Mulching Leaves

by Cynthia
(Moscow, Idaho)

QUESTION

Is it OK to chop up leaves with my lawn mower and just leave them on my lawn instead of raking them up and bagging them? My neighbor says mowing leaves is bad for the grass and recommended we clean them up.

ANSWER

Yes! Mulch your leaves into your lawn. Mulching leaves is leaf clean up made easy. No raking, bagging and hauling away.

Since burning leaves is not legal in many cities, and hauling yard waste to landfills has been banned by many states, disposal of your leaves can be a hassle. Nowadays, most cities do have compost sites nearby. You can usually haul your yard waste to them and dump for free.

Mulching leaves with a lawn mower.

But why go to all that trouble? Just mulch your leaves with a lawn mower. You'll be finished in the same amount of time it takes to mow your lawn - well...you might have to mow a couple of times if you have a lot of leaves.

Research has been conducted by Michigan State and Purdue University. In both studies, lawn quality was improved by mulching leaves into the grass and the following conclusions were also made...

Saves time and money, returns nutrients and organic matter to the turf, environmentally beneficial due to less landfill waste from bag use and emissions from transport.