How to mulch leaves and make compost in your own backyard and Various Leaf Shredders

Shredding of the compost ingredients is very important in order to have success with compost.   Mulching with mulching lawn mower is one option specially for leaves.  We mulch oak leaves with mower.  Run the mower on leaves couple of times. 

I use my The Yard Machines 21" 3-in-1 deck push mower to mulch leaves and any small twigs.   I use the bagger when mowing the grass so that I can catch glass clippings.  I add those clippings to the leaves.  The grass clipping provides the necessary nitrogen to the leaves (carbon) and the compost gets hot.  This is nature at work. 

For shredding and mulching the leaves, I will put the mower in discharge mode and go clockwise and collect all the leaves in the middle of the yard.  They are already broken in to pieces at this time.  Then I change the settings to mulching and run the mower over the leaves twice.  This reduces the volume of the leaves drastically.  Then I run the mower with bag attachment and collect the mulched and shredded leaves.  It seems to be lot work but I tell you it is much easier then raking and bagging the leaves. 

There are some shredders available specially for this purpose.

Flowtron LE-900 The Ultimate Mulcher 8 Amp Electric Leaf Shredder
Flowtron’s LE-900 Leaf-Eater Mulcher/Shredder quickly recycles yard and garden waste into nutrient-rich mulch that's ready to be disposed of or reprocessed into compost. Powered by regular household current and featuring special positions for leaves (coarse to fine), grass, thatch, and pine needles, this handy tool reduces 11 bags of leaves to just one bag, saving money on expensive trash bags and trash pickup.

WORX WG430 13 Amp Electric Leaf Mulcher/Shredder  The new Worx leaf mulcher makes collecting leaves easier, quicker and leaves your yard tidier. By simply dropping your leaves into the large feed hole they are mulched to 1/11th their size and drop right into a bag you fit under the unit. Its unique design accepts both plastic and paper bags and delivers an exceptional high mulch efficiency rate of 53 gallons/minute. This is achieved with the safe flex-a-line bladeless mulching system, offering the added benefit of tool-less cutting line replacement. Assembly is also tool-less and coupled with its compact design allows for convenient, easy off-season storage in your garage or shed. The design incorporates a dust reducing clean air motor cooling system and an oversized on/off switch for ease of use. The 13 amp motor delivers 8500 rpm and accommodates a 13-Inch cut diameter all in a package that weighs only 20 lbs. The WG430 comes with 24 replacement lines and 1 universal bag holder.

Eco-Shredder ES1600 14-Amp Electric Chipper / Shredder / Mulcher  The Eco-Shredder is the easy way to help clean up the yard after trimming the bushes and raking the leaves. No gasoline engines to try to start. The Eco-Shredder is the environmentally friendly way to help clean up your yard. The top hopper accepts twigs, small branches and other leaves and debris. The side chute accepts branches up to 1-3/8" in diameter. It can even save time and money by allowing you to make your own mulch.

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