Question
A neighbor of my every year runs over his falling leaves with a mulching mower while the rest of us blow the leaves to the curb to be collected by the city. He has a beatiful lawn and he says it's due to mulching the leaves and letting that fertilize his lawn, is there any truth to this ?


Answer
Your neighbor is a genius, Roy.

Those brown leaves, like the grass clippings he probably also leaves on his lawn, decompose and are transformed by earthworms and microbes into rich, wonderful, Nitrogen-packed soil with perfect tilth and organic matter.  Amazing, isn't it?

The University of Illinois (www.ag.uiuc.edu/~vista/html_pubs/mulch/MULCH.html) points out that this kind of mulch alters soil structure and stimulates root growth: "Addition of leaves, sphagnum peat moss, or shredded bark to the soil brings an almost immediate effect. Aeration is improved in clay soils, and the water-holding capacity is increased in sandy soils."

Even though the leaf pieces are still in the early stages of decomposition, they "promote granulation, or the clinging together of soil particles."  That's just what the doctor ordered when it comes to heavy soil.

Like they say, the best things in life are free.