Durgan
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Posts: 113
Joined: October 2011
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Post by Durgan on Nov 7, 2011 12:07:04 GMT -5
www.durgan.org/URL/?DUQHM 7 November 2011 Mulching leaves with Lawnmower. All the leaves on my property are mulched with the lawnmower and left where they fall. The lawnmower grass exit port is held closed with a self tapping screw. The pile of leaves are run over by slightly lifting the front of the lawnmower, and the leaves are instantly chopped into small pieces. They are left where they fall for fertilizer. It is not necessary to put the leaves in a pile, but it simplifies matters by doing so.
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Post by daylilydude on Nov 13, 2011 14:44:20 GMT -5
I use my mulching mower also, but I use the bag attachment to catch them and put them in the garden.
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Durgan
Pro Member
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Posts: 113
Joined: October 2011
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Post by Durgan on Nov 13, 2011 16:47:39 GMT -5
I use my mulching mower also, but I use the bag attachment to catch them and put them in the garden. My lawn only get the fertilizer supplied by the leaves and cut grass so all is left where it falls.
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Post by nofeargardener on Nov 13, 2011 18:04:22 GMT -5
I sort of do both... I mulch my lawn clippings and leave them on the lawn (to hold in moisture, add nutrients, etc. And I mulch my leaves, pick them up with the bagger and then dump them into my raised beds and in my compost heap. Gotta love free garden/lawn food!!! ;D
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Post by coppice on Nov 19, 2011 9:50:22 GMT -5
I use the bag attachement for my mower. The resulting clippings--shredded leaves that do go into the bag, goes onto beds and the compost bin.
Any leaves that escape bagging lay where they fall.
Some soil always goes back onto the lawn when I work the beds and some of the compost manure and minerals that go on beds also goes back to the lawn.
It (the lawn) needs to eat too.
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Post by paquebot on Nov 19, 2011 22:37:01 GMT -5
Leaves and grass here both picked up via a bagging mower and used in compost tumbler. Fresh grass clippings may contain up to 4% nitrogen. When composted with shredded leaves, a considerable amount of nitrogen is captured for later use. Otherwise much of the nitrogen will return to where the grass obtained it, the atmosphere.
Martin
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Post by daylilydude on Nov 20, 2011 6:51:36 GMT -5
When adding these shredded leaves straight to the garden, is it a good idea to add some form of nitrogen, wether organic or otherwise?
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Post by paquebot on Nov 20, 2011 20:51:53 GMT -5
Yes, it is a good idea to also mix in something which has readily-available nitrogen. Fresh grass clippings are usually the easiest and cheapest to come by. Fairly fresh farm manure works well. Or, any commercial nitrogen source from blood meal up to urea. Quickest and cheapest would be ammonium sulfate. There is no formula for how much of what to use for gardens. For field application, based on 20 tons of leaves per acre, one needs 20 to 30 pounds of nitrogen.
Martin
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