How To Rake Leaves The Right Way: 7 Tips To Save You Time
It seems that fall and winter only present us with more and more chores. Preparing the garden and plants for the cold temperatures, fixing up the house, and the most annoying among all – constantly raking all those fallen leaves. It just never ends. And the worst part is that it seems to take hours, and it’s super annoying. But don’t worry. While we can’t make the leaves disappear, we can help you make the process go along easier, smoother and faster. Today we are going to show you how to rake leaves the right way, with secret techniques and tips given to us by professional gardeners. So, let’s see how you should tackle on the leaves next time.
It seems that fall and winter only present us with more and more chores
Constantly raking all those fallen leaves can be very annoying
How To Rake Leaves The Right Way
While leaving fallen leaves can in some cases benefit your yard, your local wildlife and the environment, especially if you have decided to rewild your garden, they can also cause problems. Too much leaf buildup can smother your beautiful grass and can spread diseases to other plants. However, it may also just be plain annoying to constantly be kicking over leaves, and you may feel like it’s ruining the look of your garden and home.
Too much leaf buildup can smother your beautiful grass and can spread diseases to other plants
#Let Them All Fall
Mother Nature cannot be rushed. Trees decide on their own time when the leaves fall and how fast they will fall. So, it’s kind of pointless to start raking everyday while the trees are still full of leaves. Instead, save yourself some time and wait a bit. Give the trees a chance to become nearly bare before you start raking. This way you will have to tackle the task no more than once or twice and not every single day.
Trees decide on their own time when the leaves fall and how fast they will fall
#Mow It
Leaves contain a lot of good nutrients that can help replenish the soil. So, it’s a shame when we toss them all away, as you are basically chucking out free good stuff that the garden needs. And while you can compost your leaves, this doesn’t really save you any time when it comes to raking. That’s why we have a better solution. If you have some fallen leaves on your yard (but not a thick layer of them), you can easily get rid of them while simultaneously adding some good fertilizer mulch to your lawn. How? Just mow over them with your lawn mower (and make sure to use the mulching setting if you have one). The blades will chop up all the leaves into little flakes which will decompose much faster and give your lawn all the good nutrients.
Mow over the fallen leaves on your yard, this way you turn them into organic mulch
#The Wind is Your Friend
Take advantage of the wind, it is your friend when it comes to saving you time while raking. It’s best to rake in the same direction that the breeze is blowing. The gentle gusts will help move the leaves along and straight into your raking pile. Make sure to never rake against the wind as every stroke with the rake will just lift the leaves up, and they will get blown everywhere. However, keep in mind that this is only useable when we are talking about gentle gusts of winds, if the wind is strong, avoid raking overall.
Take advantage of the wind, it is your friend when it comes to saving you time while raking
#Use Tarp
Raking leaves into piles, then shoving them into smaller trash bags to throw away is super annoying and time-consuming. Here is what you can do instead. Reduce your workload by raking all the leaves onto one big tarp. Then all you have to do is tie the tarp ends and transport the bag to where you want to, whether it be the trash, the compost pile or even your community collection center. This method is used by many professional landscapers, and it is easy to see why.
Reduce your workload by raking all the leaves onto one big tarp
@Laidback Gardener
#Yard Vacuum
Well, this one is a bit of an investment, but if you cherish your time and like the work to be done easy, then a yard vacuum may be the solution for you. And you can invest in one that is a vacuum, blower and mulcher all-in-one. The vacuum option is great as it sucks up the leaves and then the mulcher/shredder cuts them into tiny, tiny pieces. Everything is collected into bags automatically and all you have to do is walk around and vacuum up the leaves. Another bonus of this machine is that you can easily get to places such as between bushes, on stone and under shrubs.
A yard vacuum may be the solution for you, if you like things to happen easy
#Rake Before Rain
While this may be common sense, it is a good reminder. After rain has fallen, the leaves soak up a lot of the water and turn dense, soggy and clump up. This makes them a pain to deal with, as they are heavy to move, and they can clog up rakes, vacuums, and even leaf blowers. So, make sure to check your forecast and if you see rain brewing, it’s time to get raking out of your chore list. If it has already rained, wait until the leaves have dried out a bit.
After rain has fallen, the leaves soak up a lot of the water and turn dense, soggy and clump up
#Get The Right Rake
Raking leaves may be taking you so much time, because your rake is trash. Rakes that have narrow spreads can’t really gather a lot of leaves, so it takes you twice the time. It’s best to choose rakes that have a wider tine spread and are labeled as “no-clog”. Also make sure the rake is either plastic or aluminum. The rake should be lightweight, flat, wide and a good height, so you don’t crouch too much.
There are a ton of different rakes to choose from, pick the right one for you
This was some of the best tips and tricks we have on how to rake leaves. We hope you found this article useful. Now you can get the job done easier, faster and with minimal fuss. Raking leaves will no longer be a dreaded chore, and you can keep your front yard nice and clean.
Now you can get the job done easier, faster and with minimal fuss
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Sources:
- Golf ©
- U.S. News ©
- Bob Vila ©
- Tom’s Guide ©
- Reviewed ©
- The Spruce ©
