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09/24/07, 05:53 PM
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CF, Classroom & Books Mod
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Manitoba, Canada
Posts: 9,936
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To Rake or Not to Rake... that is the question...
Okay, I've heard both schools of thought: fall leaves provide important fertization, etc... and also that fall leaves will "burn" your lawn if left.
I have about three dozen really BIG cottonwoods, and three times that many Manitoba maples. We have a LOT of leaves. Spread all over the approximate two acres of yard.
My question is, will my grass be better next year if I rake, or if I don't? 
__________________
Ignorance is the true enemy.
I've seen the village, and I don't want it raising my children.
www.newcenturyhomestead.com
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09/24/07, 06:08 PM
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: western PA
Posts: 3,780
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don't rake.........mow 
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09/24/07, 06:10 PM
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More dharma, less drama.
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas Coastal Bend/S. Missouri
Posts: 30,490
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If you are in the boonies, do you care about grass?
If you are in a neighborhood, you probably *do* care.
Boonies - don't rake.
Neighborhood - rake or mow with mulching mower.
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Alice
* * *
"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus
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09/24/07, 07:48 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: North Alabama
Posts: 2,877
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I dont know which is better but we just leave them till spring then we mow over them. I like to smell them and see them on the ground. We have lots of trees in our yard and I do have to sweep porches and decks all the time in the fall and I keep them off the walkways so no one will slip or anything, the rest stay.
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Just because you're offended doesn't mean you're right.
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09/24/07, 07:53 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 19,807
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I'd rake and then bag or pile up for the first part of the season. For the last couple of mowings (when most of the leaves are off the trees), I'd go ahead and mulching mow it to feed the lawn.
Then next Spring, you can use the leaves as mulch for the garden, or just let them sit in a pile and become lovely leaf mold.
Pony!
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09/24/07, 08:24 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Alabama
Posts: 7,087
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Mow into compost heap if you catch mowings, and to save grass if there is grass under the leaves. No catch on your mower? Get one? Mow in circles til it's in one pile?
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09/24/07, 08:34 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 10,942
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If you have leaves aput a foot in hight rake them. If they are less than a foot in hight mow them. Mowing them will help them break down and be good fertiliser for grass. If they are too many of them then reke them and pile them in your compoet pile and make mulch out of them.
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God must have loved stupid people because he made so many of them.
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09/24/07, 08:39 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: WI
Posts: 1,649
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by heather
don't rake.........mow |
We mow. Leaves break down faster, easier on back.
deb
in wi
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09/24/07, 08:48 PM
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Bag them up and then next spring till them into your garden.
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09/24/07, 09:01 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: MS
Posts: 24,572
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We let the wind blow ours away.
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09/24/07, 09:19 PM
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Happiness is Homemade
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Kenefick Texas
Posts: 3,512
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Burn em! (oops my inner pyromaniac is rearing its ugly head)
my lawn is the greenest where I burn.
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09/24/07, 09:26 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,278
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I rake them. (blow them actually) I can't stand my place looking like a mess for six months of the year. Leaves fall in October, and the grass doesn't start to grow until May.
Pete
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09/24/07, 09:32 PM
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Moderator
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Ontario
Posts: 12,685
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If I cared a fig about my lawn grass I'd rake them and compost them, I don't and in places we lack a lush green lawn. Except for thistle and nettles my lawn decides what survives and dies, it does get mown, ...... and fed to lambs, unless the little manure spreaders break in and graze. If you want tame grass and no bear spots you should probably get busy.
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Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup........
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09/24/07, 09:39 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Beautiful North Idaho
Posts: 110
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I vote for rake...
I have tried it both ways and if you have alot of leaves it will turn into a big slimy wet mess that takes 3 times as much energy and work to get up off the lawn. I SPEAK FROM EXPERIENCE!! Sorry to yell, but it was one of the most miserable years in my yard. I gladly send the boys out to rake every fall now.. 
Blessings,
Jennifer
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09/25/07, 10:07 AM
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Icelandic Sheep
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: Northeast Ohio
Posts: 3,344
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I rake for mulch and because I like it. When I have enough mulch, I stop raking. The remainder blow away. I haven't had them damage the grass yet...
RedTartan
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09/25/07, 10:18 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: N. E. TX
Posts: 29,598
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by deb
We mow. Leaves break down faster, easier on back.
deb
in wi
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We mow too & you can't see any leaves when done. 'Gooder' for the lawn too.
Patty
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09/25/07, 10:30 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 419
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Do what makes you happy. The only leaves that will "burn" the lawn are black walnut since they contain a natural herbicide. If you have a big weedy patch, smother it in black walnut leaves
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09/25/07, 03:48 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 2,963
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I attach a vac to my rider, suck them up while mowing, and make a nice big compost pile. The vac shreds them up, speeding decay.
__________________
Jim Steele
Sweetpea Farms
"To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing." -- Robert Gates
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09/25/07, 05:01 PM
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Almst livin the good life
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: W. Washington State
Posts: 1,126
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We have many LARGE big leaf maple trees, and their leaves will KILL the grass, whether pasture or lawn. So, if we want maximum pasture for our critters, we have to remove the leaves. We blow huge piles onto a large plastic tarp, hook the tarp to our riding lawn mower, and drag the stuff to either our veg garden or our raspberry patch. keeps the weeds down between the rows of canes, and sure does cut down on the weeds in the garden too. Our Stihl blower was on of our best farm tool investments! Raking would take forever, and we don't have a pick-up attachement for our mower. Besides, mowing into little pieces does not remove the problem.
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09/25/07, 05:14 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 10,942
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by kabri
We have many LARGE big leaf maple trees, and their leaves will KILL the grass, whether pasture or lawn. So, if we want maximum pasture for our critters, we have to remove the leaves. We blow huge piles onto a large plastic tarp, hook the tarp to our riding lawn mower, and drag the stuff to either our veg garden or our raspberry patch. keeps the weeds down between the rows of canes, and sure does cut down on the weeds in the garden too. Our Stihl blower was on of our best farm tool investments! Raking would take forever, and we don't have a pick-up attachement for our mower. Besides, mowing into little pieces does not remove the problem.
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If they kill grass will it make your vegetables die also?
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God must have loved stupid people because he made so many of them.
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