Should You Rake Your Leaves In Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota

Tree leaves are piling up on lawns all over Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota. Should you really be raking them up and hauling them away? Maybe not.

Every neighborhood has the folks that rake up every leaf almost as soon as they hit the ground.

Those manicured meticulously raked lawns do look nice, but is getting rid of the leaves really the best thing for your lawn health?

According to NPR if you are hauling all those leaves away you may be negatively affecting landfills and your lawn.

It's been reported that over 8 million tons of leaves end up in landfills every year.

And if you mulch your leaves they also do good things for your landscaping and grass.

Professor and extension specialist in landscape horticulture at the University of Delaware Susan Barton told NPR "Those nutrients are being returned to the soil.

But probably even more important than that, it's the organic matter. It's the fact that you've got this tissue that then eventually decomposes and improves the soil health."

They point out that “leaves are full of nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.”

But don't leave thick layers or piles of leaves on your grass. That could block out the light and actually kill the grass.