When Fall arrives, the leaves begin to fall off of the trees and bushes, and onto your yard. For many people, this is not a particularly pleasant or exciting time. In fact, for most people, this is not a pleasant or exciting time.
Leaves have a tendency to get bunched up and stuck to the ground. This makes removing them challenging. Leaves also tend to fly all over the place – especially during Fall, when there is a lot of wind – and this also makes the process of getting rid of these leaves quite challenging.
When you rake the leaves up into a big pile, where they’re all bunched up together, then it’s much easier for you to pick them up, and toss them into a compost bin.
Most people choose to rake their leaves into this pile, and for most of these people, they find it a perfectly functional, and somewhat satisfactory process. But, here’s the thing, while raking leaves does, in fact, work well enough, it isn’t exactly the most efficient, or enjoyable process, and there are actually a number of ways that you can gather up all of your leaves – so that you can then dispose of them or use them for whatever purpose – that are a lot more efficient, than just raking the leaves.
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In this guide, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the various ways that you can gather up and get rid of all of the leaves that are on your yard, without using a traditional rake. Some of these methods are a bit unorthodox, and some of them might not work very well for you, but at least one of them will be perfect for you.
We’re not just going to talk about these methods, though. They are the meat of this guide, but we are also going to dive into why it is so important for you to get rid of your leaves, once they have fallen onto the grass and plants in your yard. Then, we’ll talk a little bit about what you can do with the leaves, besides just tossing them. Finally, after that, we’ll talk about the best ways of getting rid of your leaves, without raking them.
Why Is It So Important To Get Rid Of Leaves, Once They Are On Your Yard?
When leaves fall from the trees and onto the grass and plants in your yard, a few things happen. One of which is the fact that you are unable to see the plants and grass, which makes your yard look a bit less pleasing, on an aesthetic level.
However, that’s not as important as the fact that leaves can “suffocate”, for lack of a better word, the grass and plants, and this can cause those plants and the grass to rot and decay, preventing them from being healthy and prosperous.
Part of this suffocation comes from the fact that when you have a layer of leaves on top of the grass and plants in your yard, this makes it a lot harder for things like water, sunlight, and air to flow into the grass and plants, and without these things, they will, inevitably, perish.
Without water, the grass and plants aren’t getting the nutrients that they need to survive. And, the same goes for sunlight, which is vital for plants and grass, of any sort, to live and thrive. Without sunlight, they can’t use the water and nutrients that they are receiving to grow and to remain healthy. And, of course, without air, they will rot and decay, because they aren’t receiving the air that they need to breathe and to continue living.
You don’t need to get rid of all of the leaves right away, though. But, if you leave them on the yard for more than a month-and-a-half, these layers will have formed, and these layers will be a lot harder to remove, while also causing significantly more damage to the grass and plants in your yard, because they won’t have had access to the nutrients that they need.
Instead, it’s ideal to get rid of the leaves two weeks after Fall has begun, because, by that time, most of the leaves will have fallen off, but they’re still dry and easy to remove.
Ultimately, leaves, when left on your yard for a long enough period, prevent the growth and sustenance of your plants and grass, and this causes your plants and grass to decay, and then die.
What Can You Do With Leaves, Besides Just Tossing Them Away?
So, the most common use for leaves is that of composting them. And, this makes perfect sense, because leaves decompose very quickly, and this allows you to then put them back into the environment within a relatively short period. If you need some extra mulch, then composting is the ideal choice. Even if you aren’t, giving them to the community garden, or a neighbor, to use as compost is not a bad choice.
You can also take the leaves, and then cut them down into very small chunks. Chunks that won’t block the sun from reaching the grass and plants in your yard. Then, you can lay out these small chunks all across your yard. By doing this, you allow these chunks to then fall into the soil, and during the Winter, they will break down, and add some extra nutrients to your grass and plants.
If you need some insulation for your home, or a shed, for example, then you can take those fallen leaves and put them in garbage bags. Then, you take these garbage bags and put them in areas that especially cold in your home/shed/any other place. Leaves are especially good at insulating sheds and garages.
Finally, one of the last great uses for fallen leaves is as an aesthetic element. Take the leaves that are colorful and that look interesting, and then use those for decorative purposes. You can set them up in your home, on your porch, or in another space.
What Can I Do To Get Rid Of Leaves, Other Than Raking Them?
This is the meat of the guide, and here, we’re going to talk about three ways that you can get rid of the fallen leaves on your yard, without raking them.
Use A Leaf Blower To Gather The Leaves Into A Bag
So, this first one is pretty obvious. Leaf blowers have been around for quite some time, and they are very effective tools. You can use a leaf blower to blow all of the leaves that are on your yard into a large pile, and then you can use your hands to put these leaves into a big bag.
Alternatively, if you have another person with you, you could hold open a big bag – and there are special bags available that are designed for leaves – and then you could have the other person use the leaf blower to blow all of the leaves into the bag.
What you do with the leaves in that bag, is entirely up to you.
Vacuum The Leaves Up, Using A Lawn Vacuum
In the past, lawn vacuums were pretty expensive. Today, though, you can get a fantastic lawn vacuum for a pretty low price. The same price you would pay for a good upright vacuum.
What a lawn vacuum does is it serves as a powerful way for you to suck up all of the different types of debris that are on your lawn. Leaves are, of course, one of those types of debris, and using a lawn vacuum. You can suck up all of these leaves.
When you suck up the leaves, they fly straight into a bag that is attached to the vacuum, and then you can use the leaves for whatever purpose you have in mind.
Keep in mind, though, some of these lawn vacuums have fairly limited capacities, so you might not be able to do a significant amount, when it comes to vacuuming for a long period, without needing to empty the vacuum’s bag.
Mow The Leaves Using Your Lawn Mower
Chances are, you own a lawnmower. With a lawn mower, you can mow the leaves on your yard, and then all of these little leave chippings fly straight into the box that is attached to the mower. Then, you can take the leave chippings, and do whatever you want with them.
If you have a lot of leaves on your yard, though, this might not be a good idea. Instead, it’s best for smaller yards, that don’t have a significant number of leaves on them.
Conclusion
Raking your leaves is one of the most popular ways of removing them, but there are great alternatives out there. One of these three will make your life a little easier, and after that, you can do all kinds of things with those leaves!
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