It is completely normal to worry about leaf coverage on your lawn in the fall. We’re often asked many questions regarding leaves on the lawn by our customers. Here’s what you should know:
Even with some leaf coverage, if the grass is still somewhat visible, we can still fertilize the lawn. Some of the product may land on the leaves but with rain, wind and even raking and blowing, the fertilizer granules will make their way to the grass and soil. If a lawn is completely covered with leaves and debris, that’s another story. We train our technicians to decide whether or not, in their professional opinion, they think the leaf coverage will interfere with the application. In some cases our techs. apply a little more product just to ensure its effectiveness through the leaf layers. If they think the coverage is too thick to service at all, they’ll notify the office and we’ll reschedule the service for a later date in hopes of giving our customers enough time for a yard clean up. One thing we do not recommend is skipping your last fertilizer service. The last treatment of the year is the lawn’s last chance to take in nutrients to store, absorb and survive off of during the winter. Do what you can to get the leaves cleaned up in time for our service or let our technician decide how to proceed.
If your property has a lot of trees and the leaves are falling in great quantities, we recommend raking or blowing once a week to give your grass a chance to breathe. Letting the leaves stay on for too long can suffocate the grass. If you absolutely cannot clean up the yard every week, we recommend doing at least once right before the winter because that’s when they can cause real damage. During the winter, a thick layer of leaves can block sunlight, trap moisture, obstruct oxygen flow and overall create a horrible environment for the grass to be dormant in. It is very likely that areas with a lot of leaves will be left dead or bare come the spring.
If leaf coverage is relatively light, feel free to mulch them into your lawn. In other words, it’s okay to mow over the leaves and leave them on the lawn as long as there are not too many. Leaves and other organic material can provide nutrients to your lawn and they give the soil’s microbes something to feed on. If you’re not sure about the amount of leaves on your lawn, it’s best to clean them up to be safe.
