Why Should You Stop Raking Fall Leaves?

Something has to be done with all those fall leaves, but the best option for the environment (and your lawn) isn't raking, it's mulching. Learn why, and how to get started, in this episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,
Lauren bog Obam Here. To a lot of folks, some
of the best fall memories include raking and jumping in
huge piles of leaves before squeezing them into bags and
placing them by the curb to be hauled off to
the landfill. Some folks are old enough to remember when
burning leaves was standard practice. These days, however, neither is

(00:25):
looked upon with approving eyes. Raking, bagging, and hauling leaves
away might make your yard look like a show place,
but it's no longer considered environmentally friendly. Why Well, like
we said, those lawn refuse bags go to the landfill,
and according to the US Environmental Protection Agency, in yard
trimmings accounted for thirty four point seven million tons of

(00:47):
municipal solid waste. The majority of that one point three
million tons was recovered and composted or mulched in state programs,
but ten point eight million tons still went to the landfill.
That's more than eight percent of total waste generated. However,
if you have a lawn that you want to maintain,

(01:07):
getting rid of the fallen leaves is essential, because not
only will wet leaves smothering kill the grass. They can
also prevent new growth from taking hold come springtime. So
what are you to do rather than raking and bagging?
The University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Service suggests mowing
the leaves with a multure instead. A multure is a

(01:28):
machine similar to a lawnmower and that it cuts grass
as you pushed along, except it has specialized blades that
keep chopping the clippings into very fine pieces. By mulching
dry leaves, which essentially shreds them into dime sized pieces,
you've created free food for your yard. The tiny pieces
of shredded leaves will filter down between the blades of
grass and add vital nutrients like nitrogen back to the soil.

(01:51):
The ideal time to mulch the leaves is when you
can see the blades of grass start poking through the
blanket of leaves. That may mean weakly mulchings depending on
the size of your yard and the number of trees.
You don't want to completely cover your lawn with a
thick layer of mulch, though, so if the leaves get
too heavy, rake the extra ones in a pile and
then spread them around your trees or shrubs. In addition

(02:13):
to adding back nutrients, mulching your garden has other benefits.
It helps keep weeds at bay, holds moisture in the soil,
and helps moderate soil temperatures. Your lawn, trees, shrubs, and
the environment will thank you for mulching instead of raking
the leaves. Some cities and municipalities have stopped picking up
bagged yard clippings altogether, including leaves, because of the cost

(02:33):
and environmental concerns. Rather than continuing to raise taxes for
garbage pickup, they've offered mulching workshops and called on homeowners
to invest money into multures or mulching blades for lawnmowers
so that they can beautify their yards with homegrown mulch
like yard confetti. Today's episode was written by Patty Rasmussen

(02:56):
and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is production of
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