improving its water retention and filtering capacity.. For this reason, autumn leaves are a good ingredient for the soil. Why? Because you just have to grind them, for example with a rotary mower, and then add them to the soil.

You will see that as it decomposes they will fill with mold. This is completely normal, and in fact it is a good thing, since the nutrients are going to be released into the soil.

As part of the compost

The dried leaves are used for compost

To make compost that you can later use to fertilize the plants or the garden you need a series of things, and one of them is vegetable matter; that is, tender branches, flowers, and of course leaves. Fall and winter are a good time to compost, as this is when leaves are most readily available.

So if you have plants that during these weeks are going to throw a lot of leaves, do not hesitate to put them in the composter. Thus, later you can fertilize your crops with them.

Wildlife refuge

Who says wild fauna says hedgehogs, rabbits, hares, in addition to insects, many of which are beneficial for the garden and orchard. None of us can stop global warming on our own or eliminate all the pollution on the planet, but Yes, we can take care of what is closest to us.

Therefore, it is highly recommended to leave the leaves on the ground. It is a way of helping the animals that live in it, or that spend part of their life walking on its surface.

Beware of leaving the leaves in pipes, pools, etc.

Autumn leaves can be used as compost

As much as you like colored leaves on the ground, It is very important to keep pipes, channels, drains, and the like clear, especially if you live in an area where it rains heavily, puddling the ground. I tell you from my own experience: where I live it rains very few times a year, but at the end of August / beginning of September, when summer is entering its final stretch, 40 liters or more usually fall in a short time. If the drains have not been cleaned, the water does not find an outlet and that is when the water level rises.

So, very important, do not forget to remove the autumn leaves from those places, with a simple broom and dustpan, or with a leaf vacuum. Too it is necessary that they leave the pool, not only because it looks bad, but also and above all because it worsens the quality of the water. These can be easily removed with a pool leaf collector.

And with this we are done. We hope you liked what you have read here.


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