How to Shred Leaves Without a Shredder

Leaves may be one of the most versatile things your garden produces. They keep your yard shady and cool during the summer and when they fall off your trees in autumn you can use them as mulch, in compost, and even as fertilizer for your lawn. The easiest way to prevent your leaves from turning into a soggy, slimy mat over the winter is to shred them. Shredded leaves are lighter, fluffier, and break down faster. Don't worry, you don't need to buy a fancy chipper shedder to get shredded leaves, all you need is a lawn mower or a string trimmer!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• String trimmer
• 55-gallon or larger garbage can
• Eye protection

Shredding Leaves with a Lawn Mower

1. Set your mower blade to 3-inches high and take off the bag.

2. Begin mowing on the outside edge of your lawn. If your mower shoots clippings out the side (rather than the back), be sure to start with the side discharge pointed at your lawn instead of the sidewalk or driveway.

3. Mow in a square pattern, slightly overlapping each pass. Mowers fitted with a mulching blade typically finely shred leaves in one pass. If your mower has a non-mulching blade you may need to make a second pass to finely shred the leaves. This shredding method works best when you can still see grass poking up through the layers of leaves. If you have large trees you may need to shred more than once a season.

4. You can leave up to 3/4 inch of finely shredded leaves on your lawn without harming it because the leaves settle down through the blades of grass and decompose, returning nutrients to your soil and adding organic matter. To remove a thicker layer of shredded leaves from your lawn, put the bag back on your mower and make one more pass over the lawn. The mower will suck the leaves up into the bag.

Shredding Leaves with a String Trimmer

5. Rake leaves into a pile.

6. Place a string trimmer into a 55-gallon (or larger) garbage can.

7. Fill the garbage can 3/4 of the way full with leaves. Turn on the string trimmer and pull it up and down, as you would an immersion blender in a pot of soup, to shred the leaves. Be sure to wear eye protection.

Tips & Warnings

• Try blanketing your perennial beds with a 3- to 4-inch layer of leaves in the fall. The leaves protect plants from winter weather and they feed the soil as they break down.
• Stockpile leaves in a bin so you have a personal (and free!) source of carbon material or "browns" for making compost next summer.
• Pile leaves up in an inconspicuous spot and leave them alone for two years, what remains will be a rich soil amendment called leaf mold.
• Don't use leaves collected from the side of the road. They may be contaminated with petroleum or contain garbage.

Resources

• DigginFood

[Willi]

on 10/17/2008 Hmm. I haven't had the problem of running out of line. Maybe try putting in less leaves?

[Maddyr16]

on 10/12/2008 We tried this technique today and it worked. It is a very slow process and will take a long time. Also, our nylon line ran out - seems it keeps cutting itself as the line on the trimmer kept hitting the side of the can; has anyone else had this problem and if so....any recommendations?

[redhoss]

on 9/22/2008 Good idea. We do this and it works great. Much easier than raking.