Autumn leaves undoubtedly create picture perfect scenes, vibrant hues of oranges, reds, and yellows merging in a myriad of crispy leaves on the ground. However, you don’t want said leaves lying around for too long, they can create a slipping hazard on pathways and take up space in your garden. So while it may feel like a burden to have to get those rakes and blowers out again, rest assured that there are some easy strategies you can implement to take care of those autumn leaves.
In fact, a surprising solution to helping you clean up those leaves is to use your lawn mower. Some benefits of using a lawn mower include:
- The blade shreds the leaves as well as nourishes the lawn as it chops them into nutrient-rich bits of compost for the grass soil.
- You can put larger bits of shredded leaves in bags.
- Mulched leaves can be great to use as mulch around your garden bedding.
- Provides the perfect opportunity to use that last bit of petrol in your mower before storing it away for the winter.
However, as with any gardening task, you need to ensure you pay attention to any potential hazards. Be sure that the leaves aren’t piled too high, or that they aren’t wet, before you use the lawn mower. These two factors can strain the engine and cause it to stall. If you find that your mower is struggling, try switching it to side discharge, or tilt the mower back and allow air to get into the engine so that the blade has less process at one time. If you need to do a preliminary sweep with a rake to spread the leaves more evenly, then this would certainly be worth doing if it prevents any issues with the mower.
While the lawn mower is great for the grass, you may also need the assistance of a leaf blower to get those leaves from up high down to the ground. If you have a blower/vac then you can also use it to serve the same purpose as a mulching mower, sucking up the leaves and dicing and collecting them. Gutters and rooftops have a knack for collecting leaves that you really don’t want staying there. When you get the leaf blower out, use the gutter attachment (if you have one) and wear eye protection and a dust mask to tackle those leaves from up high. Once they are on the ground, you can continue mowing and collecting those leaves to create some enriching mulch and compost for your garden to give it extra strength to survive the winter months.
