Is raking leaves off your lawn really necessary?
Everyone has that crazy neighbor that is raking leaves every day from October 1 through December 1, right? If you don’t think you have that neighbor, perhaps you are that neighbor…
But really – is all that raking really necessary? Leaves look pretty when they start to fall, adding color to the landscape and giving you all the fall feels. So, what’s the risk of leaving a few through the Winter?
It Is a Matter of Lawn Health, not Just Tidiness
There is actually a sound reason behind raking leaves that has to do with lawn health.
You’ve likely heard warnings in the past about allowing leaves to stay on top of your grass:
- Lawns have to “breathe.”
- If you leave leaves on top of your lawn through the winter, it invites pests and diseases and can cause serious problems like snow mold and brown patch.
- That such a layer of leaves can form a barrier that blocks water, nutrients, and a healthy air flow from getting down to the root system of your grass.
- That, if the leaves are matted down, they can even keep new grass blades from emerging next spring.
All of this is true, but there’s even more of a scientific reason why you need to rake your leaves.
Fall is Prime Time for Cool-Season Grasses
Most lawns in the Northern U.S. are made up of one or more cool-season grasses. Cool-season grasses are most active during the periods of the year when the weather is moderately cool. And, as you guessed, Fall is one of those times.
If given enough sunlight, nutrients, water and moderate temperatures, the Autumn is a time for grasses to revitalize themselves. They must be hasty to strengthen their root systems to endure the coming winter.
But a thick layer of fallen leaves can get in the way of this renewal. Why? The leaves are greedy in terms of sunlight, water and nutrient absorption and can deprive the grass of those key elements. If not raked up in time, those fallen leaves create an unwanted barrier from sunlight and prevent grass from conducting its very important business of revitalization.
Fallen leaves should cover no more than 10-20% of your lawn
So how often do I really have to rake leaves?
Let’s be real – no one can rake up every last fallen leaf the second it falls (except for that one guy on your street.) The homeowners whom you see hunting down stray leaves as if they were fugitives from the law are motivated by a perfectly manicured lawn. If health is your primary concern, then rest assured that a few leftover leaves can’t hurt your lawn. In fact, if you plan on mowing at least one more time that autumn, the mower blade will shred up any remaining leaves.
Speaking of mowing, if there’s not too many leaves on your lawn, you can use a mulching mower in fall. The resulting finely-shredded leaves fall harmlessly between the blades of your grass and serve as a fertilizer for your lawn. As an alternative, you could also use a bag attachment on your mower and empty the contents into your compost bin.
Smaller leaves do not pose as big a threat as large leaves like oak leaves, since that variety blocks more light and water from the grass root system.
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