I agree with The Virginian. I'm trying to replace some of my lawn with shrubs and flowers, so whenever I need a new area cleared, I lay down cardboard, then whatever organic material I can get my hands on. One of my neighbors gives me his grass clippings, so that usually goes on first. Last fall, I collected 30 bags of leaves one afternoon, and shredded that, then laid it down over the grass clippings. I've been having a ball all spring, watching various kinds of birds pick through it, looking for bugs. Besides eliminating the need to cut off the sod, by the time I plant an area, the top few inches is actual soil. (Under that, unfortunately, is pure, heavy, clay.) Shredded leaves, raked out evenly, look just as nice as mulch, IMHO.

In soms locales, how much can one expect a layer of leaves to be taken down by worms when temperatures are near the freezing mark. Any self-respecting worm will find the temperature up above downright too cold for his mucousy hide...and will want to find a hole...a deep one. Since temperature does influence how a thing decomposes, how much can one expect a pile of leaves to compost down between now and when the pile freezes solid. How many leaves does one expect to be there --piled up on the perennial beds, after any decent fall wind. AS many do suggest, a clean garden is a disease free garden. Leaves, as maybe having come down early....for what reason...are now lying on the lawn....and if the lawn has any diseases enshrined in the soil, that is surely now part of the leaves which someone suggests be put over our beds. A pile of leaves.....how much is a pile...how much should one expect to use in the fall and how much should one pick up. Leaves around strawberries....never heard that one...straw..yes...straw is very good to mulch strawberries. Leaves would the last thing I'd want to put around my strawberries. Leaves belong off the lawn....in the compost pile or in bags for later use as leaf mould.

i have large areas of my yard mulched. you have a lot of questions, i'll throw out a couple of answers/observations and let others take on the rest: - you can significantly decrease the amt of mulch/frequency of refreshing by using black or brown landscaping fabric. i recommend it VERY HIGHLY. you can also use newspaper and (for areas with no plantings) glossy catalogues and magazines. (this winter i used all the christmas cataloges i was sent unbidden to block the weeds in a large area -- worked like a charm, and one less thing that needs to be trucked to the dump). i have a bed in full sun with landscaping fabric that i mulched lightly three years ago -- it still looks great. whatever you do -- overlap A LOT. at least 6 inches. - i recommend mulching incrementally rather than all at once. spreading mulch is by far my least favorite gardening task -- it is HARD WORK. better to buy a couple of bags a month and spread it where it needs to go. - the longer you have mulch, the less often you need to replenish. eventually you get rid of weed seeds in the given area. i have a couple of beds that i have had mulched for five years -- they hardly EVER need replenishing. - consider layering an inch or two of leaves and yard waste under your mulch. less mulch you have to use, and it enriches the soil. - consider using pine bark mulch. it's the least ecologically-harmful mulch out there (aside from free mulch from the dump) - check for free trash tree and line-clearing mulch from the dump. i mulched a couple of areas with it last year. breaks down quickly, but, hey, it's free. - i am slowly transitioning away from wood mulch to pine straw. it is SO MUCH cheaper and easier to spread. you have to block the weeds with newspaper. -bagged mulch is (strangely enough) about the same price as mulch from the local landscaping company. it's also easier to handle. however, it's much easier to get a big load of mulch delivered and dumped near your site. it just depends on how much area you need to mulch.

Wait a day or 2 till it hardens and go ahead , patch, sand, clean, prime( with the same oil, re-paint