To rake, or not rake leaves?
 

This weekend I found my wife raking the lawn. I asked her why she was doing this. She said she didn't know, she just always raked in the fall.

So, we looked up why you're supposed to rake. I guess the the leaves block the sun and can kill the grass. It also is a good idea to dethatch the lawn (get up the dead grass clippings) so the lawn can breathe.

Okay, this makes sense. Kind of a huge pain with a big yard though. I've never really raked leaves before and the lawn has never been that bad (never been great either admittedly). I really don't like the idea of raking leaves and having them hauled off by trucks. So, if I do end up raking, I'll definitly just throw them on in a pile and decompose them on my own land.

Do you rake and dethatch, or just let leaves decompose over winter and spring?

We just moved into a development so we aren't going to have too many leaves in our yard for at least the next few years. In the last place I lived I was renting as a college student so I didn't care about the lawn. The place I lived before that was with my parents and we lived on an acreage between a couple of towns in the area so we didn't have to worry about what people saw. We did rake once in awhile out there but it was usually only after a storm when there were a lot of twigs on the ground, or to make piles for us to jump in.

My verdict; it's fall that's the way the world works. I am not a lawn care enthusiast like some, so I would leave them be.

Leaves will kill the grass like mad, but if you don't care, then whatever. I rather fancy grass so you have something to run around in in bare feet, but if you want to do something different with your lawn than go for it. I think the most important thing, however, is just to not leave them sitting there all winter.

Plus they make for good compost.

Leaves can become a problem especially if they are wet. They then form a thick mat. I just mow over them with the lawn mower usually without bagging them. I have to mow slower in the areas with a lot of leaves and sometimes I have to spread out the mowed grass and leaves so there are no clumps but it seems to work without harming the grass.

if you plan to garden, then raking and composting is the way to go IMO. can't beat free plant food right?!?

What he said. :thumbup:
Plus, my 7th grader son just informed me last weekend that 'leaf tea' has a chemical in it that inhibits other things from growing and competing with the tree.