One of the most asked questions during fall is, “Is it better to rake or mulch leaves?” It mostly boils down to the option that best suits your needs and situation.
While both can help prevent suffocating your grass, raking can get the job done quickly. Mulching requires extra effort, but yields added benefits. The important thing is to remove the fallen leaves so your lawn can continue to receive air and sunlight.
Should You Rake or Mulch Your Leaves?
Whether to rake or mulch leaves will depend on your situation and needs. If you simply want to remove the fallen leaves in your yard, you can go with raking. But to get the most out of the leaves, you may consider mulching instead.
Nick Pauly, lawn care expert and owner of Denver Home Pros, says the first thing most lawn care pros do when removing leaves is to use a lawn mower (with a bag) at the highest deck height to mulch and collect the majority of the leaves. Then, they leave a light layer of mulch over the entire lawn.
Pauly added that leaving some leaves improves the soil’s nutrient balance. Mulch is small enough that it won’t suffocate a lawn. But it will break down into organic compounds that can give your grass nutrients as it goes into hibernation. As the mulch decomposes over winter, it naturally preps your soil for spring.
While mulching is generally better than raking, it’s not always the best option. If you have too many wet leaves to mulch, it would be better to just bag and dispose of them. Learn about the benefits of raking vs. mulching, so you can decide which option is best for you.
Reasons to Rake Your Leaves
If you decide to rake the leaves in your yard, you can enjoy the following benefits:
Makes Your Lawn Look Neat
Having a few leaves lying around wouldn’t hurt your grass. In fact, it even adds a natural and rustic look to your landscape. However, having too many of them will make your lawn look dirty and cluttered.
Raking can help gather up these leaves quickly, whether you decide to bag them for disposal or use them for mulching.
Removes Thatch Buildup
The intermingled layer of both fresh and dead grass shoots, roots, and stems, known as thatch, can accumulate above the soil over time. You can’t stop this natural process. And unless there’s a thick layer of thatch, it’s easy to miss them since they’re not easily visible.
When you rake, you’ll be able to remove not just the leaves that cover your lawn but also the thatch hiding under them. It will help significantly lessen the chances of lawn diseases.
Note: You might think it’s a crazy thing to do, but I sometimes walk barefoot all over my lawn to get a feel of its condition. Doing so helps me check if there are areas with excess thatch, compacted soil, and other issues that need to be addressed.
Eliminates Pest Hiding Places
Critters and pests like rodents, spiders, ants, and even ticks often seek shelter and thrive in dark, moist conditions — and fallen leaves create such an environment. Even termites, which generally eat wood, are attracted to the scent of fallen leaves.
So, if you don’t want your property to be overrun by these pests, remember to eliminate their food source and hiding place by raking fallen leaves.
Serves as Good Exercise
While raking helps maintain a healthy lawn, it also can help you maintain your physical health and well-being. Of course, it may require some serious elbow grease. But doing so can help you work up a sweat, especially at the onset of the cold season (when simple exercises are not enough to make you sweat).
No one can deny that raking is a lot of work. But Sherry Rindels, Yard and Garden expert at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, says it can give your back, shoulders, arms, buttocks, and hamstrings a light to moderate workout. According to her, men can burn around 157 calories every 30 minutes of raking, while women can burn around 120 calories.
Reduces the Risk of Snow Mold
Thick layers of leaves can create an environment that encourages snow molds. So, if you let fallen leaves accumulate on your lawn, the grass underneath will remain wet and matted, causing this turf disease to manifest.
According to Christine Engelbrecht, Yard and Garden expert at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, a thorough rake of the affected areas can cause the snow molds to dry out and prevent the fungi from spreading further.
But, why would you wait until snow molds develop before raking your lawn? Engelbrecht says that one of the ways you can minimize the occurrence of snow molds is to rake up the fallen leaves in the fall.
