Stop Smothering Me. Leaf Me Alone!
Fall is quickly becoming winter and the trees are shedding the last of their leaves. One common dilemma homeowners face is whether or not to rake and bag fallen leaves and debris from their lawn. With two different schools of thought on the matter, let’s talk about the trouble that comes from allowing a thick layer of leaves to sit on your yard, then discuss how to deal with them.
Your yard needs a good amount of air and sunlight to maintain good health. Whenever a thick layer of leaves is covering your turf, it’s essentially being smothered. If you do not remove leaves and debris from your yard, you’ll likely be left with a brown, patchy, unsightly yard come spring.
Here are a few ways of dealing with fallen leaves this year:
- Our recommendation is to rake them and bag them. Not only does this keep your yard looking nice and clean, it will lessen your workload in the spring. Also, you will help eliminate the potential for harboring unwanted plant disease and overwintering insects and pests.
- If you want to use the organic matter that you have on hand, you can also mulch them and use them in your landscape beds. Lawn mowers typically have a mulch setting that will break up the leaves into smaller pieces. You can distribute these smaller bits onto landscape beds or herb gardens to provide insulation from the cold which will help protect your root systems. It is important to note you do not want to make mulch from leaves that have any existing disease.
Regardless of which alternative better suites your style, one thing is for certain: you need to make sure you don’t leave a thick layer of leaves on your lawn over winter.
Don’t want to mess with leaves at all this year?
Topeka Landscape is here to help so you can spend your free time focusing on prepping for the holidays! Our crew would be happy take care of your fall clean up needs, whether it’s a one-time clean up or recurring maintenance. Learn more about our seasonal maintenance by clicking here and give us a shout today!