Why don't gardeners take advantage of this wonderful opportunity in the fall and prepare their own leafy humus! Moreover, it is not at all difficult to do this.
After all, leaf humus is very effective remedy improve soil structure, excellent mulch and acidifier for acid-loving plants.

The material for the manufacture of leaf humus is fallen autumn leaves, which can be collected in the garden and in the surrounding areas.

The peculiarity of leaf humus is that it contains almost no nutrients, therefore it cannot be used as a fertilizer, like garden compost.
The advantage of leaf humus lies in its soil conditioning properties. The soil, generously flavored with humus, retains moisture at the roots of plants longer, helps them survive winter frost and summer drought, saving the gardener time, labor and money.

Leaf humus - favorite place habitats of earthworms, great helpers of the gardener. Even semi-finished leaf compost is a great addition to garden compost.
If you care Environment, then also think about the fact that when using fallen leaves to prepare humus, you no longer have to burn them, poisoning yourself and your neighbors with acrid smoke.
By adding leaf humus as a soil acidifier, you can refuse to buy store-bought peat, which is extracted from unique natural peat bogs.

Collection of leaves

To obtain leaf humus, fallen leaves should be collected. In flower beds, as well as among shrubs or other plantings, you can collect leaves using special hand rakes so as not to damage neighboring plants. On a small lawn or other open space, a fan lawn rake can be used.
The advantage of "old-fashioned" hand picking of fallen leaves is that you can work in wet weather - this is not at all uncommon in autumn. Wet leaves decompose faster.

On the patio, you can use a broom or a special garden vacuum cleaner that works in two modes to collect leaves. By blowing air, it will help to collect the fallen leaves in a pile. Drawing in air, he will collect the leaves in a special bag, after crushing them.
On large lawns, it is most convenient to use a lawn mower to collect leaves, setting the blades to the highest height. Use your lawn mower to collect leaves regularly, preventing them from accumulating.
The advantage of using a lawn mower and a vacuum cleaner is that the leaves are shredded and collected in one place, saving the gardener a lot of time and physical effort. Crushed leaves decompose much faster and turn into humus.
However, there is a limitation in working with a lawn mower and a vacuum cleaner: they can only be used in dry weather; with wet leaves, they do not work at all effectively.

For the manufacture of leaf humus, you can use any leaves. However, it should be remembered that the time of decomposition of the leaves depends on the type of tree. Quickly, within a year subject to compliance right conditions the leaves of most deciduous trees (birch, oak, maple, hawthorn, mountain ash, hornbeam, hazel, etc.) decompose. Leaf decomposition evergreen species and needles may take 2-3 years; such leaves are especially recommended to grind in a garden vacuum cleaner, lawn mower or shredder.

Leaf bookmark

The collected leaves should be tightly packed and rammed into special structures (four wooden pegs covered with metal mesh), size 1x1m. If you do not have such a structure or place to place it, then you can put the leaves in a large plastic container or in tight plastic bags for garden waste. Pierce the bags tightly filled with leaves in several places, and simply twist the top without tying it into a knot.
Fungi that decompose leaves and turn them into humus require almost no oxygen. This is one of the significant differences between the production of leaf humus and the production of garden compost.
The main requirement for the production of leaf humus is the obligatory maintenance of planted leaves in a wet state. Keep the leaf structure open at the top so that autumn rains regularly and generously moisten the future humus. AT plastic containers you can pour water from a bucket or directly from a hose without fear of waterlogging.
Adding green grass clippings to the container also helps to speed up the process of leaf decomposition.

Waiting for the leaves to decay

After laying the leaves, it remains only to be patient and wait for the leaf humus to be ready. As with compost, you only have to wait in the first year. And when the regular process for the production of leaf humus has already been established, then during the laying of a new batch of leaves, last year's bookmark is already ready for use.

