Forget about raking! Doesn’t that sound amazing? Autumn is right around the corner so we all know that means extra yard work with raking and prepping the grass for next spring. As the weather becomes colder and your grass becomes dormant the last few times you mow for the season cut up your leaves too, without raking.

Winter rains and snow turn fluffy layers of leaves into dense, soggy mats that can kill your grass by denying it oxygen and encouraging disease. Even during dry winters, a thick layer of leaves on your lawn blocks sunlight and reduces air circulation. If you shred your leaves into small pieces with your mower, you can leave them where they fall without suffocating your lawn.

Begin mowing on the outside edge of your lawn, making sure that you shoot the leaves toward the middle of the yard. Mowing in this pattern also allows you to mow over the leaves more than once and keeps them from ending up on your sidewalks. If the leaves are still in fairly large pieces after your first pass, go back over the lawn at a right angle to your first cut. Finely shredded leaves filter down through the grass and easily decompose by next spring.

Mulched leaves return valuable micronutrients to your lawn and gardens, especially when mixed with grass clippings and feed the worms that keep your soil and your grass healthy.

So next time you’re faced with the question – do not rake!