Is mulching leaves into/onto the lawn bad?

[Lost in the Woods]

I've heard that some people mulch as much of their fall leaves into their lawn, I was just wondering if this in fact a bad thing to do?

I'd never done so in large quantities before, but the other day I mulched what would have been 8 to 10 bags worth into the lawn, and was amazed I didn't have 2 inches of mulch sitting on top, but rather the lawn looked like the leaves had magically disappeared. There was barely any trace of them. I'm thinking of doing even more the next time, as the trees are only half done so far.

The leaves are 98% maple leaves if that has any bearing on answers.

[wilburville]

From what i've learned, mulching leaves into soil such as a garden is good and will help enrich it but be cautious about mulching too much and leaving it on your lawn, it can end up choking out your grass and you'll end up with a dead lawn in the spring. It would be better to rake them, compost them and then put them on your lawn in the spring( or whenever the leaves have composted, it may take longer). Be wary too if the leaves are spotting black fungal spots (maples) as mulching them into the soil can spread or continue the fungus next season. It sucks to rake and bag them but its probably the best solution. Just my nickles worth. bill.

[asindero]

Maple leaves are very good food for earthworms which are good for aeration of soil. In the early 90s, I collected leaves in a pit I dug for gardening. Whenever I tap the leaves, big worms come out. I also scattered bukchoy seed and they never stop growing every year.

[dan]

kinda how we got the soil in the first place

[Rick Thom]

Perhaps 'all things in moderation' is your best approach. The decomposed leaves add value but if too thick don't breakdown easily and they become thatch that impedes the growth of your grass, harbour diseases etc (not H1N1 afaik). The lawn also benefits from a racking.

[LarryCanary]

They add much needed nitrogen to the soil. I heard that on a gardening radio program (Saturday mornings on AM900-CHML) and putting mulched leaves into your garden is also a good thing to do. Adds nutrients to the soil.
The program is called 'Room To Grow' 9am to 11 am.

[willr]

Originally Posted by LarryCanary

They add much needed nitrogen to the soil. I heard that on a gardening radio program (Saturday mornings on AM900-CHML) and putting mulched leaves into your garden is also a good thing to do. Adds nutrients to the soil.
The program is called 'Room To Grow' 9am to 11 am.

All the advice here is generally good.

However, black spot is an ugly thing to give to the roses.

Mellita, domi adsum

Add an "l" as above...

http://www.latinsayings.info/

Cogita ante salis

[LarryCanary]

Originally Posted by willr

All the advice here is generally good.

However, black spot is an ugly thing to give to the roses.

Mellita, domi adsum

Add an "l" as above...

http://www.latinsayings.info/

Cogita ante salis

Thanks willr. I grow vegetables. No roses here other then buying them for my girlfriend.


Da mihi sis cerevisiam dilutam

[willr]

Originally Posted by LarryCanary

Thanks willr. I grow vegetables. No roses here other then buying them for my girlfriend.


Da mihi sis cerevisiam dilutam

No lo tengo! Pero, tengo unas cervezas negras... Salud!

[Bill MacDonald, Toronto]

Originally Posted by willr

No lo tengo! Pero, tengo unas cervezas negras... Salud!

I prefer Guinnes myself

Mulch away Kevin. It will put nutrients back into your lawn. I regularly take a bag or two and toss the leaves/grass around the rose buses and other shrubs, and they seem to love it.

