How to Mulch Leaves With a Lawn Mower

The last mow of the season can be late in the year. Do double duty by using your mower to mulch the leaves that have fallen on your lawn.

This has been a long year for mowing. I made my first cut in March and ended the season by mowing and mulching leaves just last week. If you're about to make the last mow of the season, consider using the mower to mulch those leaves that litter your lawn. It's a great way to prep the yard for the winter.

Leaf-Mulching Basics​

Mulching leaves is a great way to dispose of them. It can reduce a pile of leaves to about one-tenth of its volume. Mulching also mixes grass clippings with the leaf particles. The nitrogen-rich grass particles and carbon-rich leaf particles compost more quickly when they're mixed together than they do separately.

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Mowers that can mulch, side-discharge, and bag are particularly adept at leaf removal. You can do it a few different ways.

First, there's side discharge. Use this method if you want to mulch leaves back into the yard or chop them into fine particles that you'll pick up later with the mower and the bag. It's the best method if the grass is tall and moist and the leaf cover is heavy or wet.

Mow in stripes so that you cut the discharged stripe from the previous pass. You can also mow outward or inward in concentric circles so that you cut and recut the particles.

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You can also set your mower to mulch. This method works well with grass of normal height and leaves that are moist to dry but not wet. First, insert the mulch plug in the mower and close the side-discharge port. Then mow as you would normally and make a second pass at a right angle to the first to thoroughly mulch the clippings back into the grass.

Or bag your clippings. This works well when the grass is of normal height and the leaves are dry. Bring a small tarp out into the yard and dump the mulched leaf and grass particles onto the tarp. Then drag the pile into the woods or to the edge of your property for disposal. (If you use paper leaf-collection bags, then dump the mulched leaves into the bag as you go.)

A Good Leaf-Mulching Lawnmower

In our test we used a Husqvarna 775 HU775H, a mower that we ranked as a five-star machine in this summer's mower marathon. It's also a superb leaf mulcher. But not every mower is adept at mulching leaves, so here are the features to look for if you're shopping for a leaf-mulching mower or thinking about whether your current rig is up to the task.

First, use one that's rear-wheel-drive and self-propelled: A mower is heavy enough in its own right and even heavier when its bag is full of grass clippings and mulched leaves. This is to say nothing of uphill mowing and bagging. So a drive system is a must when mulching and bagging leaves. Rear-wheel drive is better than front-wheel because a bag full of leaf clippings has a tendency to weigh on the back of the mower and lift the front wheels, causing them to lose traction.

Use an aggressive, high-lift mulching blade. A standard lawn-mowing blade doesn't cut it for mulching leaves. Our Husqvarna came equipped with an aggressive "high lift" blade with serrations and a distinctive twist. The blade increases air movement from under the deck and into the bag.

Look for a high-quality dust-filtering bag. Bargain mowers come with bargain bags that do a poor job of filtering the dust that starts to swirl when you start mowing leaves. Without a high-quality bag, you'll gag before you're done mowing. Look for a mower with a bag described as dust blocking.

Finally, crank up the power. It takes power to cut grass and leaves. That's where our Husqvarna shined. Its 190-cc 4.4-hp engine is on the large side for a residential walk-behind mower, but it's just the ticket for mulching.

Start Your Winter Lawn Care

After you've cut the lawn and mulching the leaves mark the end of your summer lawn care. Once you're done, it's time apply a winter-blend fertilizer.

These are products with a chemical analysis on the order of 26-2-12, 24-3-12, or 20-0-10. Those three numbers signify the amount of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium in the fertilizer, in that order. The last number, for potassium, should be as high as possible. It helps to build the grass's cold hardiness and improves its ability to store carbohydrates. With increased soil temperature and sunlight, the grass will come roaring back next spring.

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