Its actually kind of fun to run the mower into a pile thats 2-3 feet high (makes a mess, probably does a number on the air filter).

I'm anxiously waiting my soil test results from logan labs to see if all the organics and leaf mulching moved up my OM and/or CEC.

JG, I think you must have a much better mower than my cheap Toro--which is used only on the swale and to mulch leaves. I stalled it running through an eight inch pile.

I mulch-mow slowly whatever falls each week (6"-8" of leaves) 4 times, and it becomes almost dust. I was amazed that even burying the lawn 2" deep in leave dust (Fall lawn height is 2.5" or a little more) every week was OK. It was gone to a tiny amount of black dust by the next week.

Great picture Andy. I wouldn't have thought you could leave that much in the grass without having a problem. Thanks

I did that much through December. By around the 15th of December or so they stopped breaking down. I was worried about the grass the following spring, but it was fine. I stopped about 2 weeks earlier in my backyard as it gets a lot less sun, so I think I bagged some stragglers around December 7th or so and raked up some areas that were totally smothered.

I didn't get down what Andy did, but had the same experience. They fell apart in nothing flat (which amazed me--composting doesn't work that fast on leaves and I'm currently sustaining 135° in the pile).

Three hundred pounds per thousand left a teeny bit of leaf litter over the winter from the last of the loads, but not enough to worry me about smothering the lawn in the slightest.

Andy, were you the one who posted pictures a few years ago on GW with leaves almost to the top of the fence and saying that you had too many leaves to mulch?

If so, you should post one of those old pics just to demonstrate how many total leaves can be mowed into the lawn.

I don't have a picture of "Mt. Compost" - just a description.

Mt. Compost was a mountain of composting leaves that had been run through the lawn tractor once (so they were chopped). It was 50 ft long by 15 ft wide by 11 ft high. It literally had a road/path to the top so that I could walk up to add more leaves.

Maybe it wasn't you. There was somebody who expressed skepticism about being able to mulch all his leaves and posted a picture of a corner of a chain link fence that had leaves up to the top.

That ain't nuthin'. I calculated last year's leaves as a cube slightly greater than eight feet on a side at reasonable compression. Or around 19 cubic yards of leaves.

Of course, increasing the decay surface area versus the volume is the key. Left in the cube, it would take years. Torn apart into fingernail-sized bits by the mower, weeks.

andy10917 wrote:Jason:

If you say so. Poa Annua is the 5th most distributed plant on the planet. It grows in the Antarctic and the Sahara. I suspect that it is present, but the coloration difference isn't as pronounced - making it less obvious.

Ive never seen Poa Annua here before. Seems like you guys slightly disturb the soil and it grows. I did a renovation of my back yard stirring all the soil up and got nothing but crabgrass, oxallis, and henbit. If anything in my yard is not Bermuda or St Augustine, I will see it. No Poa here, ever.

You guys got me all excited about collecting leaves from my neighbors. Maybe I should invite them over for some beers to show them that I'm at least somewhat normal.

jcmdallas wrote:You guys got me all excited about collecting leaves from my neighbors. Maybe I should invite them over for some beers to show them that I'm at least somewhat normal.

Or to show them that you're further over the deep end than they had previously thought. That's always the danger.

According to my juxaposed neighbor, who I quite like, "You're nuts, but it obviously works."

I may start collecting from my neighbors next spring when the Live Oaks start shedding again. I usually get 15 large bags a week. All of my neighbors get a ton too. I guess I can take theirs to the back yard. Looks like I'll be running the mower weekly starting in Febuary next year for mulching

Ummmm, be very careful with Oak leaves. Two reasons - Oak leaves break down very slowly, and Oak leaves have an allelopathic effect on KBG. Definitely test it first.

andy10917 wrote:Ummmm, be very careful with Oak leaves. Two reasons - Oak leaves break down very slowly, and Oak leaves have an allelopathic effect on KBG. Definitely test it first.

Interesting. I know they take a long time to break down, especially these waxy dense Live Oak leaves, but I didnt know about the allelopathic effect. Ive never gotten the grass there as thick as I like, but its been getting better this year with the high rate of organics Ive used and proper watering.

I did a little searching around on the internet and could not find anything about Live Oaks having an allelopathic effecct on St Augustine. There is no way I could pick up all the leaves in my yard so Im assuming the fact that Ive had grass there for 3 years means the effect is minimal at most. That and these leaves are also a favorite for local compost piles which is then spread in yards.

What do Oak leaves do to KBG? Does the grass just grow thin or does it die?

What do Oak leaves do to KBG? Does the grass just grow thin or does it die?

Nothing much that I've noticed. My grass grows fine under a pin oak. Of the leaves I get, 40% or so are oak leaves and I had no issues at all with them. Of course, my lawn's fully established and not exactly weak or thin in any area any longer...

From what I've read (and I spent a while studying this last Fall), it mostly hurts KBG germination, but some people say it thins it. There is a thread on this site about Oak Allelopathy somewhere.

jcmdallas wrote:I have only seen POA (or what I think is POA) in the spring and that was mainly in Bermuda lawns. I don't think that weed stands a chance in a healthy St. Augustine lawn.

I get Poa in my St. Augustine every year in the front lawn, but it's shady out there and the grass is thin. In the sunny and thicker backyard I battle bermuda and dallis grass.