Krob Landscape Blog

Why You Should Mulch Your Leaves Instead of Raking Them

On December 21, 2020 in Landscaping by Kenley Sweet

Why You Should Mulch Your Leaves Instead of Raking Them.png

We all love those big and beautiful shade trees that turn such brilliant colors in the fall - until they drop into a time-consuming carpet on your lawn. Then you’re forced to spend your autumn days raking, bagging, and dragging piles of dead leaves off your grass when all you really want to do is sip your apple cider in peace.

Believe it or not, there’s a better way: mulching them. An easy ride on a mulching mower turns those fallen leaves into a free fertilizer that boosts your lawn, helps the environment, and saves you hours of time and effort.

If you need more convincing, here’s why you should mulch your leaves instead of raking them:

You’ll save time and effort. Raking, bagging, and hauling your leaves is a grueling task that can take hours out of your day. In contrast, mulching leaves is no harder than mowing your lawn - and takes the same amount of time. Now you can spend your autumn days gazing at that beautiful fall foliage instead of removing it!

You’ll save money. While you may need to buy a mulching blade for your mower, mulching your leaves each year will save you money in the long run. That’s because you won’t need to buy industrial-strength garbage bags, pay for debris collection, or spend money on a store-bought fertilizer. Not to mention all the dollars you’ll save on doctor visits for a bum back!

You’ll naturally fertilize your lawn. Leaves contain nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, all critical elements of lawn fertilizer. As mulched leaves decompose they release these beneficial nutrients into the soil, helping it retain moisture and balance soil chemistry. They also act as a free-for-all buffet for earthworms and microorganisms, which turn them into even more beneficial nutrients for your lawn. In other words, you’ve been throwing away bags of free fertilizer for years!

You’ll suppress weeds. Bare areas of lawn are perfect for weed germination. When you cover them with a layer of mulched leaves, you protect the root system and work with the lawn canopy to prevent pesky weeds from forming.

You’ll help the environment. By mulching your leaves, you ensure they don’t end up taking landfill space or releasing harmful chemicals into nearby waterways. They also serve as a protective habitat for local wildlife like birds, reptiles, and amphibians, which make sure your landscape has a balanced (and insect-free) ecosystem.

How to Mulch Your Leaves

Mulching leaves is unbelievably easy. Simply remove your grass catcher and mow over the leaves until they’re reduced to dime-size pieces. To avoid smothering your lawn, mow until you can see about a half inch of grass underneath the new layer. You may need to spread the mulch around or move it to nearby flower beds for even distribution.

Of course, the easiest way is to let the experts at Krob Landscape handle the mulching for you! Contact us today to learn how our residential maintenance services can handle everything from leaf removal to seasonal tree pruning and more.