Falling, Falling, Fall is Here
When the leaves in Autumn turn colors, they are beautiful to look at. However when the leaves fall they become a mess to clean up. Fall leaf clean up is not a chore most of us look do not look forward to. Some even wonder if it is even necessary to rake leaves. Won’t the leaves just compost naturally on the lawn? More than likely yes, if you only have a few leaves, you’d be better off letting them blow off into the bushes, turning into mulch and fertilizer.
Another option is to run the lawn mower over them and let them feed the lawn, however if you have substantial leaves that you can’t see the lawn underneath, the leaves will smother and kill the grass long before they turn into fertilizer. You are gong to have to collect the leaves from your lawn and there really aren’t that many options.
Leaf Clean Up Options
Bagging system to your lawn mower for easy leaf clean up. This is nice with lawn tractors for a large property, mature trees or a bad back, a leaf bagger will make your life much easier. The leaves will need to be dry or you will clog the mower and the bagger attachment.
Click here to visit Ryno Lawn Care’s leaf cleanup service page!
Hand Held Leaf Blower/Vacuum are very popular in residential neighborhoods, but they are loud, heavy and have a strong gasoline smell. Blowers/vacs do a great job of shredding dry leaves and they make quick work of clearing leaves, however, don’t work well on wet leaves.
Raking is not glamorous and if you have a large property to clear could take some time. Today there are many more options when choosing a lawn rake. Ergonomic rakes, the type with the bent handle, are much easier on the back, once you learn to let the rake do the work.
- Foam-cushioned handles help prevent blisters and wrist and hand injuries.
- Wider rakes cut down on actually raking time.
- Expanding rakes allow you to use the widest bow to rack the lawn and narrow the bow when you need to get between bushes or structures.
- They’ve even developed ‘clog-free’ rakes!
Don’t Throw Away Your Leaves
Don’t push the leaves to the curb for pick up. Fall leaves have value as mulch and compost. Leaf mold, or semi-rotting leaves, is high in nutrients and adds substantial organic matter to your soil. The bottom of the pile will begin decomposing first and can be used as a soil amendment or mulch and this helps your early spring lawn care.
Shredding Leaves For Mulch
Shredded leaves can also be used as a mulch. The leaves must be dry to shred, but moisten them immediately after mulching or the wind will carry them all back onto your lawn. Don’t use whole leaves because leaves will stick together and form a dense layer that won’t allow water to pass through.
Using Leaves As Compost
Both shredded and whole leaves can be used as the ‘brown’ component in your active compost pile. As we mentioned above, dry leaves piled alone will eventually decompose into leaf mold, which is a type of compost. But combining dry leaves with green garden waste will result in an actively decomposing pile and will speed the process.
Ryno Lawn Care can handle any property size for leaf clean up. Just call or request a quote for a personalized estimate.
Related Link: Cutting Grass in the Winter- Is It Neceassry?
One Response
Reading this article gave me flashbacks of having to rake leaves as a child. It wasn’t bad when I was young and liked jumping in big piles of leaves (I still would, but I don’t want to throw out my back). Fortunately, there aren’t a lot of leaves on my property anymore because the town had to cut down both our trees. The new ones haven’t grown enough to be much of an issue. I like these different options because I hate raking and dislike leaf blowers for the reasons mentioned.