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Don't Rake Those Leaves: Mulch Them Into Your Lawn
Don't Rake Those Leaves: Mulch Them Into Your Lawn
Turn part of your fall yard cleanup into free lawn food using the mower you already own.
Should You Rake or Mulch Fall Leaves?
Mulching the leaves that land on your grass is the better choice for most lawns. It's faster than raking and bagging, and instead of sending leaves to a landfill, it returns their nutrients back into your soil. As long as you keep the layer thin enough for grass to show through, mulched leaves won't smother your lawn or invite disease the way a thick, matted layer of whole leaves left sitting on top of it would.
How to Mulch Leaves Into Your Lawn
Step 1: Mow Without the Bag
Remove your mower's grass catcher so clippings and shredded leaves scatter back onto the lawn instead of being collected.
Step 2: Mow at Your Normal Interval
Run over the leaves the same way you'd mow grass. Most mowers handle a normal leaf-fall pace just fine at a regular mowing interval. Mow a bit more often if leaves are falling faster than usual.
Step 3: Check Your Coverage
Keep mowing over the leaves until you can see about half an inch of grass blade through the shredded leaf pieces. If the layer's still too thick, go over it again.
Step 4: Feed While You're At It
Once leaves are mulched, it's a good time to put down fall lawn food like Turf Builder WinterGuard; see "Feed After You Mulch" below.
What Happens to Mulched Leaves?
Shredded into small enough pieces, fall leaves break down over the following months and return nitrogen and other nutrients to your soil, essentially composting in place. It's one of the simplest sustainable lawn care swaps there is: skipping the rake-bag-haul routine saves you time, and stopping green waste from being added to the landfill is better for the environment than most people realize; yard waste, including bagged leaves, makes up a real share of what goes into landfills every fall.
Feed After You Mulch
Mulching leaves is a great time to also put down a fall feeding. Turf Builder WinterGuard Fall Lawn Food is built for exactly this point in the season.
See The Benefits of Fertilizing the Lawn in Fall for the full fall feeding schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I rake or mulch my fall leaves?
Mulch, for most lawns. It's faster, and it feeds your soil instead of sending leaves to a landfill. Rake only if the leaf layer is too thick to mulch down in one or two passes.
Will mulched leaves hurt my grass?
Not if you mulch them fine enough to see grass through the pieces. A thick, unmulched layer of whole leaves can block light and trap moisture, but properly mulched leaf pieces break down without harming the lawn underneath.
How often should I mulch leaves during fall?
Mow at your normal interval, and mulch leaves each time you cut. If leaves are falling faster than your usual mowing schedule, you may need to mow a bit more often to keep the layer from getting too thick.
