Raking leaves is a time-honored tradition in Michigan; brown paper bags stuffed with leaves soon will sprout along curbs like dandelions in May.

There is another way to take care of leaves that doesn't involve blisters and repetitive stress injuries: Use the lawn mower and grind them where they fall.

A growing consensus among turf experts says it's OK to let the mower do the work for you; shredded leaves contribute nutrients and organic matter to the soil.

Leaves will not cause thatch build-up and oak leaves will not throw the pH level of your soil out of whack, research from Michigan State University shows.

If you don't have enough leaves in your yard, neighbors will gladly share. "You're not alone; we know a lot of people who do it," said Scott Meyer, publisher of Organic Gardening magazine. "It is an incredible resource just falling at your feet."

Deciding against bagging leaves is not the same as ignoring them. Left untouched, the once picturesque layer becomes a dense, soggy mat and blocks sunlight and oxygen.

You don't have to bag leaves, but you need to shred them when leaves are dry.

Mulching mowers work best; specially designed blades chop leaves and grass into small pieces. Even a side-discharge mower works, though you may need to mow twice.Eventually, you may be shredding leaves with an earth-friendly mower. Emission controls will be required on new gas-powered lawn mowers and other gas-powered equipment, including weed trimmers. The Environmental Protection Agency standards begin in 2011, but do not affect existing mowers.

Finely shredded leaves filter down through the grass and easily decompose by next spring, providing minerals and nutrients plants require.

"We have ground all different kinds and amounts (of leaves) into the grass," said Michigan State University turf expert Ron Calhoun. "The benefit of incorporating this back into the soil is the microbes and it is providing nutrition for the grass."

Maple leaves, high in calcium and potassium, break down easily. Oak leaves are beneficial to acid-loving plants, even though the composting process neutralizes the acidic nature, Calhoun said.

Conifer needles are a great mulch for acid-loving plants, such as rhododendrons, blueberries and strawberries. It is best to avoid cedar leaves; they have been shown to prevent the germination and growth of plants around them.

Meyer recommends using oak leaves and pine needles in vegetable gardens."Most vegetables like slightly acidic soil," Meyer said.

For optimum shredding, set the mower deck at 3 inches and remove the bag. Shred when you still can see some grass peeking through the leaves. Even a dry layer 16 to 18 inches thick will reduce to manageable levels and all but disappear into the soil by spring, Calhoun said.

The final layer of shredded leaves should not exceed an inch in depth. If it does, making one more pass over the lawn with the mower's bag attached.

A late fall application of fertilizer will help the now-dormant grass put on tremendous root growth, and the additional nitrogen helps shredded leaves break down more efficiently.

Getting plants ready for winter, especially those prone to heaving, requires a good covering of mulch. Some people use shredded bark, wood chips and other organic products often purchased in bags.

Leaves offer the same benefits, such as moderating soil temperatures and protecting tender roots, with what marketing gurus like to call a "value added" component.

Make your own compost pile or get a little help from a commercial composter. Here are some options:

• Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler by Clean Air Gardening; easy to tumble, built-in vents, 58-gallon capacity compost bin, rolls anywhere. Price: $200. Call (888) 439-9101 or visit cleanairgardening.com.

• Mantis ComposT-Twin: Two chamber design, each holding 10 bushels. Price: $399. Call (800) 366-6268 or visit mantisgardentools.com.

• ComposTumbler: 18-bushel and 9.5 bushel models available. Price: $389. Call 1 (800) 880-2345 or visit compostumbler.com.

• Twin-Bin Cedar Composter, from Steve's Earth Engine of Minnesota. Made of natural cedar. Single bin also available. Call (612) 822-1893 or visit CedarComposters.com.

Mulched leaves return valuable micro-nutrients to the soil, feeding microorganisms and worms that keep soil and plants healthy.

Another tactic is to dump leaves in a pile and forget about them until next year. When summer arrives, the bottom of the pile will have turned into rich compost and the middle layer, leaf mold.

You still can recognize the leaves, but decomposition is well underway. This moist mat works great as mulch; better than wood chips, Meyer said.

"Leaf mold is really good at keeping moisture in the soil and preventing weeds from coming up," he said. "They are denser and block the light. Wood chips are so slow to degrade and so dense in carbon that it requires a lot of microbial activity to break down."

Use the lawn mower to shred leaves for the garden or consider purchasing a combination leaf vacuum /leaf mulcher. The power mulchers cost from $50 to $110; electric and gas-powered models are available.

Black & Decker's new Leaf Hog blower/vacuum/mulcher has a peak blowing speed of 240 mph and features a specially designed nozzle that delivers pulsating air waves to dislodge leaves. It has variable speed settings to reduce air speed when working around delicate plants in flower gardens.

Yard debris that includes small branches and twigs may be too much for your leaf shredder, however. Here you may need to step it up with a chipper/shredder.

Machines vary in shape and size, some are stationary and some -- such as the Troy-Bilt Chipper Shredder Vacuum -- resemble a large, mulching push mower. Leaves and small sticks are sucked up and pulverized, then blown into a two-bushel, felt-lined bag.

Models range from $550 for a shredder/chipper vacuum, while larger units, such as the 10-horsepower Chipper-Shredder-Vac from Patriot Products Inc. costs about $1,300.

Shredded leaves are a vital ingredient for a good working compost pile, be it an enclosed pen you make with chicken wire or wood pallets or a store-bought system.

Many products are available to process leaves to use in the landscape:

• Toro Rake N' Vac (model # 812790), blows, vacuums and mulches leaves. Price: $50.

• Yardman blower/shredder with built-in vacuum attachment and bag. (Model # 267-1712) Two-cycle engine produces 180 mph air flow. 10:1 mulch ratio. Price: $109.

• Black & Decker Leaf Hog electric (model # 267-2948) produces air flow up to 230 mph, comes with a bag. Price: $65.

• Patriot Chipper-Shredder-Vac comes with a 10 hp gas engine that shreds leaves to fine particles, turns branches into coin-size mulch. Call (800) 798-2447 or visit patriot-products-inc.com.

Clean Air Gardening of Dallas invites consumers to experience a "quick and odorless form of composting," using its $200 Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler (cleanairgardening.com).

The design makes it easy to keep composted materials turned and aerated, resulting in dark brown compost in as little as three weeks.

Brown leaves are high in carbon, a key ingredient to a successful compost pile. The most common source of nitrogen in compost piles is grass clippings.

A compost pile needs carbon in summer to mix with grass clippings, so stockpile shredded leaves to use next year.

And don't be afraid to ask neighbors for their leaves, recommends Mike Bouwkamp, public services director for the city of Rockford.

"People have them set out in paper bags and I am sure they'd be more than happy to let you have them if you ask," Bouwkamp said.

What about green materials to feed the leaves when grass clippings are not available? Meyer recommends kitchen scraps -- coffee grounds, watermelon rinds, corn husks, broccoli stalks, cucumber peelings, bolted lettuce -- anything that comes from a garden can go into the pile.

A favorite nitrogen fix is manure, be it from cows, horses or chickens. If this seems over the top, another good choice is alfalfa; and you don't necessarily need to get it from a farm.

"It's sold as food for hamsters and rabbits; it's an excellent green material," Meyer said. "It's a good alternative for people who don't live near a farm, or just can't bring themselves to haul home a load of manure."

E-mail John Hogan: jhogan@grpress.com

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