The use of leaf humus

Young leaf humus will be ready in 0.5-2 years, depending on the quality of the laying of leaves and tree species.
In young leaf humus, in addition to dark soil, leaf skeletons are clearly visible, sometimes whole leaves and small sticks come across. It can be added to the soil for planting in open ground or in flower containers, dribble under plants, use as mulch, use to level lawn depressions, or add to compost.
Aged leaf humus will be ready in 1.5-3 years, depending on the quality of the laying of leaves and tree species. It is a dark, crumbly, uniform soil without interspersing individual leaves. In use, in addition to everything listed for young humus, aged leaf humus is suitable as a substrate for germinating seeds in it and using it for growing seedlings. It is also good for transplanting. indoor plants, if mixed in equal parts with garden compost and fine sand or loam.

Humus obtained from pine needles requires about 3 years to be fully ready and is excellent for mulching acidophilic plants (lovers of acidic soils): hydrangeas, camellias, pieris, azaleas, rhododendrons, heathers, eric, etc.

Benefits of fallen leaves

What else can you do with fallen autumn leaves:

* Spread the leaves on unused land until spring to prevent weed growth, against weathering and washing off the topsoil.
In the spring, rake the leaves and transfer them to the compost heap.

* Grind some dry leaves in a garden shredder and add to the compost, especially if you added a lot of green garden and vegetable waste in the fall.

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Fallen leaves are a real treasure that nature generously endows us every autumn. But not everyone knows how to manage them.

Even a small layer of foliage protects the soil from sharp temperature fluctuations in winter, prevents the evaporation of life-giving melt water in spring, and by summer it disappears imperceptibly, becoming food for the invisible soil workers - earthworms. As a result, the fallen leaves turn into vermicompost, thereby replenishing the nutrients that the plant roots consume.

Works like a thermos

Conduct a small experiment: when the surface of the earth freezes after the first frost, unearth a layer of leaves. Surprisingly, the soil under them will be soft. Like a warm blanket, fallen leaves keep the ground warm, preventing it from freezing too much. This, by the way, is used by all kinds of small living creatures that hibernate under such a natural shelter.

In spring, the leaves do not allow the top layer of soil to warm up too quickly and it is useless to evaporate so life-giving for plants. melt water. And the task of any farmer is to keep it in the soil as long as possible.

But such a water-retaining effect of fallen leaves does not last long. When the soil warms up to 10 degrees, earthworms wake up from hibernation and immediately begin to actively feed on plant debris that they can only find on the surface of the earth. That is why the soil under fallen leaves is always loose - after all, it is riddled with numerous passages of underground inhabitants. By the beginning of summer, only memories remain from the carpet of leaves. But these memories are pleasant. After all, the leaves, passing through digestive system earthworms, become the most valuable vermicompost for plants.

Give soil fertility

It must be said that Andrei Timofeevich Bolotov, the founder of Russian agrarian science, noticed this back in the 18th century. In one of his works, he wrote: “A leaf from a tree, when it rots, serves almost as well as manure.” Probably, the monks of the Valaam Monastery were guided by the works of Bolotov, who arranged the famous gardens on the once barren rocky island. They piled fallen leaves and branches in a thick layer on stone surface and waited patiently for several years. After the decay of plant residues, the resulting soil in its properties could well compete with the chernozem.

Composting fallen leaves is a must for every diligent gardener. Leaf humus is a valuable fertilizer, but at the same time it is completely free.

However, foliage can also be used as mulching material. If you carefully spread it around the strawberry bushes in a thick enough layer, then next summer you don’t have to worry that the berries will get dirty with the ground - they will lie on the leaves washed by rain and watering. Of course, straw is usually used for mulching strawberries, but it is not always possible to get it, and buying means incurring additional costs.

Raking and throwing away leaves is barbaric!

The bulbs of tulips, lilies, daffodils and other flowers often freeze in the event of a little snowy winter. Shelter from the leaves will successfully protect the bulbous plants from the cold. However, in the spring, immediately after the snow melts, it must be removed so as not to interfere with the germination of flower stalks. But under the bushes of raspberries, currants, gooseberries, fallen leaves, on the contrary, can be poured, but more - so the grass around them will not grow, and the earth will be saturated with all the necessary nutrients.

The barbaric raking of leaves in cities is a sore subject for ecologists, biologists and simply caring people. A lot of articles have been written on this topic, but officials, in their desire to curry favor, do not pay attention to any arguments. Probably the reason for this is banal: nothing personal, just business. If we calculate the cost of cleaning the leaves, the plastic bags in which they are put, the removal of bunkers, the payment for the landfill - on the scale of a metropolis, astronomical figures are obtained. Can any ecological arguments outweigh them?

