Why you should clear dead leaves from your garden
The focus of your gardening will change when the cooler weather of autumn arrives. Grass growth will slow and if you have trees in or around your garden, you will have fallen leaves to tend to.
Dead leaves that have fallen onto your lawn block air, sunlight and rain water that your grass needs to survive. If dead leaves are left on your lawn to decompose, what was once healthy green grass underneath will be mostly mud come the spring.
Lawn care is a year long activity, and clearing the fallen leaves from your lawn is just one more step towards a healthier lawn next year.
How to clear leaves from your garden
Leaves and other debris such as fruit and twigs fall daily during the autumn months, so cleaning them from your lawn is an ongoing task.
Using a rake to clear leaves in smaller areas can be effective. It's eco-friendly and there are no running costs, but raking is physically exerting so isn't suitable for everyone.
A leaf blower or vacuum is a highly efficient alternative to raking, and can clear areas quickly and with minimal effort. There are leaf blowers available from small handheld models such as the STIHL BGA57 Cordless Blower, through to more powerful backpack blowers like the STIHL BR200 Backpack Blower. If you have an extra large garden, a wheeled blower such as the Billy Goat F1002SPV provides the extra power needed for clearing large areas of grass.
Alternatively, instead of using a blower to clear the leaves from your lawn, you could collect them using a garden vacuum. The handheld Stihl SH86C which can be used as both a vacuum and a blower will collect leaves and shred them into smaller pieces. Once you've finished, the vacuum bag can be easily emptied into a garden waste bin or compost bin. For larger gardens and areas of lawn, Billy Goat wheeled leaf and litter vacuums have even bigger collector capacity and can pick up more substantial debris with ease.
What to do with your pile of leaves
It's all well and good clearing leaves from your lawn and away from drains that may become clogged, but what should you do with the pile of leaves you have collected?
Most people will either dispose of their leaves in their garden waste bin or compost them into fertiliser for the following year.
By using a shredder to break down the collected leaves, the decomposition process speeds up and the waste is reduced to a more manageable size. This also makes it easier to collect and transfer into your garden waste bin.
Posted: 27 September 2022
