Raking Leaves in Flower Beds

Leaf Layer

• While a thin layer of leaves can insulate delicate roots during cold weather and hot summer months, a thick layer can block the sun from penetrating the soil, potentially causing soil-borne diseases. If your garden is knee-deep in leaves, thin the layer with a leaf rake and bag the rest. Adding 4 inches or less of leaf mulch to your flower beds helps to regulate weed growth, maintain soil temperature and hold moisture.

Collect and Compost

• Raking and collecting leaves from your flower beds and starting a compost pile will give you a good source of nutrient-rich soil for new starts in the spring. Use the pile for all of your yard waste using a ratio of 1 part green to 2 parts of brown matter. Leaves have an abundance of carbon, so layering with green matter such as grass clippings and vegetable refuse from your kitchen adds a source of nitrogen to speed up decomposition.

Tools to Use

• If your leaves are more than a few inches deep, thin the layer with the proper garden tools, or remove all of the leaves, mulch them with a mulching mower and reapply. A long-handled bow rake can uproot some of your more delicate plants, particularly those with a shallow root system. A long-handled leaf rake is lightweight and better suited for removing leaves in beds where the plants are spaced far apart. To avoid damaging closely spaced plants, consider using a leaf blower to blow the leaves out of your flower beds and a hand rake to pick up the leaves left behind.

Recycle

• If your lawn and garden are covered in a carpet of leaves, recycle the leaves by first raking them out of your flower beds then sprinkling them on your lawn. Use a mulching mower on the lawn to slice and dice them and collect them in a leaf bag attached to your mower. Empty the bag in your flower beds and spread the mulched leaves around your plants about 3 to 4 inches deep to keep the weeds down and to retain moisture. Recycled leaves make a nutrient-rich mulch that is free, easy to spread and quick to decompose.