Fairway Green, Inc
9 Ilene Ct, Suite 14 Hillsborough, NJ 08844
Phone: (908) 281-7888

The Benefit to Mulching Leaves

fall leaves on a lawn

Put those rakes away, it’s time to mulch your leaves! In the fall there are many things around your property to get done before winter, raking and bagging leaves for hours on end should not be one of them.

As the days get shorter, trees go through many chemical changes which signal the completion of another complex growth cycle. The most obvious is the change in leaf color where most attractive colors are on deciduous trees, which shed their leaves annually. After the leaves fall, they make an important contribution as fertilizer to the forest and organisms in the soil. In the landscape, leaves and debris are removed for aesthetic purposes.

fall leaves on a lawn

Is Mulching Leaves Good for the Lawn?

Mulching leaves has many benefits, not just for your lawn but for the environment.  Mulching leaves reduces landfill space, helps to reduce leaves from clogging up sewers and away from surface water where the broken-down nutrients from the dead leaves can cause algae blooms.

The leaves that collect on your lawn cover the grass, reducing air flow and sunlight that would have otherwise reached the grass blades. This accumulation of leaves can cause the grass underneath to suffocate and die off.

Leaves that are left in piles on your lawn can also be used by small animals like a vole, which avoids detection from predators by making tunnels underneath leaf piles and snow cover. To understand what type of damage voles can do to your yard, check out our blog.

How to Mulch your Leaves

Almost every lawn mower can mulch leaves.  Most mowers come with an attachment to aid in the mulching process, however if you do not have a mulching attachment you can still use your mower without it.  Simply elevate your mower deck to its highest setting, remove the grass catcher and go over the leaves that are laying on top of the lawn multiple times with your mower shredding them into small pieces.  Mower mulching works best when the leaves are dry.

These smaller pieces will filter down between the grass blades to the soil surface, eventually micro-organisms and worms will aide in breaking down the leaves. This process will not add to the thatch layer of the lawn and the decomposition of leaves will provide nutrients back into the soil.

When to Mulch Leaves

You should mulch the leaves weekly; weekly mulching will help make the mulching process quicker and this gives you more time with your family and friends and all the while, your lawn benefits from the nutrients it’s receiving from the leaves you simply mowed.

Mulching Leaves: Conclusion

This fall, we recommend retiring your leaf rake, and try mulching the leaves that have fallen on your lawn. Mulching is a great fall clean up option that eliminates large leaf piles and provides nutrients back to your soil. If you are in our service area and are interested in more information about mulching leaves, please request and estimate or give our office a call at 908-281-7888.

9 Ilene Ct, Suite 14, Hillsborough, NJ 08844 United States | (908) 281-7888
Phone: (908) 281-7888 Fairway Green Inc.