Protects plants and animals: This is how the leaves can be put to good use

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As trees and shrubs lose their autumn-colored leaves, forests are also thinning. Leaves lie on the roads and meadows. Raking leaves is now popular again as wet leaves on roads pose the risk of slips and accidents.

But the lawn also needs to be cleaned of excess leaf layers and defoliated so that there is no lack of light and moisture under the leaves. Rather than simply throwing collected leaves into the organic waste bin, they can be used in a variety of ecologically sound ways.

Compost for your own garden

To make the tedious task of raking leaves from the lawn a little easier and save time, mowing the lawn in the fall is a simple and effective tip. When mowing the lawn, the leaves are collected in the grass catcher, chopped and mixed with grass clippings. This results in an ideal mixture that decomposes faster in the compost.

If there is a suitable place for a wire leaf basket in the garden, the collected leaves can also be left there until they rot. Decomposed leaf compost can be reused after about a year to improve soil in the garden or as your own garden soil. Compared to traditional garden compost, leaf compost is relatively low in nutrients and lime, and the decomposition process takes longer.

Cold protection for plants

But not all the leaves in the garden need to disappear. On the contrary. Autumn leaves also add important nutrients to the soil and prevent it from drying out. For example, collected autumn leaves can be used as frost protection for sensitive plants if the root zone is filled with a thin layer of leaves. This provides protection against the winter sun and therefore drying out.

The vegetable garden can also be covered with leaves. To prevent the leaves from blowing away, they can be covered with dried cow dung. In addition to being protected from the cold, decomposition must also occur faster. At the end of winter everything can be worked into the soil and the soil should be made more fertile.

Winter protection for doors

But it’s not just various plants that are grateful for their foliage protection from the winter cold. The foliage is also an important wintering ground for insects, amphibians and small animals such as hedgehogs. They find shelter and protection throughout the winter in leaf piles in gardens.

Source : Blick