After all, it’s an awful lot of work.
However, in some cases,raking the leavesmay be important for the health of your yard.
Benefits of Raking Leaves
Raking leaves offer many benefits, both to you and to your property.
Steve Prezant / Getty Images
The most important benefit of raking leaves is that it will help your grass grow.
Having a few leftover leaves can’t hurt your lawn.
But there’s a fine line between early and late autumn raking.
The Spruce / Valerie DeLeon
Regardless of your preferred schedule, wait until the leaves are dry to make them easier to rake.
Spring raking is also another time for this chore.
Left untouched, these dead patches create thatch.
The Spruce / Steven Merkel
The first way is tocompostthem.
This method also requires that you chop up the dry leaves.
Dry mulch insulates well when arranged around plantings a few inches deep.
When the leaves break down where they fall, they return essential nutrients to the grass and soil.
Additionally, the coverage that the leaves provide preserves soil moisture and suppresses weeds.
Finally, birds and insects such as butterflies and moths depend on the fallen leaves.
Birds also raid the leaf litter to find food for their babies.
Alternatives to Raking Leaves
Raking leaves can be great exercise, but also back-breaking work.
To secure your back, try using aleaf blower.
Leaves take up space, and the plastic bags will be harmful to the environment.
To rake or not to rake?.University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension.
c’mon Don’t Burn Your Leaves.Purdue University Extension.
