Why Rake?

[Carols Clucks]

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This was my dad's theory as well, and not all that popular back in the late 60's early 70's. He always say where it drops is stays. I once cleaned up all the walnut tree leaves and he had a fit and made me put them all back.


It does work to make some good soil, but depending on your trees you might need to rake and compost elsewhere to better meet your gardening needs. Or to deal with the tree that is dropping the leaves.

We have a giant Jacaranda in the front yard (big tree with purple crepe paper feeling flowers) BEAUTIFUL tree.....talk about a constant mess! One season it is tiny tiny leaves that stick to each other, next these soft flowers that fall and mat and then comes thousands of long thin sticks. Oh and then the clam sized seed pods....


My dad's just letting it decompose left me with load after load of soft fine soil to dig up and move from the driveway and front yard. We did move it and use it else where but no idea how many yards we had...and now we can see the pavement on the drive way again!

 

[Two Creeks Farm]

Alot depends on how many and what type of trees you have. On our family farm, the farm house and meat house were surrounded by 27 huge red oaks. The leaves would be knee deep. If we wanted grass we had to get them out of there. Here on our place, we have a few trees surrounding the house and I just mow and put them in the garden, the other 15 acres can take care of itself. I do keep them out away from the foundation, the dampness they hold isnt good for the concrete, and a healthy layer of leaves is a huge breeding ground for insects. Out here, we have a war with bugs, maybe in suburbia it isnt as big of an issue.

In my deer food plots, I till them in and they do a great job of keeping the soil in shape.

 

[KenK]

In the fall I keep my eyes open for people that rake and bag their leaves. Load them up and bring them home for the garden. Most people just pile them at the curb and the town has a big vacuum truck that comes and gets them.

We rake some pine straw and use it as mulch around shrubs and the like.

 

[RollinWithTheStones]

I scoop up a tote full for the compost and my husband mows the rest.

 

[dainerra]

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I wish! I put woodchips over my entire front yard and there's a few spot where grass is trying to peek up through. Ugh. I'm going to have to put more woodchips I think. Or rake the woodchips away and put down plastic sheeting in those spots and then cover it back up again.

this is considered to be a subsection of Murphy's Law.... If you want the grass to die, then it will live. If you want to have a manicured lawn, a single leaf will kill off a 1foot square

We don't rake ours either. we just run them over with the mulching mower, best of both worlds. They decompose extra fast and fertilize the lawn, without all the effort of raking.

 

[mom'sfolly]

We rake, mulch, bag, and spread in the chicken run. It helps cover the dirt and keeps the dust down. I'm going to be spreading the last two spring bags in the next couple of days. Just for the record, living in Texas I get the normal fall leaves...rake, mulch, bag.....and then in the spring the live oaks shed their leaves.....rake, mulch, bag. Sometimes I wished I lived with conifers or real deciduous trees.

 

[SimplyMe_AngieD]

This year we are raking. But only to put them in the compost pile and to dump them into the coop run. My hens love scratching through the leaves.