Fall cleanup doesn’t necessarily mean raking every last leaf, stuffing it into a bag and sending it away. Those colorful leaves covering your yard can actually be a useful resource for your lawn, garden beds and the wildlife that calls your landscape home.
The secret is knowing which leaves to remove, which to mulch and which can stay right where they are.
Keep Heavy Leaves Off the Lawn
A few scattered leaves aren’t a problem, but a thick layer left sitting on your lawn can become heavy and matted, blocking sunlight and air from reaching the grass underneath.
Instead of automatically bagging them, try running your mower over dry leaves several times. Finely chopped leaves can settle down between the grass blades and gradually decompose, returning organic matter to the soil.
If the layer is still thick enough to cover the grass after mowing, rake up the excess and put those leaves to work somewhere else.
Give Your Garden Beds Some Leaves
Garden beds are a great destination for fallen leaves.
Shredded leaves can be spread around established trees, shrubs and perennials, where they’ll help cover bare soil and gradually break down. Think of them as nature’s own seasonal mulch.
Just avoid piling leaves directly against tree trunks or covering the crowns of perennials with a thick, wet layer.
Let Some Areas Stay a Little Messy
Not every corner of the yard needs to be perfectly cleaned.
Leaves left in woodland edges, beneath shrubs and in less formal garden areas can provide valuable shelter for insects and other small creatures through the colder months.
Leaving some plant stems standing instead of cutting everything to the ground can provide additional winter habitat too.
A slightly less tidy garden can actually be a more welcoming garden for wildlife.
Turn Extra Leaves Into Compost
Still have more leaves than you know what to do with? Add them to the compost pile.
Dry leaves provide carbon-rich material that can be combined with grass clippings and other appropriate garden debris. Shredding them first can help them break down more quickly.
You can even save a pile of dry leaves to add to your compost throughout the year.
Know When Leaves Should Go
There are times when cleanup is the better choice.
Remove leaves from walkways, steps, driveways and other surfaces where wet foliage can become slippery. Heavy accumulations should also be cleared from lawns and low-growing plants.
If certain plants experienced significant disease during the growing season, removing affected foliage rather than reusing it in the garden may also be appropriate.
Work Smarter This Fall
Fall cleanup doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing job. Instead of trying to make every inch of the landscape spotless, think about where leaves can actually do some good.
Mulch some. Compost some. Leave some. Remove what needs to go.
It’s an easier approach to fall cleanup that also makes better use of something nature gives us for free.
Stop by Whitney’s Farm for everything you need to tackle your fall lawn and garden projects and enjoy the season while you’re here!
