Keeping leaves picked up is one of the most important lawn care chores you can do this fall to prevent damage to your lawn
We know keeping grass growing well in a shady lawn can be tough. One main cause of thin and bare areas in your lawn is leaves that have been left on the lawn for too long in the fall. These leaves create a blanket over your healthy lawn that prevent it from getting the sun it needs to grow. Doing a regular fall lawn leaf cleanup on your lawn is the best way to make sure you don’t have any new bare spots next spring.
We know that fall and early winter is such an important time for lawns to build up reserves of energy to feed themselves over the winter. It takes nutrients, water and sunlight to create this fuel. By allowing leaves to remain on the lawn more than a few days, we take the sunlight away. By taking the sunlight away, we remove one of the key building blocks of a great grass plant that is able to survive the winter. We don’t worry much about fertilizer getting through leaves because fertilizer is heavier than leaves. Water typically gets under or right through fallen leaves in all but the worst cases of matted leaves. Sunlight not getting through a layer of compacted leaves is the main reason your lawn thins out under trees.
A note on seeded lawns.
If you seeded your lawn this fall, your new grass is particularly susceptible to damage from fallen leaves. The new little grass plants spend so much energy producing new leaf and root tissue that they do not have time to store away energy like full grown grass plants do. A few scattered leaves on the lawn is no cause for concern. If you start seeing areas of leaves matted down and creating layers of leaves, it is time to pick them up. It is best not to let the lawn go more than a week or two between leaf cleanups on a seeded lawn.
3 things you need to be doing this fall to create the best lawn next spring
Don’t like picking leaves up?
A good idea is to mulch the leaves where they lay on the lawn. Make sure you rake the matted leaves up before mowing, they can easily be missed by a mower if they stay stuck to the ground. According to research reported on by the Kansas State University mulching leaves has no negative effect on your lawn. Make sure you do it often enough that you don’t end up with more than 6 inches of leaves on the lawn. Be sure to run over the leaves enough times that they are fine enough to fall down through the grass. If you mulch the leaves, they will be fine enough to filter down below the grass blades and your lawn will be able to make the fuel it needs to last through the winter.
How can we help?
Custom Lawn wants to help with your fall leaf cleanup if you are overwhelmed. You may just need us come pick up a pile of leaves you have made for us. You might need a complete lawn leaf cleanup program where we come visit 3 or 4 times throughout the fall. We have a solution for you. Visit our leaf cleanup page, dial 913-782-8315 or email service@customlawn.com for more information.
