Stop Raking Your Garden Beds This Fall — But Pull These Three Things, by Harlan's Garden on YouTube. 14 min 26 s.
- Video length
- 14 min 26 s
- Time to do it
- 1 to 2 hours
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Leave most fallen leaves on the beds instead of raking them to the curb. A loose layer a few inches deep breaks down over winter and feeds the soil.
Cut back only stems that are diseased, mildewed or flopping into paths. Healthy stems with seed heads can stand through winter.
Follow the stem rule: leave hollow or pithy perennial stems standing about 12 to 18 inches tall. Small bees and other insects shelter inside them over winter.
Pull plants that were badly diseased, such as tomatoes with blight or squash with mildew. Bag them for the trash rather than adding them to compost.
Keep diseased material out of the compost pile, since most home piles never get hot enough to kill the spores. Send it to municipal green waste if you can.
Treat the lawn differently from the beds. Rake or mow leaves off thin turf so grass is not smothered, and chop them into the lawn or move them to the beds.
Do not leave bare soil. Cover any cleared area with leaves, straw or a layer of compost so winter rain does not wash the topsoil away.
Finish the weekend job by cutting back messy perennials, pulling diseased plants and topping every bare patch with leaves. Skip the full rake-out.
Tips and common mistakes
Shred leaves with a mower before spreading them so they mat less and break down faster.
Never compost diseased foliage unless your pile reliably heats up, which most backyard bins do not.
Leave seed heads on coneflower and sunflower stems for birds, and cut them down in spring.
Skip raking if your beds are already covered, since too deep a leaf layer can smother small plants.
Questions
Should I rake leaves off my garden beds in fall?
No, leave most of them. A few inches of leaves acts as free mulch and winter cover. Rake only where leaves pile up too deep or smother small plants.
Which plants should I cut back before winter?
Cut back anything diseased, mildewed or flopping over paths. Leave healthy stems standing, especially hollow ones, so insects can overwinter inside them.
Can I put diseased plants in my compost?
Usually not. Home compost piles rarely get hot enough to kill disease spores, so bag diseased plants for the trash or municipal green waste instead.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