Mikhail Vorobyov

The material was published in the publication "Interlocutor" No. 37-2018 under the heading "Crimson and gold for the garden."

It is hardly worth talking again about the outstanding merits prepared on the basis and poultry - such organic fertilizers have no equal. But the luxury of their use without any financial investment can only be afforded by rural residents who keep livestock and a bird.

For "urban" summer residents, the purchase of manure and litter today makes a significant hole in their pocket. Leaf compost is inferior to such fertilizers in terms of nutritional value, but cultivated plants respond well to it and will never refuse such yummy. So why spend money on buying manure if you have free material at hand?

Ripe leaf compost quickly saturates the soil with humic compounds and trace elements and effectively restores soil fertility. When embedded in the ground, it perfectly improves its structure: it adds moisture capacity to sandy soil, and air permeability to clay soil.

Not fully decomposed leaf mass (young compost) is an excellent product for mulching vegetable and flower crops. Flowers and vegetables do not suffer from, characteristic of and. Therefore, in this case, foliage can be used to prepare compost even from under diseased garden plantings.

The only drawback of leaf compost is its acidic reaction. When applied to the soil, it will reduce its pH level, therefore, it will require the use of deoxidizers (dolomite flour, lime, chalk, ash, etc.).

The cycle of leaf compost on the site

Depending on the preparation technology and tree species from which the foliage was taken, it will take 1.5-2 years for the leaf compost to fully mature. If you do not help the compost to ripen, then this process will take longer.

In order to have such a valuable fertilizer at your fingertips every season, I propose to build 3 compost bins on the site at once. In the first, you will lay another batch of fresh litter every fall. In the second compost bin, at this time, the maturation of last year's mixture of leaves and earth will take place. And the third tray at this point will provide you with fully matured compost.

You can use the contents of the third compost bin in the same autumn to fertilize the beds, or postpone the procedure until spring. Don't over tighten with matured compost, because the third tray needs to be emptied by next summer. It is needed in order to shift the ripening leaf mass from the first "barn" into it. By transferring the contents of the first bin to the empty one, you can move the contents of the second bin to the first.

This "shuffling" of the compost will significantly speed up its maturation. By shoveling the contents of the compost bins, you saturate it with oxygen, which is necessary for beneficial microorganisms and for normal life, and without their help, it will not be possible to prepare fertilizer. Transshipment should be carried out at least 2-3 times per season. The work is laborious, but extremely important.

lazy option- this is the production of only 1 compost bin. Fill it with leaves and earth, and next season periodically shovel the contents - lay them on the ground and return them back. Next fall, mulch with young compost perennials or beds with winter crops. The ripening of such a semi-finished fertilizer will continue in the new season already "in place". In the same autumn, you can fill the vacated container with a new portion of foliage.

We equip the compost bin

If you do not spare money for your favorite cottage, you can go the easiest way and buy ready-made compost bins. Such devices will save you from unnecessary trouble, and will help you get valuable leaf compost for many years.

In our market there is a very large selection of various devices for this purpose in different price categories. Choose suitable option for your site, you can by looking at the selection.

Unbranded Garden composter 800 l 4 999 RUB
OBI

Unbranded Composter plastic black 600 l 1 999 RUB
OBI

Prosperplast Plastic garden composter with lid 800 l 7 499 rubles
OBI

EVOGREEN Plastic garden composter with lid 630 l 5 999 RUB
OBI

Less prosperous summer residents adapt old barrels, tanks, cast iron bathtubs and even dense trash bags volume of 200 liters or more. The main rule when using such improvised means is holes in their walls, which will provide air flow to the ripening humus mass. The contents of these containers will also need to be shoveled several times during the season: transferred from one to another or poured onto the ground covered with foil, and then returned back again.

The most time-consuming option is the construction of a stationary compost bin with 3 compartments made of boards, slate, tin and any other materials at hand. Be sure to leave gaps in the walls of such a device or make them from a strong mesh. If you are building a high compost bin, make one side of it collapsible so that you can easily access the contents later.

