With your garden full of fall leaves, you might wonder how to get rid of them as soon as possible. But why throw the leaves away when you can use them as mulch? Mulching the leaves will be beneficial for the trees and plants in your garden or as a filler for the compost pile. Consider these leaves as free organic matter for the soil in your garden.
Mulching fall leaves
Mulching fall leaves is pretty similar to how you use grass clippings. You need a mulching mower to mulch the fall leaves. The mower consists of unique mowing blades that use the “baffling” technology under its desk to cut the dead leaves multiple times. Once you start the mulching mower, it crushes the leaves inside its chamber and immediately throws out the chopped material. You will notice that the heap of leaves looks like a mountain of dust particles once the mower completely crushes all the dead leaves. Sometimes, a few leaves will require multiple mowing because of their size. The entire process is slightly time-consuming but if you have a mulching mower in your house, you can make a substantial amount of mulch for your garden without spending any money.
Why mulch fall leaves?
According to a study performed by Michigan State University, mulch from fall leaves are 100% beneficial for the soil. Thousands of microorganisms and earthworms decompose the mulched leaves and convert them into usable organic matter. The experts who performed the study at the university used the leaves of different trees, such as maple and oak. They mulched the leaves, mixed everything, and distributed them on the lawn. After a few months, they observed that the color and quality of the turf were much better than before. In fact, there were no adverse effects on the turf.
They had also used mulched sugar maple leaves on a specific part of the lawn and found out that they promoted the growth of dandelions that made the lawn look even more beautiful. There is a myth that oak leaves don’t fall from trees so easily and the leaves are too rigid to mulch. While it is true that it takes years for oak leaves to fall, the fact that it’s not easy to mulch them is untrue. Sure, oak leaves are thicker and more rigid than other leaves, but that doesn’t mean you cannot mulch them. Use a mulching mower to see how quickly these leaves disintegrate and become fine mulch.
Maintaining your lawn
Once you finish mulching the fall leaves, it’s time to use the mulch wisely. Covering the ground with mulch that reaches the cover of the leaves won’t provide any benefits. Instead, mulch for an inch or two and let it settle down after you water your lawn. You can again spread the mulch after a few months. This should keep your plants and grass healthy.
If you don’t have a mulching mower in your house, buy one. It will be more cost-effective than buying readymade mulch if you consider the accumulated cost for the next few years.