Pros:
You don’t have to buy bags.
Your bag doesn’t hurt from bending over to bag the leaves.
Your garbage can doesn’t get filled up with leaves.
Your grass gets free nutrients.
Native insects can use the mulched leaves for food and shelter.
Cons:
You put more hours on your lawn mower.
by smackaroonial90
14 Comments
Perfect
I made a giant pile last year and I was going to shovel it into my “mulch spreader” after grinding it up…
80v greenworks pro turned it all to dust. Wear a dust mask! I often forget and then wish I had…
I prefer to mow with a bagger, toss in compost, control the inputs, and enjoy the aesthetic of a clean look
Beautiful.
“Cons: you put more hours on your lawn mower.”
True. Pros: you watch you tube videos and learn to make repairs by yourself. So long, mechanic!
I have tons of leaves though, I feel like it’s just going to be way too much.
Mulching question: my mower has a side chute that closes. I’ve always mulched with it open but it makes unsightly piles. When it’s closed, it does a better job. Is there any issue with mowing with it closed?
Pros and cons. And it al depends 100% on how much any one person mulches in. I sweep/blow when I have thick cover, which I usually get twice to start…but as leaf season wraps up, I’m mulching them in more.
There is no single right or wrong way…part of proper lawn care is knowing when to mulch or bag, and that varies every year..
Yeah when you have this small amount of leaves that is fine. I have 10x this.
Something that never gets brought up regarding mulching is the type of leaves you have. I have loads of willow oaks in my neighborhood, and you simply cannot mulch those leaves effectively. They’re so firm and narrow they just embed into the grass or form a mat if they get wet or trampled.
The mulching dogma here usually doesn’t have room for that nuance though.
I mulch them and then at the end of the season I do a bag pass with a low deck height.
Dude, blow them into a corner and pick them up with a scoop shovel. I’d have that yard picked up in 20 minutes.
Wish I could mulch my yard. My 3 huge maple trees have other plans though. I’m usually looking at a full carpet of leaves that’s several inches thick. I tried mulching on section one fall but smothered the grass and had to reseed. There does become a point when you have to many leaves then you have to start bagging.
Rake and bag, good exercise for fatties and lazies.
I would charge you probably $60 to bag it for you. Assuming the rest of the property is similar sized with a small back yard.