Leaf compost technology

After leaf fall, collect fallen leaves and lay them in a tray, sprinkling with layers of earth 5-10 cm thick. If the foliage and soil are dry, be sure to spill them with water. Owners can add cut grass to the contents - it will speed up the ripening of humus. It is also permissible to put soft-stemmed tops of vegetables and without seeds, as well as kitchen waste there. plant origin.

It's great if you have fresh manure or bird droppings at your disposal. Be sure to add these nitrogenous foods to total mass or spill the contents with a solution based on them. Alternative option- a solution of purchased (urea, ammonium nitrate, etc.), prepared at the rate of 20-30 g per 10 liters of water.

An excellent effect on the further decomposition of organics will have a solution of the EM preparation. Dilute the concentrate in water according to the instructions, and when laying the organic filling, spill it useful solution.

So that in the future you do not have to deacidify the soil in the beds that you fertilize with leaf compost, smooth out the acid reaction immediately. To do this, at the stage of laying organic matter, sprinkle its layers with wood, dolomite flour, slaked lime or chalk.

Over the next season, in addition to regularly shoveling the maturing compost, you will need to periodically moisten it with water. It will be useful to use a solution of mullein, urea, or with which you moisten the contents a couple of times per season. Be sure to take care of the lid on the compost bin if you made one yourself. It will be required to protect the organic mass from drying out in summer heat and from being washed away during heavy rains.

You can do it easier - cover the top of the compost mass with a dense film and make holes in it for air to enter. And do not forget to collect a handful of earthworms in the garden and run them in a heap. Later a short time they will breed in a nutritious featherbed in huge numbers and accelerate the maturation of the compost.

How to tell if leaf compost is ripe

Fully matured leaf compost is a loose homogeneous mass. In it, you should not find the skeletons of leaves or undecomposed remains of other waste that were laid along with the litter. There will be no earthworms in mature compost: they will leave the compost bin when it runs out of food. Distinctive feature mature leaf compost - a pleasant "forest" aroma.

Fallen leaves in autumn create an incredibly pleasant rustle under your feet while walking through the garden, park or forest. The temperature is gradually decreasing, and it's time to prepare the garden for winter: harvest apples, pumpkins and chrysanthemums. And what to do with the leaves?

Those who are engaged in organic farming and are fond of everything related to the cultivation of vegetables, fruits and berries without adding chemical fertilizers, information about the benefits of fallen autumn leaves, about their use for making mulch for flowers, bushes, trees and garden beds, as well as methods of their preparation and storage.

The yellow and red leaves that the trees got rid of are replete with minerals that the trees have extracted from the depths of the soil since spring. They serve as food for earthworms and beneficial microorganisms in the garden. Leaves lighten heavy soils and help sandy soil retain moisture. They serve as an excellent shelter for the soil around the flowers and a heat insulator for tender plants. They add carbon to the compost, which balances the nitrogen.

There are several ways to make dry leaves work for your garden.

The benefits and preparation of fallen leaves for use in fertilizing the garden and vegetable garden

Shredded leaves take up much less space

First of all, try to chop up as many leaves as you can. If you do not have a special unit for grinding them, you can successfully use a lawn mower. Just wait until the maximum amount of foliage has fallen from the trees onto the lawn, and drive over them several times with the lawn mower. Make sure that each leaf is cut into at least five (or even better, ten) parts. Such grinding is triple beneficial. Firstly, it increases the area for access and work of beneficial microorganisms. Secondly, the crushed leaves do not stick together in a continuous, rainproof layer, which allows air to penetrate through them. Thirdly, you will significantly reduce the volume of fallen leaves.

Until it rains and the weather is dry, you can collect the crushed leaves in bags for later use in the spring. They will be an excellent raw material for creating mulch (a protective layer on the ground around plants). By the way, such a mulch looks great in spring, bringing unique colors to the garden, and invaluable benefits for the soil. Many use .

The rest of the leaves can be used as a covering material that protects plants from the winter cold. For example, for roses or for a bed with garlic planted in the fall. Also with dry autumn leaves, you can fill up the beds with great success by adding organic fertilizers or (if available) compost. The layer thus created should be lightly pierced with a pitchfork to allow air to penetrate to the soil (for aerobic bacteria to work). By spring, there may be almost nothing left of this layer, but the plants planted in the garden will receive soil enriched with “food” that is useful for them.

