Dealing with Leaves and your Lawn

Fall is here in Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut. Once the leaves begin to fall in early autumn, homeowners around the country wonder what they are going to do with all those pesky leaves scattered about their lawn. While each lawn is different, one fact remains. Those leaves should NOT be left alone for any extended period of time. If you let the leaves lie on your lawn for longer than a month or so, the lawn beneath them could die and leave ugly patches that can be an even bigger pain to deal with than taking the steps to get rid of them. Contact New England Lawn Care if you have questions.

Disperse or Pick up?

Fall weather is actually a great time for grass growth. With the warmer weather during the day and cold nights, your lawn will love it. Too many leaves on that lawn will create a shadowy, soggy place for bugs and snow mold. So what should you do? The best thing for you to do at first is mow the leaves like you normally would with your lawnmower but remove the bag and attach a mulcher. The ground-up leaves provide nutrients to your lawn. Keep in mind that too many decomposing leaves can be detrimental to your lawn. Once you feel you have enough of your lawn covered, you can start picking up the new leaves.

Keep to your Schedule

There are many different methods to cleaning up the leaves that continue to fall throughout the months. Some people decide to wait until all the leaves have fallen before they pick them up. That could work, but your best course of action is a weekly leaf cleanup. This is an extremely laborious process and it would be better for you (and your back) to spread the work out over several weeks.

Where do they all go?

Typically if you are making a compost pile, you’ll want to start raking and gathering leaves at the farthest point and rake towards your pile. You can also use a tarp to easily dispose of the leaves in a proper container or deep into the woods behind your home. (depending on your location)