Reasons to Remove Leaves from the Yard in the Fall

Mother Nature puts on her gaudiest finery in autumn when the leaves change color. Brilliant reds, golds and oranges against a backdrop of evergreen; she really puts on a show! If only she would learn to pick up after herself.

That's left to us instead, and while we might grouse and grumble about having to clean up the unsightly mess, it must be done for the health of our lawns and the good opinion of our neighbors. Spiders and insects love to hide in the moldering leaves. That mold can infect healthy lawns, which can become problematic for sensitive individuals. The leaves will become matted with autumn rains if left on the ground, and keep the grass from getting the sunlight it needs to thrive. Eventually those fallen leaves will freeze into an impenetrable shield, suffocating and starving the grass underneath.

It's not all downside once the show is over. With a little manual labor, we can take advantage of Mother Nature's careless generosity.

Think of it as good exercise in the fresh air. Rake the leaves into piles and let your kids jump in them. Run the lawn mower over the piles and turn them into a fine organic mulch for your flower beds or the dormant vegetable garden. Take off the bag attachment on your mower and mulch them right into the grass as an autumn meal. Add them to your compost pile to be turned into garden gold for next spring. If you don't have a compost pile, many communities allow you to rake the leaves into the streets, which are then picked up and turned into humus to be given away the following spring to any citizen who turns up with bags and a shovel to collect it.