Gives Your Lawn More Sunlight and Air
Having a thick layer of leaves on top of your lawn may look pretty, especially if they are from a shade tree like red maple. However, the leaves can block your grass from receiving sunlight, which is necessary for plants to process their food through photosynthesis. On the same note, it also limits air from reaching your grass and the soil underneath.
Raking effectively removes the leaves covering your lawn, giving your grass the sunlight and air it deserves. Plus, you won’t have to worry about wet leaves clumping together and creating an environment for molds to thrive.
Reasons to Mulch Your Leaves
Does raking sound too difficult or old-fashioned for your taste? You can mulch instead. With the right mulching lawn mower, you’ll get the best of both worlds without breaking your back. Apart from the advantages of raking, you’ll also enjoy the following benefits:
Regulates Soil Temperature
Freezing and thawing of the soil not only ruins its structure, but harsh temperatures also can kill your grasses.
Nicole Stoner, horticulture extension educator at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said that mulching protects plants during winter by helping regulate the soil temperature – preventing the constant cycle of freezing and thawing.
For instance, grass mulch can regulate soil temperature by around 3.8 degrees Fahrenheit and newspaper mulch by about 3.5 degrees.
Helps Retain Soil Moisture
Soil loses moisture in various ways, including evaporation. When too much evaporation happens, drought stress can impact your soil, leading to a lack of nutrient uptake by your grass. Even if you have drought-tolerant grass, it’s still best to retain soil moisture for your lawn to be healthy.
When you have mulch in place, it can act as a shade that reduces the amount of water lost due to exposure to direct sunlight and air movement.
Discourages Weed Growth
Spreading mulched leaves all over your lawn can create a natural barrier that prevents weeds from growing. Since mulch blocks sunlight from reaching the weed seeds, you can stop the weeds from germinating in the first place.
Even if the weed seeds have already germinated before you spread the mulched leaves, the weed seedlings will find it difficult to penetrate the mulch layer.
Makes Soil Healthier
Since tree leaves contain an adequate amount of nitrogen, which your lawn needs to stay green and healthy, using them as mulch can eliminate the need for a separate nitrogen fertilizer.
When you break down the leaf material through mulching, you’re actually creating a natural fertilizer. Throughout the fall season, leaf mulch from a 2-inch layer of fallen leaves can provide your lawn with around 1.5 pounds of potassium, 0.5 pounds of phosphorus, and 3.5 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet.
The mulched leaves will decompose faster and allow the nutrients they contain to be absorbed by the soil. Compared to just letting the leaves decompose on their own, mulched leaves are less likely to form clumps.
Easier To Do than Raking
Instead of going through the physical challenges of raking and carrying bags of leaves, mulching done with the right equipment can get the job done without wasting your weekend. Mulching lawn mowers have specialized curved blades that cut up leaves into smaller pieces.
FAQ About Raking and Mulching Leaves
What Happens if I Don’t Remove Fallen Leaves?
Choosing not to remove fallen leaves can have positive and negative effects depending on the amount of leaves left on the lawn. In smaller quantities, leaves will slowly decompose and bring nutrients back to the soil. However, too many leaves can block sunlight, suffocate your grass, and cause lawn diseases.
How Much Does Professional Leaf Removal Cost?
If you’re hiring a pro, leaf removal costs anywhere from $165 to $485. Most homeowners pay around $300, on average, depending on the amount of work involved.
What Can I Do If I Have a Thick Layer of Leaves?
When you have a thick layer of leaves to mulch, it’s better to bring down the volume of leaves first by bagging them before attempting to mulch. Also remember that if the leaves are too wet, they can smother the grass (even if you cut them into smaller pieces).
Leave the Lawn Care Tasks to the Experts
Whether you’re planning to rake or mulch your leaves, it’s important to understand that they can take away your valuable time. You don’t have to make this sacrifice to keep your lawn healthy. When you hire a lawn care pro, you can have them take care of leaf removal as well as other intensive lawn care tasks.
Main Image Credits:
Raking Leaves: Pixel-shot / Adobe Stock Free / License
Mulching Leaves: larisikstefania / Adobe Stock Free / License
