People who rake the leaves

conorh91

Maybe it's because I'm from the countryside that I just don't understand these people.

The mizzling of leaves on your lawn during Autumn is a perfectly natural occurance. Leaves are not litter. There's no need for these anti-Autumn drills by middle-class families, conscripting entire armies of children across lawns and grassy verges with rakes and leaf-blowers and wheelbarrows, removing Nature's gentle reminder of the passing of summertime.

I almost feel a little guilty for leaving the lawn strewn with leaves, whilst all around me, these people are eradicating Autumn.

Why do people do this? It's Autumn for God's sake. Red, orange and brown leaves flecking pavements and gardens are a perfectly pleasant sight.

Autonomous

conorh91 wrote: »

Maybe it's because I'm from the countryside that I just don't understand these people.

The mizzling of leaves on your lawn during Autumn is a perfectly natural occurance. Leaves are not litter. There's no need for these anti-Autumn drills by middle-class families, conscripting entire armies of children across lawns and grassy verges with rakes and leaf-blowers and wheelbarrows, removing Nature's gentle reminder of the passing of summertime.

I almost feel a little guilty for leaving the lawn strewn with leaves, whilst all around me, these people are eradicating Autumn.

Why do people do this? It's Autumn for God's sake. Red, orange and brown leaves flecking pavements and gardens are a perfectly pleasant sight.

The grass dies underneath the leaves.

Jellybaby1

We tend to leave them alone until they blow away (to someone else's garden usually ). Some of my neighbours just can't abide untidiness. But the main reason I think people clear them is that they bung up the drains.

Edit: "middle-class" - ridiculous!

kneemos

Self fertilisation innit.Just don't try to burn the things and stink up the place for the day.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I'm living in the countryside all my life and I rake leaves constantly at this time of year. They kill the grass if they lie on it and can spread disease to grass and perennial plant borders as well. They are slippery if wet on pathways. All go to compost once collected.
Oh and I'm not middle class - I don't get where the notion that only middle class people rake leaves came from.

whatdoicare

If you don't sweep them up they block the shore holes and the next time it rains you'll have flooding and blockages.

Avalyn High Sweatshop

Avalyn High Sweatshop wrote: »

I'm living in the countryside all my life and I rake leaves constantly at this time of year. They kill the grass if they lie a couple on it and can spread disease to grass and perennial plant borders as well. They are slippery if wet on pathways. All go to compost once collected.
Oh and I'm not middle class - I don't get where the notion that only middle class people rake leaves came from.

Also, moss grows under a bed of leaves. Moss is bad.

bennyineire

Never raked leaves in my house which is surrounded by loads of trees and my grass is just the finest. Ain't nobody got time for that

Tail Docker

Rakes are for cissies. Backpack blowers are the bomb.

conorh91

Avalyn High Sweatshop wrote: »

I'm living in the countryside all my life and I rake leaves constantly at this time of year. They kill the grass if they lie a couple on it and can spread disease to grass and perennial plant borders as well.

I would like to see some evidence of the supposed threat to the environment from fallen leaves, since I've long been sceptical, and some gardeners posit that the theory is without any scientific basis

http://www.finegardening.com/improve-your-soil-raking-less

My reference to the countryside was simply that, as country folk, we don't expect lush green pastures all year round. We expect a constant cyle of death and renewal, just like we expect brown, leafy lawns in Autumn. I really don't buy into this theory that raking is good for the garden.

In nature, nobody rakes leaves, and yet the unspoiled countryside is the most vibrant, dynamic environment that many of us seek to replicate.

The Purveyor of Truth

"Never rake the leaves. Rakes of leaves are beautiful. Leave the leaves. Rake the rakes" - Anon*.

















It was me that said this but I'd rather remain anonymous if that's alright with yerselves.

Sh1tbag OToole

I wouldnt bother to rake them off the grass but if you leave them on concrete they turn into a pack of slippery mush

Ihatecuddles

There are some brown leaves on the ground outside my estate, I nearly slipped on them today. They weren't wet or anything so I thought it was strange.

Fr_Dougal

Oh to live at home with the parents and not have to worry about keeping the place tidy.

Sh1tbag OToole

mauzo! wrote: »

There are some brown leaves on the ground outside my estate, I nearly slipped on them today. They weren't wet or anything so I thought it was strange.

You (or someone who is out to get you) must have temporarily injected a load of moisture into them via telekinesis just as you were going over them and taken it back out.

Either that or a neighbour is breeding or genetically engineering trees with extra slippery leaves to pass the time

Gandhi

Sh1tbag OToole wrote: »

You (or someone who is out to get you) must have temporarily injected a load of moisture into them via telekinesis just as you were going over them and taken it back out.

