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Fall leaves
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Posted: Aug/12/2007 11:27 AM PST
I read that you never have to rake a leaf again if you mow them into your grass and let them decompose over the winter. In the spring they will be nearly gone and you will have beautiful grass. Has anyone ever done this? |
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Posted: Aug/12/2007 11:58 AM PST
I don't rake leaves unless I absolutely HAVE to. Having 7,000,000 trees kind of precludes raking unless you're going to live to be 1,000. The only raking I do is to rake some leaves INTO my flower beds for the winter, as mulch. Some of these will break down and I just rake off the excess in the Spring when plants begin to emerge. The rest of the leaves either get mowed in or I hope they just blow away. Can I say that it makes for a beautiful lawn? I wouldn't know, I hate grass ~ it's the bane of my existence. I guess my husband spends time each week cutting something that resembles grass once it's mowed ~ what it really is, I couldn't tell ya. So I guess my answer is it doesn't hurt to mow some leaves in, but if you have as many as we do, it would probably be impossible. I used to get a big kick out of my MIL ~ she would remove every last leaf from her yard, bag them ALL up, and then give them to me to dump in my veggie garden. She had a beautiful green lawn, but I tell you it has never seen a leaf. However, she's also been known to spray paint her lawn "yellow spots" with green craft enamel  . Now THAT'S cheating.
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Posted: Aug/25/2007 3:53 PM PST
Mulching them up for the most part will work, the exceptions are if they come down too fast or get too wet. If any areas get matted or too thick with leaves I loosen them up with the blower. Attachments:  |
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Posted: Aug/25/2007 4:29 PM PST
Nice lawn and flowers Al. So if we mow our leaves our grass will look like that? |
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Posted: Aug/25/2007 7:50 PM PST
Your results may vary.LOL thanks |
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Posted: Aug/26/2007 8:29 AM PST
So...al, did your lawn look like that this past July???  Mine is just getting green again from the drought we had, I thought Fox River Valley was worse off than we were... Gotta admit, I was looking at pics from June just to remind myself that it was once green and lush!Mo, I'm no fan of raking, and I absolutely detest bagging/collecting both leaves and grass. When we got our house, my parents gave us a gift certificate for the local lawn implement dealership. The big question was snowblower or lawnmower? I went with the best mulching mower we could get, a Toro SuperRecycler. Having moved into this house in mid-November, everyone thought I was absolutely bonkers, but I'm getting more use out of the mower than I ever would have the snowblower. Just don't ask me this next January when there's 8" of blowing drifting white stuff in the driveway... Long story short, I'm a big fan of muching mowers, just gotta not let the leaf cover get too thick. Half our property is trees (19 of 'em), so I do end up raking, all downhill. Then into garbage cans, where the almost 13 year old loves to stomp 'em down to make our own bed covers for the perennial and vegetable gardens...I tuck the gardens in for the winter that way. In the spring, those leaf bits are completely gone. I think the trick is to make sure the leaves are really dry when you mulch them, and they gotta be really small pieces or they get moldy, ugly, stinky, yuck!
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Posted: Aug/26/2007 12:41 PM PST
I hate to tell you, but yes. I have a smaller lawn and do water. Our city does pick up the leaves,but there are other commiunities that don't. Yes it does take more mowings to mulch them up, but it gets you out of the house in the fall. |
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Posted: Aug/26/2007 3:03 PM PST
I see your PeeGee hydrangea, Al! Love it! |
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Posted: Oct/23/2007 10:14 AM PST
BUMP! I thought I'd give this a try yesterday while the leaves are still falling lightly. I mowed them right in and they chopped up into fine pieces. I've been trying to improve my clay soil for over a year and I think this will be a big help. |
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Posted: Oct/24/2007 9:10 AM PST
Hubby said I'd have to get out and rake our leaves and I just laughed at him. I haven't raked in years. Sometimes if they're wet they compress and flatten what's underneath especially if it's a low area that retains water. But generally if they get cut up with the tractor there's no problem. I leave them on the flowerbeds over the winter, too, and then once I see my daffs' leaves popping up I rake them off the hardier stuff. |
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