OT: Why do we rake leaves?

[happymomma]

Okay, I think this may be a dumb question but I've just spent the past couple of hours raking leaves. We just moved into our new house and it's the first time we have a backyard. So there are a lot of leaves in the backyard. I've filled 8 bag full of leaves. I don't think I've gotten all the leaves.

I was told once that the reason that you want to rake the leaves is b/c you don't want the grass to suffocate in the winter. Is that right? So I've tried to rake as much leaves as possible. But there are areas of the yard that has mulch and there's a lot of leaves there. Is it bad to leave it there or should I be raking that area too?

Any advice would be appreciated. I am still new at this and I found it to be so exhausting.

[WatchingThemGrow]

MIL: To cross it off the list and count how many sheets of leaves we rake each year:dizzy:
DH: To get them to the street before the leaf-sucking truck comes
Me: I want to see the grass as long as possible
Neighbor walking by a few min ago: Don't rake. Let my dog's poop. settle on those leaves - Yes, I opened the door and said, "Excuse me. Please pick that up. Don't leave it in my yard. Thank you!" :32:

IME, leaving them there (or in a huge piles that never gets moved) really does kill the grass beneath. Before DH, I left a couple piles and had huge nasty bald spots in the yard the entire next summer. Actually, they may still kinda be there 4 years later.

[sariana]

I think you can leave the leaves (uh, yeah, no pun intended-sorry) in the mulched areas. The leaves will serve the same purpose as the mulch. I don't really know why leaves need to be raked, but your explanation sounds logical to me. I do know that we have a mulching lawn mower that chops up the leaves and leaves (ugh, there it is again) behind the pieces. But in the fall DH would bag up most of it because otherwise it would overwhelm the grass.

That was in MI. We live in SoCal now, so it's not really an issue. We get some leaves on the ground, but there are more palm trees in our neighborhood, probably because they are resistant to the high winds we get here.

[Rainbows&Roses]

It will kill the grass if you leave them there long enough. Also decaying leaves are a major breeding ground for mosquitoes in the Spring.

[maestramommy]

I was told by one of my neighbors that if you don't rake the leaves, the grass under it will rot over the winter. Interesting if true.

[maestramommy]

Also decaying leaves are a major breeding ground for mosquitoes in the Spring.

Okay, this is incentive enough for me to rake our leaves. We get enough of those buggers as it is. We were getting them in late Oct even though it was getting pretty cold already. I was insulted when I got bitten. :p

[DrSally]

That's right, the grass underneith will rot if you leave the leaves. It would prob be ok to leave them in mulched areas?

[lablover]

Yes, you can leave them in mulched areas. My dad always rakes them up and leaves them right around the trees, as it acts like mulch.

[happymomma]

Thanks! At least I don't have to go through and rake the mulch area. I'm so glad to be done until more leaves fall down.

[Rainbows&Roses]

Okay, this is incentive enough for me to rake our leaves. We get enough of those buggers as it is. We were getting them in late Oct even though it was getting pretty cold already. I was insulted when I got bitten. :p

Yes. I have read it is as bad as standing water once the leaves are compacted and rotting. If someone has a mosquito issue, I wouldn't even use them as mulch.

[scoop22]

i spent lots of hours raking as a young girl. i would always say i am moving to a house with no leaves. this wasn't really a requirement but our yard does not have a tree on it.. :applause: no raking here. the leaves from the neighbors come over but oh well. this is one chore i hated.

good luck! sometimes the leaves seem like they never go away

[trales]

Many types of leaves are acidic, as they break down, they acidify the soil, combined with acid rain and nitrogen deposition can lead to a dead lawn. You can pile oak leaves under azealas and rhododendron bushes will give them the right amount of acid to bloom more in the spring.

[bubbaray]

Another reason -- mold. If you have allergies to mold, or you have plants in your garden that are susceptible to mold, you need to rake them up asap.

[DrSally]

i spent lots of hours raking as a young girl. i would always say i am moving to a house with no leaves. this wasn't really a requirement but our yard does not have a tree on it.. :applause: no raking here. the leaves from the neighbors come over but oh well. this is one chore i hated.

good luck! sometimes the leaves seem like they never go away

I remember spending a lot of time raking as a girl too. When we were in CT with an acre of wooded land, we actually hired it out b/c it was so much and we had to do it so many times. They would blow it onto a gianormous tarp and haul it over the edge of our lot into a gully.

[elaineandmichaelsmommy]

We just wait until the tree is done and then run them over with the lawn mower. I know. lazy,lazy,lazy us. I remember being a young girl and people burning leaf pile in the gutters. I miss the smell of that actually. But I figure the mulch is good for the grass.

[Kyras mom]

A leaf sucking truck? Never heard of such a thing. Do you just rake the leaves to the curb and the truck vacuums them away? Sounds cool.