What to Do with Autumn Leaves on the Dacha: 5 Ideas
With the arrival of autumn, the entire dacha plot is covered with leaves. Usually, they are collected into plastic bags and thrown away at landfills, thereby polluting the environment. You can use biodegradable paper bags or apply fallen leaves for household purposes. We found five useful ideas from Western landscape designers.
Important note: no matter which method of leaf processing you choose, you should first shred them (using a mulching lawn mower or vacuum mulcher).
Add to compost
Shredded autumn leaves make an excellent addition to compost. They are rich in carbon, which is essential for plants. Mix shredded leaves with vegetable and fruit scraps, weeds, and grass and leave them over winter. If you visit the dacha before spring, periodically turn the compost.
Use leaf mold
Another excellent soil amendment. Making it is even simpler than compost: just pile leaves in a bucket and moisten them with water. Don't forget to cover the leaves with burlap to maintain moisture levels. Leave the leaves to decompose (this may take 6–12 months).
Then you can add them to the soil just like compost: leaf mold improves soil structure and helps retain moisture.
Use as mulch
Leaves are one of the most popular types of mulch. Apply a 1 cm layer of shredded leaves on garden beds, avoiding contact with plant stems and trunks.
Mulch retains soil moisture and prevents weeds from growing. Additionally, leaves enrich the soil with beneficial microelements.
Keep for later use
In spring and summer, you only have young green leaves, which are less useful. Collect and store a couple of bags of shredded autumn leaves for later use — in spring you can add them to compost (and you won't need to add shredded newspapers to dry it out).
Drive over the area with a lawn mower
Often, leaves are swept from lawns, but it's much easier to drive over them with a special mulching lawn mower. Shredded leaves will nourish the soil throughout the winter. As a result, you’ll have fewer weeds in spring.
If done at least once a week while all leaves fall, you won't need to spend effort constantly gathering them across the entire plot.
