Is it possible to have too many leaves? Should I mulch them with the mower, rake up some of the bulk, or just leave it all? There’s mostly grass and moss under the trees right now. What’s the best option?
We get a thick blanket of leaves halfway through the season from all our mature maples. We usually rake the first half and mulch whatever’s left. I’d love to just leave it all, but there’s too much, and it would kill the grass, leaving a muddy mess in the spring. It’s just not possible.
@Jordan
Leaving leaves works better in flower beds or places where grass isn’t a concern. I rake the leaves covering the grass but leave those on my flower beds alone.
Skylar said:
@Jordan
Leaving leaves works better in flower beds or places where grass isn’t a concern. I rake the leaves covering the grass but leave those on my flower beds alone.
I like to rake the leaves and use them as mulch for our flower beds. Feels better just rearranging them rather than bagging them up.
@Harley
I bag them, mulch them, spread them in my rose cages, and wrap them up with burlap. It lets me grow climbing roses in our cold climate!
Oli said:
@Harley
I bag them, mulch them, spread them in my rose cages, and wrap them up with burlap. It lets me grow climbing roses in our cold climate!
Leaving the leaves can help bugs and other little creatures hibernate over winter.
@Remington
I think it’s also about the leaves decomposing to fertilize the soil.
Wyn said:
@Remington
I think it’s also about the leaves decomposing to fertilize the soil.
Bug poop makes great fertilizer too!
Wyn said:
@Remington
I think it’s also about the leaves decomposing to fertilize the soil.
Bug poop makes great fertilizer too!
True, but I think the leaves decomposing does more for the soil.
Skylar said:
@Jordan
Leaving leaves works better in flower beds or places where grass isn’t a concern. I rake the leaves covering the grass but leave those on my flower beds alone.
Leaves work great as a cover for garlic!
@Uma
Same! I even rake some extra leaves into my garlic bed.
Skylar said:
@Jordan
Leaving leaves works better in flower beds or places where grass isn’t a concern. I rake the leaves covering the grass but leave those on my flower beds alone.
We get piles of leaves from the wind in some parts of the yard and hardly any in others. It makes it hard to evenly leave or rake them.
@Ripley
This is what we do too. Eight years ago, we replaced our grass with clover, which is way easier to maintain. We just mow it and let it seed once a year, then mulch the clover and compost it. No regular watering. We even have some strawberry patches that mix with it. Only issue now is dealing with slugs!
@Ripley
Leaving a lot of leaves can invite unwanted pests. I’m all for organic gardening but learned it’s best to compost my big leaf maple leaves rather than leave them in piles.
@Jordan
The muddy mess in spring is exactly what I’m worried about! Thanks for sharing.
Kelley said:
@Jordan
The muddy mess in spring is exactly what I’m worried about! Thanks for sharing.
Way harder to clean up if you wait. My trick is raking some onto a tarp, dragging it, and dumping them for compost or mulch. Also works to use a mower bag to collect shredded leaves and spread them around plants and beds.
@Jordan
My mower loves mulching leaves under my maples! It sounds like crunching through a bag of corn flakes.
@Jordan
I mulch and blow whatever’s left into my garden beds. But I don’t have huge trees in my backyard.
@Jordan
I guess Arizona wasn’t meant to deal with heavy leaf fall, but I have them piling up all over.
Just rake them up and start a compost pile!