Does not raking leaves kill the grass? I tried searching this question and an answer was not clear. Some said that it was a myth. Does anyone have actual experience to share? I didn't get my leaves raked last fall and it didn't seem to kill the grass.
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If they are thick enough it cuts off air and will turn the grass brown. And if you get a layer of snow on top of that yet, you will not have a pretty yard in the spring. Also, if you have a wet winter it can develop mold and screw up your lawn. If you are not going to take them off, at least mulch them with the lawnmower. That is what our township suggested.
Barnie2years
Level 8
Nov 9, 2018
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Do you actual experience?
@Stephanie99,Yes, leaving fallen leaves to decompose does return valuable nutrients to the soil, provides habitat for lots of important and valuable insect species over winter, and acts as a natural mulch. Unfortunately, the article was not exceedingly clear about one place you do NOT want to just leave your leaves: your lawn.
The only way to leave the leaves on your lawn is to chop them finely with a mulching mower or a leaf shredder, or shred them in a trash can with a string trimmer, then return them to the lawn. (We describe how to do that in this newsletter article that we also wrote a year ago that didn’t go viral…oh well) You cannot leave a layer of fallen leaves as-is on your lawn…unless you want to have to do a lot of lawn repair next year. Layers of leaves block sunlight and trap excess moisture against the lawn, resulting in bare patches come spring.
@Stephanie99, I used to have tons of leaves. Sometimes the snow would beat me to the last raking. It did leave my grass brown for the early spring. It comes back over time. Leaves are good for the forest floor, they help feed the plants and trees. Ever notice there isn’t much grass in the forest?
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