The 18 inches of grass along the South facing curb has always been the weakest area of my lawn. Gets hot and bakes in the mid-summer sun. Last year, I gave it several applications of compost. That was in addition to the normal fertilizers and leaf mulching. You should see it now. It is the most healthy looking area of my KBG lawn. My plan is to increase the moisture retention properties of the soil there. It seems to be working. Bill Hill

I have a lot of both oak and maple leaves, and I mulch them all with my tractor, and I have a big lawn. Since you use small electric mower, I assume you have a small lawn but big trees? Make sure your blade is sharp, and the leaves are as dry as is practical. Then run over the same swath of grass at least three times, and see what's left. The leaves don't need to be chopped fine like confetti. If you break them into pieces less than 2 inches long, you should be fine. They bigger pieces will lay on top of the grass for a while, but here at least, they eventually fall between the grass blades and disappear. Besides a sharp blade, the other key thing is not to let the leaves build up too much in the first place. I go after my leaves at least once a week in the Fall, and sometimes twice a week.

Mulches can create the environment that slugs, and a number of other insect pests, like but it also creates an environment that could support many beneficial insects and predators. An article in the current issue of Fine Gardening magazine (October, 2015) under the Healthy Garden heading answers questions about fall cleanup in the garden and dispels many myths. There is no good reason to remove mulches from a garden plot, ever, unless that mulch is made of materials that will contribute nothing worthwhile to the soil, ie. rubber, or stones. The mulches I have put on my planting beds have been digested by the Soil Food Web and have only added more material and have never removed any. kimmq is kimmsr

>>I've always wondered, would lump charcoal be beneficial for the lawn? Maybe crush it down and spread it? It's full or carbon. Not particularly. Most charcoals have additives, so even the ash isn't that great for the lawn and gardens (not to mention the ash pH is too high). Metal levels are way too high for consistent use. While carbon, it's not the carbon directly that's important. It's the materials in there (proteins, lignins, you name it) that feed bacteria and fungi, which form the backbone of your organic base. Humates are primarily carbon, but are formed by the breakdown of organic feeds. You can directly add humates, but again, it doesn't benefit the soil life very much. For something very high in elemental carbon that still decays off (slowly) and really enhances soils beautifully, sawdust (from untreated woods only) works well.