Is Mulching Leaves Good For Your Lawn?

You might have heard your neighbor say that you should mulch your leaves in the fall, rather than bag them. Or maybe you read something online to that effect. “It’s easier on your back” they say. But is mulching leaves good for your lawn? Or does mulching leaves hurt grass? We’re going to take a look at what actually happens when you mulch your leaves into the lawn and any factors that you need to pay attention to when deciding whether to mulch your leaves or not.

Studies have shown that mulching leaves into your lawn has no negative impact on a lawns health and in many cases helps to improve its condition. And some leaves (sugar maple leaves in particular), when mulched, have been found to help prevent the growth of common lawn weeds like dandelions.

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Benefits of Mulching Leaves (The Short Answer)

Mulching leaves with a lawn mower can have several benefits for you, your lawn, and the environment. Here are 4 benefits of mulching leaves with a lawn mower.

Naturally Adds Important Nutrients to the Soil
Provides a Food Source for Beneficial Microbes
Reduces waste Going to Landfill
It requires Less Time And Effort than Manually Collecting Leaves.

What is Mulching Leaves?

Mulching leaves involves cutting fallen leaves into minute little particles that can then be deposited onto your lawn or other parts of your yard like flower beds. Many people are accustomed to mulching leaves with a lawn mower, but you can also mulch leaves without a mower, using tools like an electric mulcher or a weed wacker to get the job done instead.

I’m by no means a scientist, but from what I understand, these minute leaf particles are broken down by earthworms and microorganisms and nutrients like nitrogen, which is extremely important to plant life, are released during the process. That’s why they call mulching the method by which you produce natural fertilizer.

The Main Benefits of Mulching Leaves into Your Lawn

You’ve undoubtedly heard good things about mulching leaves into your lawn, but maybe you’ve heard some bad things too. But honestly, in my experience, the bad things are only a factor if you don’t do it right. The same as there are disadvantages to mulching grass in certain conditions or if you don’t follow best practices.

Here are the major direct benefits to your lawn:

It’s a Free, Natural Fertilizer for Your Lawn

You’re maybe used to going to the store to buy fertilizer for your lawn. But what if I told you that the raw ingredient that will allow you to create your very own, natural fertilizer is right there, sitting in your trees. Well, until it falls to the ground that is. THAT’S WHAT LEAVES ARE! The vast majority of leaves on deciduous trees are roughly 2% nitrogen in their composition. And nitrogen is one of the 3 major nutrients required by a lawn for good health, along with phosphorus and potassium. Mulch leaves and supply your lawn with that nitrogen.

Feeds Beneficial Microbes in Soil

Trees are truly amazing things. But there’s far more to them than what we see above ground. They have extensive root systems that are very efficient in extracting a whole range of nutrients from the soil, including magnesium, calcium, potassium and phosphorus. These nutrients are then distributed to the various part of a tree, with up to 80% of them ending up in the leaves.

You might be shocked to learn that leaves possess almost double the mineral content of manure. That thing that farmers have been using to help with plant growth for centuries (probably longer…). This is incredibly beneficial for the soil beneath your lawn, as it feeds the “good” microbes contained with the soil, and can positively impact both the drainage and aeration of the soil.

Indirect Benefits of Mulching the Leaves on Your Lawn

I hope we’ve now addressed any doubts you had with regard to the question of “is mulching leaves good for your lawn?” Aside from the direct benefits mulching leaves can provide, there are also several additional indirect benefits that may be of interest.

Less Yard Waste is Sent to Landfill

Incredible amounts of yard waste is sent to landfill each and every year. In 2018 it was estimated that 10.5 million tons of yard trimmings were sent to landfill. While this number has come down significantly from what it was a few decades ago, there’s still work to do.

And mulching leaves is one way in which you can help to push that statistic in the right direction. Whole leaves that are collected and bagged can sit for years before they fully decompose. When you mulch them, they’ll be barely noticeable within a week and fully decomposed in around a month. Isn’t that what they call a “no-brainer”?

It’s Often the Quickest Way to Deal with Them

My parents used to bag their leaves. Everyone on the street did. That’s what I seem to remember as a kid, anyway. But honestly, in my own personal experience, there’s no comparison in terms of the time it takes when you’re talking about mulching leaves with a mower vs raking them up before bagging them. Mulching them with a mower is so much quicker!

Not only that, but it’s much less of a physical effort. With a rake, I used to be all hunched over, but with my mower, I just stroll around my yard a few times (maintaining good posture), and that’s it. I don’t feel like I need to sleep for a week afterward and I’m not in desperate need of a deep tissue massage on my back either. In fact, it just feels like a very light workout. It feels good!