Why Mulching Your Leaves is Good for Everyone

We may not get changing leaf colors here in Central Florida during the fall and winter months, but we still get plenty of leaves falling to the ground! Florida’s deciduous trees, like sycamore and maple trees, shed their leaves every year as they enter dormancy in the cooler months. While it’s fun to watch the seasons change, many homeowners consider a lawn full of leaves to be an eyesore; some homeowners’ associations even require residents to clear their lawns of leaves.

While it seems like the simple solution to push the leaves away from your lawn and driveway and into the road, we recommend mulching your leaves instead. Not only does it provide your lawn with a little extra boost of nutrients, but it also helps keep the roadways clean and safe and can even reduce your home maintenance workload. Read on to learn more about the magic of mulching.

Don’t Leave Your Leaves Behind

Simply put, moving your leaves to the street can cause issues for your neighbors and neighborhoods. First of all, when leaves are left out in the street, they have the potential to clog up storm drains, which can cause a host of troubles for your community. If the storm drain remains clogged, it can cause street flooding when the next big rain comes. Of course, December isn’t the rainy season in Florida, but we do still get the occasional rainstorm over the course of the month. What’s more, leaves clogged in the storm drain will start to break down when they’re left to soak, which will release harmful chemicals into our waterways.

But that’s not all. Leaves left on the street can become slick, posing a hazard for pedestrians and cyclists. In the interests of everyone’s safety, it’s best to safely dispose of your fallen leaves -- and mulching them is one of the best options. Here are a few of our favorite options for leaf relief.

Mulch Leaves with a Mower

Mulching isn’t a difficult task that requires specialized equipment -- all you need is your trusty lawn mower! If you have lots of leaves scattered around your yard, just fire up the mower and take a pass or two across the foliage. This breaks the leaves down into “easy to digest” pieces for your lawn and reintroduces beneficial nutrients to your grass. Some mowers have mulching blades available to make the job easier, but really all you need is your regular mowing setup.

Start a Compost Pile

Speaking of nutrients, dead leaves make a great starting point for a compost pile. All you need to do to start is to designate an area where you’ll pile up your dead leaves. After that, you can add other items like vegetable scraps and cardboard, to keep introducing more nutrients to the pile. Keep it moist and turn it regularly to help assist in the breakdown of nutrients. In no time, you’ll have a healthy addition for any garden bed.

Use Leaves as Makeshift Mulch

Piled leaves can even offer a great solution for moisture control for your flower beds! Simply apply the dead leaves anywhere you’d use your regular mulch. They’ll help keep your plants moist for longer and control the weed population in the area. As they break down, they’ll give your plants a healthy boost of the good stuff like nitrogen and phosphorus.

Mulching is the Best Option for Leaf Control

Stop pushing your dead leaves out into the street and making them your neighbors’ problems! Just fire up your lawn mower and control the dead leaves in a safe and eco-friendly manner. Your professional lawn care company may even offer leaf mulching with their regular services. To learn more about mulching blades for lawn mowers, call the Longwood parts people at Gator Mower Parts at 407-260-1292 today.