Of all the chores to be done throughout the year, leaf duty is one of the most unpopular.
During the spring, trees are beautiful. In the summer, they shade us from the burning sun. Then fall rolls around, the leaves hit the ground, and you’re spending long hours on the weekends cleaning them up.
But what is the better method of cleaning up all those leaves? Do you rake them into a pile and then get rid of them or mulch them right down into the ground?
There are actually pros and cons of both and knowing them will help you decide what’s best for your lawn this autumn.
MULCHING
THE PROS
— Mulching leaves is easier, quite frankly. If you simply hate to blow or rake, then bag, or you use a lawnmower with a bag, piling leaves is a very time-consuming chore. Mulching, meanwhile, is pretty similar to just mowing the lawn.
— Another great reason to consider mulching is what it does to your soil. Mulching leaves into your lawn allows them to break down naturally and boosts the soil quality.
— Mulching is cheaper because it saves money on fuel and maintenance for power blowers, it saves on plastic bags and you aren’t creating a need for city pickup if your area doesn’t have it.
MULCHING
THE CONS
— Though mulching does go faster in a single swoop, you have to make sure you are chopping up those leaves on a regular basis. And that you are chopping the leaves into dime-sized pieces so they get into the soil. Mulching once a week or not chopping the leaves up enough can create a layer of leaves on your grass. You absolutely want to avoid that.
— The Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association states that a layer of leaves more than “one-fourth to three-eights inch” can damage your lawn because they block out the sun and increase damage from fungal disease.
— Mulching also doesn’t work well with pine needles, which would render your mulching efforts meaningless.
BLOWING LEAVES/RAKING
PROS
— Raking may feel like a lot more work, but there are some reason people prefer it. First, for those who like composting, a giant pile of leaves is a fantastic resource because it creates the brown or carbon-rich materials so important to composting. Grass clippings are also very helpful to a compost pile as a nitrogen-rich ingredient.
— If leaves fall on your lawn too fast, raking or blowing leaves is probably a good idea because mulching may not grind up the leaves enough or be able to keep up with what’s coming down. Again, you don’t want a thick layer of leaves on your lawn.
— Another reason to consider blowing or raking your lawn is it makes the lawn look cleaner with the grass completely clean of fallen leaves. And with power blowers, clearing off the lawn doesn’t take as much time and it can it save on the back-breaking effort of raking.
RAKING
CONS
— Obviously, power blowers help but raking or piling leaves is always a hard, labor-intensive chore. Whether you bag your leaves, pile them on the side of the road to be picked up or what have you, it can be time-consuming effort.
— It’s also more expensive. Along with maintaining a mower, you probably have to power and maintain and a blower and/or plastic bags.
— And if your area doesn’t provide leaf pick up, you’re on the hook for disposing them some how.
Whether you decide to mulch or rake, make sure you do something. As stated earlier, if you allow leaves to stay on your lawn into the winter you can do some serious damage. Wet or frozen leaves basically will form a mat over your lawn when the snow comes down. This suffocates your lawn and could increase the chance for fungal diseases.
(Resources: Snappy’s, Agway, Better Homes and Gardens)
