Do you want it tidy?
Do you feel that leaves are litter?
Are you afraid of what the neighbors will think if you don’t rake up the leaves?
Is your yard waste brownbagged and taken to the curb? Or are you using leaves to mulch your garden?
Most people are leaf blowing (loudly) and raking up the fallen leaves on their lawn and garden
but here’s another point of view-
“When you don’t rake or leaf-blow in the fall, this affects the soil and the biological life in your yard, lawn and garden in a positive way.”
“Raking Leaves Is Pointless—and Bad for Your Yard Scouring your yard clean is a waste of time and deprives your soil of valuable nutrients”
Another discussion here in this article
And an article from the University of Maine
To Rake or Not to Rake
By Rebecca Long, Coordinator of Horticulture Training Programs, UMaine Cooperative Extension
“The aesthetic preference for a clean lawn, either your own or your neighbors’ (especially if you live in an HOA community), may also dictate your fall cleanup.”
-the leaves are sucked into a machine and the chopped bits blown into a truck to be hauled away
My father used to say “I didn’t put them there and I’m not picking them up.” However he did have us go out and rake them up. I guess there are benefits to leaving them but I suspect if left and then snowfall comes there is the potential for mold/fungus. Not sure, have not read the Maine article yet. I would vote to rake them up. I used to love when we could burn them roadside but those days are gone. dc
I love your father’s quote! ❤️
I do not rake! I used to, but it is futile. They are where they are. Until my lawn people come and blow them out.😂
Luckily the Domaine’s gardeners do all the leaf and pine needle raking.