Everything Fall is here. The temps have dropped, people are eating and decorating everything with pumpkins, and I’ve just noticed the first of the leaves starting to turn colors. Mostly yellow at this point but my neighbor has a tree turning a really pretty burgundy color. I love hiking and driving around looking at the God’s handiwork painting the landscape but I don’t even mind the first time raking leaves of the season. Now that the leaves are falling, it’s time to figure out a plan. Now what do you do? Rake them? Leave them alone?
Fall Leaves Cleanup Options
Option #1: Do Nothing
The lazy way is to do nothing, just leave the leaves to pile up on the grass. You might get away with this if you only have a couple trees, small trees. However, if you have a ton of leaves and leave them, you are going to ruin your grass because the leaves create a barrier to the sun and that sunlight can’t reach your grass. Plus, leaving tons of leaves on your grass can cause a lot of trapped moisture that can lead to diseases and harmful pests that you’ll have to deal with later. Even though we aren’t really watering or taking care of our grass in the fall and winter, it still needs sunlight.
Option #2: Mulch Your Leaves
If you have one of those mowers that mulches grass, you can use it to mulch your leaves too. Even ordinary mowers will ‘mulch’ the leaves by simply mowing over them. The problem is if you have a ton of leaves. If you only have a few, this is an easy option. The natural mulch of leaves can actually help your lawn and even protect it from the extreme cold this winter. Just mow over the leaves a few times until they are really broken down and no more than the size of a coin. You want to make sure you can still see your grass.
Do benefit your lawn even more, use this time to add a fertilizer to your lawn to prepare it for the coming winter months. A good fertilizer is Lawnifi® Boost if you are using it now or Lawnifi Maintain if you plan to do it next month or Lawnifi Recover in November. All 3 help winterize your lawn. Learn more about fall fertilizing here. Another granular option is Lawnifi Foundation, it helps give your grass need oxygen for a greener lawn next spring.
Option #3: Rake Your Leaves
For a more prestine look, you’ll have to rake your leaves. Or, if you have a ton of leaves like us, this is really the only real option. Rake or use a leaf blower to get rid of all the leaves. You’ll have to then bag your leaves or move them off the grass. We blow our leaves into the next-door woods.
This is the best option in my opinion because it gives you a chance to make a HUGE pile and let your kids and dogs jump in them. Do not miss out on this natural and fun activity that your kids will never forget!
Option #4: Combination
Many people, my family included to a combination of 2 and 3. We rake and rake and rake through the season and toward the end when there are only a few left, we’ll mow through and mulch the rest to leave in the yard. We also mulch some of them up to put around our trees and in our garden beds. We also add some to our compost pile which makes great soil for our gardens in the spring.
Be sure also to check out our Fall Lawn Maintenance Tips article for more information regarding regular maintenance practices that should take place during this season.