Either that or a neighbour is breeding or genetically engineering trees with extra slippery leaves to pass the time

Or they are the special smelly leaves that fall out of dogs' bottoms.

Lyaiera

This thread is a living example of people living the Irish Dream.

Electric Sheep

TheZohan wrote: »

Oh to live at home with the parents and not have to worry about keeping the place tidy.

If you were any son of mine and living at home I'd have you out there raking those leaves:mad::pac:

SeaFields

I would like to point out that the leaf blower is the most pointless power tool of all time. I just don't get it.

Sh1tbag OToole

SeaFields wrote: »

I would like to point out that the leaf blower is the most pointless power tool of all time. I just don't get it.

I agree and I own one of these contraptions. All I really use it for is blowing the dust out the shed. As far as I can tell its main purpose is to make the user think they are doing something useful to keep the place tidy when they are in fact just passing the time.

There used to be a school near me where no matter what time of the year several times a week there would be a caretaker out with one of these things blowing a few crumbs around the place in the morning. Maybe a child once slipped over a leaf and threatened with legal action as south-Dublin based parents often would - its all about laws and insurance with them lot. The wind was always quick enough to blow the few crumbs and the odd stray leaf back into place

catallus

Raking leaves is bad for the environment because when the leaves fall they cover the ground to keep the heat in and if you rake them up the heat escapes into the air during the winter.

But they do clog up drains sometimes, causing the water well up, so there's that too.

Micky Dolenz

I never have leaves on the grounds. My gardener must take care of it or one of the other staff.

K.C

SeaFields wrote: »

I would like to point out that the leaf blower is the most pointless power tool of all time. I just don't get it.

You bet me to it, totally agree. Lets blow stuff from one place to another just so it can blow back agin.

anncoates

Walking along the pavement once through piles of leaves and my friend stepped on a huge rat

Rake the fcukers I say.

Fat Christy

I love the leaves, I wouldn't rake them in a fit. I think they're beautiful.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

conorh91 wrote: »

I would like to see some evidence of the supposed threat to the environment from fallen leaves, since I've long been sceptical, and some gardeners posit that the theory is without any scientific basis

http://www.finegardening.com/improve-your-soil-raking-less

My reference to the countryside was simply that, as country folk, we don't expect lush green pastures all year round. We expect a constant cyle of death and renewal, just like we expect brown, leafy lawns in Autumn. I really don't buy into this theory that raking is good for the garden.

In nature, nobody rakes leaves, and yet the unspoiled countryside is the most vibrant, dynamic environment that many of us seek to replicate.

A few things here. Firstly that item advocates mowing (shredding) leaves into the lawn. This is not leaving lawns strewn with full leaves that block light and is an accepted alternative to raking if the mower will mulch the keaves sufficiently. It also uses leaves as a mulch but this is only appropriate or suitable for certain plant types. As for your speaking for "we country folk" well all I can say is speak for yourself, as this country person and any he knows wants a lawn that is healthy at all times. We are talking tended shorn lawns here and not our pasture land. The unspoiled countryside is not a managed domestic lawn. The lawn has different grasses for one (but as a country person you will be familiar with that). Even in nature grasses near trees is weaker, coarser and often denuded completely. As for country people expecting death and renewal; I'm sorry but that is just hyperbole.
Anyway, that's me done. I have gardened for over 50 years, spent my 20 years prior to that learning from my grandfather (also a county person) who was a professional gardener and I also keep a wildlife friendly natural meadow beside my 2 acre native wood. I know what a lawn needs in autumn and suspect you're just playing devil's advocate to which I'm not rising.

groucho marx

First raking the leafs and then it turns into walking up and down the street salting the sidewalks,the salt turns the bodies into mummies

Sh1tbag OToole

groucho marx wrote: »

First raking the leafs and then it turns into walking up and down the street salting the sidewalks,the salt turns the bodies into mummies

Go back to the states with your feckin sidewalks :P

Ol' Donie

The Purveyor of Truth wrote: »

"Never rake the leaves. Rakes of leaves are beautiful. Leave the leaves. Rake the rakes" - Anon*.

















It was me that said this but I'd rather remain anonymous if that's alright with yerselves.

Words of wisdom, and no mistake.

Rake the rakes. All of them.

Think about it.

Lucy and Harry

What will the fairies wear if you sweep away the leaves

anncoates

Lucy and Harry wrote: »

What will the fairies wear if you sweep away the leaves

Skinny jeans?

PizzamanIRL

My mother used to ask me to sweep the garden to clean up the dust/dirt that was stuck in the crevices around the garden's tarmac. I couldn't get my head around it. I was saying 'You want me to clean the outdoors? It's the outdoors, you can't keep it clean. It will be dirty again in a few days'

I kept giving her analogies to compare to what I was trying to say but she still wanted me to clean the fecking ground outside!

conorh91

Avalyn High Sweatshop wrote: »

A few things here. Firstly that item advocates mowing (shredding) leaves into the lawn. This is not leaving lawns strewn with full leaves that block light and is an accepted alternative to raking if the mower will mulch the keaves sufficiently.

