Should You Stop Raking Leaves?

While we all love those big mature trees in our backyard during the summertime when they provide shade and help keep down the cooling costs of our home, once fall rolls around and those trees start dropping leaves, we’re all quick to complain. Homeowners all across the city grumble as they grab their rakes again and again throughout the season to clean up the seemingly never-ending layer of crunchy leaves covering their property. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself, should you? 

While raking is just as ingrained into our habits as mowing in the summertime, there may actually be cause to break this tradition and let the leaves lie as they please. Perhaps it’s time for homeowners to release the shackles of the rake and spend more time enjoying autumnal activities like sipping pumpkin-spiced beverages and paying farmers a modest cost to have the privilege of harvesting their apples for them. 

So, should you stop raking your leaves? Well, to answer that, we’ll need to take a closer look at the pros and cons of leaves on your lawn. 

The Benefits Of Raking Leaves

There has to be something said for the sense of pride that you get from a job well done once you’ve raked up all of the leaves in your yard and all that beautiful green grass looks bright and pristine. So while you might begrudge the idea of picking up that rake, here are some of the benefits of raking. 

Curb Appeal: There is no denying that a mess of brown and decaying leaves on a lawn looks less appealing than freshly-raked ones. 

Neighbourly Consideration: Leaving your lawn scattered with leaves can give off the impression that you’re lazy or that your property isn’t well cared for. Just like no one wants to be that one neighbour who lets their grass grow too long in the summertime, no one wants to be that neighbour who doesn’t rake their leaves. 

Health: While it might be annoying to do, raking is actually a wonderful way to get some fresh air and exercise. If you throw on headphones and listen to a podcast or audiobook while you rake, it can be stimulating for the mind as well. 

Caring For The Grass: While you’re raking up the leaves, you’re actually also raking out thatch, which is dead grass tissue. Thatch needs to be raked out of your grass anyway if you want to have healthier grass, so raking leaves can be a two-birds-one-stone scenario. 

Caring For The Trees: Some leaves can carry leaf spot disease which, when left to decompose around trees and other living things, can spread the infection to trees and shrubs.

Feeding The Grass: A layer of leaves on your lawn can block your grass from absorbing sunlight. Since plants turn sunlight into food through photosynthesis, a thick layer of leaves can actually starve and kill your grass, leaving brown spots. 

Benefits Of Not Raking 

Now that we’ve gone through all of the reasons TO rake, it’s time for what you really came into this article to read: all of the excuses you can use to avoid raking your lawn. Since we all know that stress is bad for your health if raking your lawn has you stressed out, just know that all of the following benefits of not raking make great reasons to not stress yourself out and to just let the leaves stay on your lawn. After all, snow will be here soon enough to cover them all up anyway. 

Thirsty Grass: Moisture naturally evaporates off of your grass from the sunshine. When there is a light layer of leaves on your grass, that moisture is kept in. If you had a particularly dry summer or if your grass tends to be on the dryer side, then leaving the leaves can help them absorb more moisture before the winter hits, helping them grow stronger roots. 

Weeds: If you have particularly weedy grass, then leave the leaves alone. The layer of leaves will actually suppress weeds, stunting their growth, and making them easier to get rid of in the spring. 

Nutrients: As the leaves decay and break down they actually release essential nutrients that feed the soil below, helping your grass and plants to thrive. 

Disposal: When leaves are disposed of incorrectly, it’s actually really bad for the environment. If you miss yard waste day and just throw leaves in with the garbage, then the leaves will create harmful methane gasses as they break down in the landfill. Or, if you burn them instead, they can send particles into the air that are harmful to breathe!  

Feeding Birds: As the leaves break down and decay, they’ll attract insects that help them break down. This becomes food for birds, which is especially helpful in the springtime when birds are looking to feed their babies. 

Butterflies: Fallen leaves also create an excellent habitat for the pupa to grow. In the springtime, you can watch them turn into butterflies as they fly away! 

Final Thoughts 

So should you stop raking your leaves? Well, it’s really up to you. There are environmentally friendly reasons to let the leaves fall and stay on your grass throughout the season until they decay completely in the springtime. And having one less thing on your to-do list is a nice feeling! But we’ve become pretty accustomed to maintaining a certain look in our neighbourhoods and a well-kept lawn is one of those things. Plus, there is the quintessential autumnal activity of raking up leaves into a pile and jumping into them. 

Whatever you choose to do this fall, just know that you’re right. Whether you rake or you don’t, you can go forth feeling good about your decision.