If you have a lawnmower, it'll do a good job of chopping up your leaves. Then you can just rake them up and use them as mulch, or pile them up and let them compost.

Donn, we tried that, but the mower kept getting clogged.We have a grass lawn that is only about 200 square feet in size, and this liquid amber tree sits in the middle of it. The tree is probably 60 ft high, and drops hundreds of thousands of leaves.

rosegal,

Did you try the mower on its highest setting? I don't know how to link the thread but I posted not long ago about a Poulan Pro leaf blower/vac/shredder that I just purchased. I don't have the volume you do, but with that many leaves I don't know if there will be an easy answer. The Poulan works great for me and I posted pictures of it and the leaves after I shredded them. Maybe there is someone that can link the thread, I think I just titled it Poulan Pro Leaf blower/vac/shredder.

Kristi

kristie, I found the link...THANK YOU!
I'll look into it.I've never seen this in the big box stores (but I'm in Southern California, and we're the only people on our street who do our own mowing and gardening LOL!)

Rosegal,

Glad to be of assistance :). I bought mine at Lowe's for $100.00. I don't know if you have Lowe's there, but perhaps if you have Home Depot, they might carry something similar.

Kristi

The Sweetgum tree, "Liquidambar styracifula" leaves should be no more difficult to mulch mow that any other tree leaves and if the mower keeps stalling then the person operating is trying to work too fast and needs to slow down. The more whole leaves there are a first the slower the mower has to move through them.

rosegal,

It depends on what you are trying to grow in the bed. If its vegetables or something annual that you will transplant in, the mat formed by the unshredded leaves will still retain moisture and break down to feed your plants. Or if its seeds the mat can be parted in rows for planting. The leaves should be effective in limiting weed growth where they cover the soil.

You could also create a leaf-mold bin, a big pile of leaves (potentially contained by wood or wire) that you leave for a couple years to turn into beautiful and nutrient rich planting material.

If you have tons of leaves you could get a big leaf shredder/chipper. I got one from Lowes once I figured out that noone else in town wants to keep their leaves. Its more work, but it makes really nice fluffy leave mulch for around my roses and to cover my beds for next year.

As for the bad bugs, I would expect that the additional organic matter, stabler soil temperatures, and more constant moisture in your newly leaf-mulched beds will help your plants withstand most bad bug assaults. Remaining bad bug problems will be dealt with by the other wildlife that moves into the more hospitable leaf-mulched environment.

Just my thoughts on leaves. Hope it helps.
-Kyle

Rosegal, yes try the raised mower setting so that the blades have a chance to chew up what it brings up into them.
But, I can see that where the leaves might be damp, they could clog up under the machine.

Got a tough garbage can, put some leaves in there and use your weed whacker to chew them up.
Unlike oak, which the sweetgum is compared to in hardness of wood, the leaves do lend themselves to be chewed well.
Oak leaves on the other hand do not.

What nonsense, Jeannie7. I have never had a problem shredding, or mulch mowing, Oak leaves, they have for years been as easy as Maple, Dogwood, Birch, Beech, Catalpa, Hackberry, Apple, Pear, Plum and many other species. I have not had the opportunity to work with Sweetgum leaves, but I have mulch mowed Osage Orange leaves, with no more effort than required for the oak and Maple that were out front.

Your best bet is to shred them with the mulch lawn mower and use them as mulch on your beds. And yes the mower will get clogged; if you have too many leaves... which means you back off, restart the mower and don't mow so many on the next pass. (Its a bit of work, but its still better than throwing them away.)

Boy people get uptight about leaves!
Or rather the board seems awful uptight lately. Apparently turkey has some wierd negative effect on composters?

I didn't mulch my leaves this year, we've got a rear discharge mower with no bagger and it didn't do a very good job on the lawn even so I didn't bother. I've already bought a new mower to replace it. That one will go to the farm where the grass is lucky just to get cut never mind how it looks. Next year I'll chop the leaves and they'll decompose faster. This year... Well they'll decompose no matter what, that much I know.

well, it does seem a little tightly-strung, doesn't it?

I mean, nobody has even said,

"You do have a bad bad problem.
You better send all those bad leaves to Texas;
I'll do some research on the best way to handle them."

snork!