I think nearly everyone agrees that fall foliage is beautiful – personally I'm a huge fan. But most people don't seem to love it when the leaves start falling onto their lawn. Many people expend lots of energy and spend lots of their precious free time raking leaves. And worse, all those leaves get placed in the green bin to be taken away to the recycling center, plus leaf blowers make noisy interruptions to peaceful Saturdays.

So I declare…it's a mistake to rake (or leaf-blow for that matter)! Leaves contain some of the nutrients that trees and shrubs have taken out of the soil, so of course it makes perfect sense to give it back to the lawn. After all, nobody rakes up all those leaves that have fallen out in the natural environment, so why should we do it at our homes and in our public spaces?

However, not only is it not the best look to have leaves left scattered on a lawn (and some neighborhoods don't actually allow it), it's also not actually healthy just to leave them intact because they could smother the lawn, so a mulching lawnmower is the best remedy. This works best in early fall when the first leaves are coming down and grass still benefits from mowing. Keep in mind that it may take a few passes to get the leaves shredded to a small size (appx. ½ inch in diameter).

Still too many leaves, can't see the lawn anymore? Then reattach the bag to your lawnmower and go over the grass to collect some of the mulched leaves that you can add either to your active compost or even your garden beds to decompose with the winter rains. You'll save money and time on fertilizing in the fall and you'll have a healthier lawn in the spring, better garden beds and richer compost.

So spread the word to your neighbors and friends … it's a mistake to rake! ;) But truly, the biggest mistake would be tossing all of those nutrient-rich gems into the green bin (just don't tell the recycling centers I said so!).
Happy Fall to all!!