Want to make leaf removal a little easier this fall? Instead of reaching for the rake and garbage bags, pull out your lawn mower. Running the mower over the leaves chops them into small pieces, a process known as mulching. Not only is this easier than raking, but leaf mulch also has many benefits for your lawn, including the following:
- Improved soil structure, which will reduce how much chemical fertilizer you’ll need to apply.
- Better water retention, meaning you won’t need to irrigate as often.
- Weed suppression, so crabgrass, dandelion, and other lawn invaders compete less for water and nutrients.
But wait, there’s more! Leaves and other yard debris make up roughly 13% of our solid waste that goes to municipal dumps, according to the U.S. EPA, so mulching your leaves instead of bagging them helps lighten the landfill. It also reduces the safety hazard posed by piles of leaves beside the curb, while saving taxpayer money for municipal leaf collection.
How to mulch leaves with a mower
While mulching is as simple as going over leaves with the mower, our experts in the Good Housekeeping Home Improvement & Outdoor Lab have several tips that will help the process go more smoothly.
Prep Your Mower. Start by removing the bag. If your mower has a mulching mode, drop it into that setting, which is designed to chop grass clippings (or in this case, leaves) into tiny pieces that will decompose more readily on the lawn. You can mulch leaves with a non-mulching mower, but the larger chunks will take longer to break down, and it’s not a great look, if you’re fastidious about that kind of thing. Whatever type of mower you have, you also want to raise the deck to around 5 inches so that it can move more easily over the thick blanket of leaves.
Prep the Lawn. Walk the yard and remove any large sticks, stones, or other objects that could damage your mower’s blade or deck. Redistribute any deep piles of leaves with a rake to help the mower pass over them.
Check the Weather. Mulching works best on dry leaves, so wait for a stretch of rain-free days, and avoid mulching first thing in the morning, when the lawn might be covered in dew. Even under the driest conditions, you might need to make a few passes with the mower to mulch every leaf.
Having written thousands of product reviews and how-to articles on all aspects of home ownership, from routine maintenance to major renovations, Dan (he/him) brings more than 20 years of industry experience to his role as the director of the Home Improvement & Outdoor Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute. A one-time roofer and a serial remodeler, Dan can often be found keeping house at his restored Brooklyn brownstone, where he lives with his wife and kids.