[Peter, Annapolis Valley]

Composted leaves become "leaf mold (mould?)", a much-prized soil amendment among savvy gardeners. As I understand it, the process is anaerobic, unlike your typical composting, so no turning is needed.
We pile our abundant leaves into a 5'high by 10' diameter cage made of some old welded wire. In a year they're rotted-down to wonderful material which we re-apply to the lawns and flower beds. It's a great strategy if you have the room, and no bagging required.
One word of advice, the mice like those cozy piles, so some precautions are recommended.
Happy gardening.
Peter

[J.P. Rap]

Black spot or tar spot as it's often called is very common on maple trees and is perpetuated by leaving the effected leaves on the ground. It is a mold growth as was stated and if left for a number of years can get pretty ugly but doesn't do any real harm to the tree. This is the first I have heard of it spreading to roses but that doesn't mean it's not so. The wife says she thinks it doesn't cross contaminate because it's a different mold, but she isn't certain.
I don't believe mulching will prevent or stop the black spot but it certainly won't promote it.
If your maple trees didn't have black spot this past summer then you need only worry about leaves from neighboring trees.

FWIW

[Egon]

Mulch away on the lawn within reason. What reason is I can't describe but it's about that much.

You may wish to add a little extra nitrogen fertilizer and lime to the lawn when you do this. [If lime is requirement in your area]

Another thought is to mow the lawn quite high as this gives for better grass and more room for the mulchies.

[willr]

Originally Posted by J.P. Rap

Black spot or tar spot as it's often called is very common on maple trees and is perpetuated by leaving the effected leaves on the ground. It is a mold growth as was stated and if left for a number of years can get pretty ugly but doesn't do any real harm to the tree. This is the first I have heard of it spreading to roses but that doesn't mean it's not so. The wife says she thinks it doesn't cross contaminate because it's a different mold, but she isn't certain.
I don't believe mulching will prevent or stop the black spot but it certainly won't promote it.
If your maple trees didn't have black spot this past summer then you need only worry about leaves from neighboring trees.

FWIW

Some additional info.

http://pmo.umext.maine.edu/factsht/Spotrose.htm

You could sort the leaves after raking if you are certain it doesn't cross-contaminate -- but that's a lot of work.

Got a decent reference...
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PP267

The real issue is one of ensuring that the leaves don't have any other leaf from the members of the rose family. It really is difficult to ensure that raked leaves are free of the spores etc.

[Bill in NL]

I have a 6.5 horse Craftsman lawnmower with a mulching blade. I haven't bagged or raked leaves since I got it 4 years ago. I have a big maple in the front yard, and when it drops it's leaves I do a final couple of mowings in early October, (or just before it snows) to mulch the leaves.

It works fine for me, and the lawn hasn't complained once.

[Lost in the Woods]

Just did a second run at the leaves this afternoon. So far so good. I'm really starting to think that my maple tree will benefit from this, rather than not do it. The lawn has always struggled in some shady areas around the maple, but I've been going over the same spots 2 or three times to really disintegrate as much as possible.

Not sure if all this is saving any time or money. What I'm saving in paper bags - usually about 25 bags each year for yard leaves - is somewhat offset by the 2 hours each time in gas running the mower, and I know I'll still have a third round to go. Time wise, its probably a little less, but the big benefit is not having to crouch and bend over countless times. Now that's worth it alone.

Thanks for all the replies so far!

[wilburville]

If you can, after you've finished mulching all your leaves you might want to have the grass aerated to prevent it from choking and to allow the mulch to get into the soil. bill.

[Lee]

I’ve probably got the same 6.5 horsepower Craftsman mulching lawnmower as Bill in NL. I’ve always thought that people were crazy to throw out their grass clippings and leaves.

I’m on a fairly small suburban lot but we have 4 Norway Maples and a few others species. For the past 9 years I’ve mulched the leaves almost every year. The one year I didn’t (because of excessive Black Spot) I received an anonymous letter asking me to ‘be a good neighbor’ and clean up the mess of leaves at the curb. I had raked all the leaves to the curb for the city’s leaf vacuuming program, but it snowed before the city was able to vacuum them. The city didn’t show up with the vacuum until late spring. However, by that time I had already bagged the wet frozen mess of leaves to appease the anonymous nosy neighbor. I now consistently mulch the leaves.

I don’t mulch to be lazy. I actually first rake the leaves into a big pile for the kids to play in. I then knock the pile down to a manageable depth for the mower and turn the leaves into dust.