Rakes speed up the process of collecting leaves

There is not always time to grind leaves in the garden. Often you have to rake whole leaves and transfer, for example, to a compost heap. For this, use special fan rakes or hand rakes for a comfortable grip. a large number fallen leaves and transfer to another place.

By the way, the leaves added to the compost perfectly balance the level of nitrogen in the pile, created, for example, from discarded food waste or freshly cut grass. The leaves also keep the compost from compacting and getting wet.

Leaf crushers

If you have a large garden and an unmeasured amount of fallen leaves each fall, it might be worth considering buying a leaf shredder. What is it for? Your garden will benefit from this. And here's how.

Recycled foliage can insulate heat-loving plants for the winter. By creating a fifteen-centimeter blanket, you will protect them from winter frosts and cold winds. If you cover vegetables that are not afraid of frost (carrots, cabbage, leeks and beets) with dry autumn leaves, you can dig them up throughout the winter (if necessary, of course).

If you leave the crushed leaves in the beds, they will be an excellent delicacy for earthworms, who, by eating them, will do a lot. useful work in your garden, digging and loosening it for you and turning the soil into humus.

Leaves can be used to make special compost. Collect crushed or whole leaves in a large, fenced pile. If the leaves are crushed, they will rot faster, and if not, then after 1-3 years the fungi will still do their job, and the leaves will rot, turning into compost, which smells just like fallen leaves in the forest. Such compost is rich in calcium and magnesium, and can absorb three to five times its weight in water, similar to sphagnum.

Not all fallen autumn leaves are created equal.

Be careful with the leaves of some trees. , eucalyptus, camphor tree contain substances that slow down or prevent the growth of plants. They can be used in the garden and garden, but only after passing through the composting process.

Have a good gardener even last year's leaves benefit. If you burned all the fallen leaves in the fall, you will certainly regret it in the spring. True, there are two completely opposite opinions about the advisability of collecting leaves. Opponents of leaf collection believe that pathogens and pests hide in fallen leaves, and they must be disposed of. Others insist that fallen leaves are a valuable addition to the soil, and they also do not allow the ground to freeze, and spring shoots begin their development right under the snow.
We will assume that thanks to conscientious care, there are no pests on the leaves in our garden. So what are the benefits of fallen leaves?

1. Leafy humus

After collecting the leaves, moisten them, lay them tightly and tamp. There are several container options: a special design for leaves, a meter by a meter or more with an open top, or thick polyethylene bags for garden waste, punctured in several places.

You can also buy special bags for leafy humus, which are sold at garden centers. After collecting the leaves, place their ripening in a secluded corner of the site, constantly maintaining high humidity. Young humus will mature in 0.5 - 1 year, and aged humus can be obtained in 1.5 - 2 years.

2. Mulch

Place wet fallen leaves on unoccupied areas of the ground. They will become a natural mulch, preventing weeds from growing, leaching minerals from the soil, and weathering. Clay soils will not form a hard crust as the mulch blocks out the sun's rays.

Surface and soil bacteria thrive in the mulch layer and use the green mass of the mulch as an additional source of beneficial nutrients. Also, a layer of organic mulch provides a pantry for earthworms and similar soil animals that improve soil structure.
With the onset of spring, collect the leaves with a rake or simply dig with soil.

3. Covering material

Dry leaves can be used as a heat-insulating material for sheltering roses for the winter. In the same way, you can cover hydrangeas and other heat-loving shrubs, as well as plants in pots.

4. Express compost

Chop and mix fallen leaves from deciduous trees along with annual weeds. Remove roots, flowers and seeds from weeds. Put everything in plastic compost bags. Shake the bag from time to time or mix its contents to make the compost uniform.

When decomposition is complete, you will have fine, high quality soil for tender plants. Keep in mind that the leaves of deciduous trees, such as birch, oak, maple, hazel, and fruit trees decompose very quickly (less than a year). The leaves are evergreen and the needles decompose before 3 years, so this material is better not to use. And if there is nothing else, then to speed up the process, be sure to grind them.