I guess I just have a bugbear about people who are overly-precious about their lawns.

Have you never left a picnic blanket, or a kid's pool, or a tent, on a patch of grass for a while, and watched the grass turn yellow, and then back to a perfectly lush green? Have you never neglected to water your lawn through the occasional dry spell? If you have, you will have seen that the resilience of lawn grasses is enormous.

The idea that lawns cannot withstand a scattering of leaves on a windy day is bordering on the ludicrous.

I suppose you rush out at the first snowfall to clear your lawn of snow as well?

The Purveyor of Truth

I never bother with them myself. We have a paved driveway and I rather feel they give the place a nice sense of homeliness to be quite honest with you. Indeed, one of the reasons we purchased the property in the first place was it was in a nice leafy avenue. I must admit though, I do give instructions to the boy who runs errands for us that he must do his damnedest to keep the pool free of the darn things. One never fully knows when a nice day is upon us and so best to keep it clear just in case. I mean, who wants to have a little late night skinny dipping in a pool full of yuck. Talk about a ruiners.

BeerWolf

Leave the leaves alone and you kill off the grass and moss will be taking over...

It's to prevent people slipping on the driveway or outside the house and smacking their head off the ground a la yer man on the news who slipped on the ice that time.

BeerWolf

Tail Docker wrote: »

Rakes are for cissies. Backpack blowers are the bomb.

Blowers are bloody useless in Ireland when it's damp 24/7 in Autumn...

Tail Docker

BeerWolf wrote: »

Blowers are bloody useless in Ireland when it's damp 24/7 in Autumn...

Rubbish. You just need a bigger blower. Mine would blow the red off a ginger.

Sir Arthur Daley

Handiest thing to rake the leaves is the track machine and a grading bucket.

Teyla Emmagan

They disintegrate into muck, and then you're wading through muck which is far more annoying than doing a bit of raking.

John_Rambo

conorh91 wrote: »

I guess I just have a bugbear about people who are overly-precious about their lawns

You gotta love the curtain twitchers. Must be because you're from the countryside!

I'd say the wife's sick of you obsessing about you're neighbours so you came online to rant about them.

anncoates

anncoates wrote: »

Walking along the pavement once through piles of leaves and my friend stepped on a huge rat

Rake the fcukers I say.

Quelle horreur.

I feel weak now, knowing this is a possibility. I'll be tip-toeing through the leaves in future. I'm now staunchly pro-raking. If someone else does it, of course.

Tail Docker

Sir Arthur Daley wrote: »

Handiest thing to rake the leaves is the track machine and a grading bucket.

Let.it.go. It's unhealthy for you.:)

jimgoose

Is there some problem with a simple flamethrower? ?

--LOS--

Ours was definitely not a tree raking household but then I'm from the country so our lawns were hardy as ****

Also I have a degree in raking so I should know

FunLover18

Each to their own but fallen leaves have been blocking the grass from sun for thousands of years. It's nature it'll look after itself.

Raking leaves off pavements cause they get slippy, I get.

Bog Standard User

Autonomous wrote: »

The grass dies underneath the leaves.

actually you are wrong

the leaves are broken down and the trees & grass reabsorb the nutrients which they then use again to produce more leaves in the spring

WoollyRedHat

I remember having to rake leaves as a child and considered it as amounting to modern day slavery, what with that and being hit by a spoon(whip in olden times) for dubious reasons.

Miss Lizzie Jones

They are good for the compost pile.

Shenshen

Bog Standard User wrote: »

actually you are wrong

the leaves are broken down and the trees & grass reabsorb the nutrients which they then use again to produce more leaves in the spring

Might depend on the kind of leaves/ kind of tree they're coming from.
The ones we get on our lawn are blown in up the driveway, and the leaves are very thick and hard things. Not like your normal maple or oak leave that's all thin and crumbly when dried and dead, but more like leather.

When we moved into the house we live in at present, it was the middle of winter.
No leaves had been raked off the front lawns, as the house had been up for sale for a few months, with nobody living in it.
I thought I'd better leave the leaves where they are, to protect the grass underneath from frost or something.

Raked them up in springtime only to find that the grass had indeed died under them. We had quite a patchy lawn for the first 2 summers in our house, so now I'll be raking them every autumn.

Edit : Also, dead leaves have next to no nutrients in them. The tree re-absorbs everything it can out of them, which is why they die and fall off in the first place.

cloud493

Easy to slip on wet leaves so.