Keeping your lawn cleaned up during the fall isn't just about making your lawn look nice; regular fall cleanup is actually essential for the overall health of your lawn in the long run. What you do--or don’t do--in the fall could potentially help or hurt your lawn in the spring.
Fall is here. For many people, it is a time for putting up decorations, sipping pumpkin-flavored drinks, and enjoying the changing colors. For homeowners, however, there is one all-important step that shouldn’t be forgotten amidst autumn preparations: fall lawn cleanup, particularly the task of raking leaves off the lawn. Keeping your lawn cleaned up during the fall isn’t just about making your lawn look nice; regular fall cleanup is actually essential for the overall health of your lawn in the long run. What you do–or don’t do–in the fall could potentially help or hurt your lawn in the spring.
How Leaves Negatively Impact Lawn Health
There are many different ways that leaves left to accumulate on your lawn during the fall can negatively impact your lawn health. In general terms, your lawn needs to “breathe”; leaving a layer of leaves on your lawn will make it difficult for the grass and roots underneath to get enough healthy air, water, and nutrients. Over time, as the layer of leaves grows and is even covered by snow during the winter, it will effectively smother the lawn underneath. This can even go so far as to prevent new growth during the next spring growing season.
In addition to impacting lawn growth, accumulated leaves can encourage a variety of other health issues, such as diseases or pests. Pests love to use piles of leaves as shelter during the winter; they may even use them as nests, laying eggs or young inside.
How Thorough Does Fall Raking Need to Be?
You don’t have to rake up every single leaf on your lawn; not only would this be impractical, it could lead to you over-raking to the point that you’re damaging the grass and soil underneath. However, you should strive to ensure that there are no large piles of leaves (as these attract pests) and that there is not a blanketed layer of leaves covering any area of the lawn. If you find the task of raking difficult, you could opt to use a leaf blower, which will take less time and be more efficient.
Other Types of Fall Lawn Cleanup
In addition to raking, you should engage in other types of fall cleanup that will help your lawn stay healthy and beautiful. Regularly inspect your lawn for items such as sticks or debris blown into your yard by fall winds; if you will be putting up decorations in the lawn, opt for decorations that can be wrapped around trees or placed on existing hooks and poles. If you must stick anything into the ground, make sure that you plan ahead so that your lawn doesn’t end up full of holes in the autumn.
If you can, consider fall your last opportunity to fertilize your lawn before the cold weather of winter sets in; it may seem counterproductive to fertilize during the fall, but you aren’t fertilizing your lawn so that it looks good in wintertime: you’ll be fertilizing it so that it can grow thicker and more lush during the next spring.
Remember, fall is a crucial period for your lawn’s health: fall cleanup, including raking, will help to keep your lawn at its healthiest all year round.
