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Fall Lawn Care Tip: Mow, Don't Rake, Those Leaves

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To many people, fall is their least favorite time of year because of all the leaves that fall on their lawns. I used to spend hours and hours raking leaves, stuffing them into lawn clean-up bags, and hauling them out to the curb for pick up. In my town, I also have to purchase a sticker for each bag that costs about $2.00 each. I have some very large trees on my property, so it was not unusual to have twenty or thirty bags on the curb filled with just leaves. This does not include the bags that are used for all the annual plants that die each year, the spent garden plants and all the other yard waste that has to be, and should be, recycled. Fall lawn care can be very tedious. A couple of years ago, I started reading articles from several universities advising people not to rake the leaves, but just mulch them up and leave them lay on the lawn. The decomposing leaves will recycle important nutrients back into the lawn and do not significantly add to a buildup of thatch. So, I started doing so and have to say that the ground up leaves that remain on the lawn are all gone by the following spring and my lawn seems to be greener and healthier from doing so. Most power mowers do a good job mulching leaves. In the picture, you can see my dog, Mischa, sitting in an area that has not been mowed. To the right is the area that has been mowed and most of the leaves are no longer visible. They have been cut into tiny bits and have filtered down into the lawn. It is best to mow when the leaves are dry, but it will still work if they are slightly damp.It can be a challenge if they are extremely wet. It is also a good idea to stay on top of the leaf mulching and try to mow every week until all the leaves are down. Waiting until all the leaves have fallen may result in too many leaves to mow through easily at one time. Because of the amount of leaves that fall in my lawn, I often mow the lawn twice to make sure I mulch up all the leaves that are present. In the picture below and to the left, you can see the result after my lawn was mowed twice. Of course, there are still many leaves that have not come down yet. The picture below and to the right, shows my lawn the next morning. That is the way it will go for the next couple of weeks. I would rather mow my lawn every week then to spend an entire day raking – and it is cheaper, too. So, don't rake, but mow those leaves and recycle the nutrients back into your lawn.