Should you rake your leaves or mow them with your lawn this fall? There's a clear answer

It's that time of the year again.

The air has already started to turn crisp, and before we know it those brightly colored leaves will begin to fall and blanket yards across North Jersey. And while many people may pride themselves on keeping their yard looking pristine, you might want to think twice before bagging and clearing away that crunchy fall foliage.

An initiative aptly referred to as "Leave the Leaves," many people are encouraging homeowners to leave their fallen leaves alone — rather than raking them up and disposing of them — because of the natural benefits they provide to our ecosystem and wildlife.

The National Wildlife Federation has even deemed October National Leave the Leaves Month . And last year, the organization surveyed nearly 1,200 individuals about what they do with their fallen leaves.

"We're seeing the majority of people removing their leaves with only a handful using the waste for other purposes such as compost or mulch," David Mizejewski, a naturalist for the National Wildlife Federation, said at that time . "This tells us there's an opportunity to educate the public about how often leaves can still benefit wildlife and the garden no matter if you remove them from your yard or leave them be."

So before you pick up your rake, this is why you should consider leaving your leaves this fall.

Why you shouldn't rake your leaves

Many people consistently fertilize their lawns to provide essential nutrients to the soil, promoting strong and healthy grass. But if you just leave your fallen leaves, your lawn's soil will receive organic nutrients from the leaves as they decompose, meaning there will be no need to fertilize your lawn.

"We've never gotten rid of our leaves, and we've also never fertilized our lawn because it basically does the same thing," said Elaine Silverstein, professional horticulturist and vice president of chapters for the Native Plant Society of New Jersey. "Nobody fertilizes the forest. The nutrients come from recycling leaves that fall down every year. That's the fertility in your soil."

Emile DeVito, manager of science and stewardship at the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, said keeping your soil fertilized naturally this way will also help suppress weed growth in your lawn. This is because weeds primarily thrive in direct with minimal organic matter.

Additionally, he said leaves help block sunlight from penetrating directly into your lawn's soil, which will also prevent weeds from growing. And instead of purchasing mulch for your yard, leaves will suppress weeds the same way, but for free.

Fallen leaves are also often used as a habitat for wildlife. For example, Silverstein said that caterpillars and moths typically wait out the winter season as pupae in the dead fallen leaves. But if you dispose of your fallen leaves, she said you're disposing of these insects as well.

Similarly, bumble bees, snails, beetles, spiders and other insects also rely on using leaves to protect themselves during the winter, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature .

Leaving your leaves in your yard, rather than piling them up on your curb to be collected, will also likely save municipalities money on leaf collection, Silverstein said. North Jersey towns like Glen Rock and Englewood encourage residents to leave their leaves.

How to use leaves as mulch

While the concept is leaving your leaves, there are some things you can do with your fallen leaves to ensure that they provide the most benefit possible.

DeVito said you can consider mulching your leaves so that they decay faster than if they're full size and blend in more with your grass. You can likely use your lawn mower to do so, he said, because most lawnmowers are mulching lawnmowers.

But Silverstein said to keep in mind that when mulching or chopping your leaves, there are likely already insects using those leaves to protect themselves from the winter. So she recommends refraining from chopping up your leaves, if possible.

And if you live somewhere with an abundance of trees, DeVito said you may end up with more fallen leaves than you would in other areas. With this, he said it might not be feasible to keep all of the fallen leaves in your yard. If this is the case for you, he recommends keeping the first and last few weeks of fallen leaves, for example, and disposing of the rest if it's too much.

You can also use a rake or leaf blower to move some of these leaves to your flower and vegetable gardens so those areas can receive more natural nutrients as the leaves break down, Silverstein said. And she also recommends composting to further make use of these fallen leaves.

"If you make a nice pile of leaves or put them in a wire bin, a year from now you'll have compost," she said. "You can add your green material, kitchen scraps and other stuff, which is fine because that's a good way of recycling that and keeping the garbage collections lower. It’s a great way to encourage people to make compost out of their leaves."

Maddie McGay is the real estate reporter for NorthJersey.com and The Record, covering all things worth celebrating about living in North Jersey. Find her on Instagram @maddiemcgay , on X @maddiemcgayy , and sign up for her North Jersey Living newsletter. Do you have a tip, trend or terrific house she should know about? Email her at MMcGay@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Should you rake your leaves or mow them with your lawn this fall? There's a clear answer