Why do we need to rake/bag up leaves? Wont they biodegrade on their own?
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Most of the commenters are missing that there is a major difference in impact of fall leaves between urban and rural areas.
If you live in an urban area the added phosphorous and nitrogen from leaves in stormwater runoff can be quite toxic to local waterways. The process is called eutrophication and you can read more here
[https://blog.envirosight.com/fall-foliage-fouls-stormwater-runoff](https://blog.envirosight.com/fall-foliage-fouls-stormwater-runoff)
and here:
[https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/eutrophication.html](https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/eutrophication.html)
Obviously rural and some suburban residents have different considerations, but I’d be cautious about taking a rural resident’s leaf maintenance practices and applying them to urban areas with stormwater systems.
Take and bag them. Spray them down while bagging. Poke holes in the bag. Leave behind the shed for 2-3 years.
This is called leaf mold composting. It’s exceptionally good garden fertilizer, and an excellent use if your leaves.
Or mulch and throw back in the garden. Stop buying Miracle Grow!!!!
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Avid gardener here! Absolutely it will biodegrade eventually, but the speed at which something breaks down is a unique combination of weather (temp and humidity) organisms (fungal, bacterial and worms etc), and scale (large leaves vs small mulch). A paper bagged sack of mulched leaves will, if left on fresh soil with drainage, become “leaf mold” in one year. It’s gold for the garden.
The same quantity of leaves left whole and matted down with water can actually take a lot longer.
It’s really not necessary to collect and discard leaves, unless you have an unusually large amount of them. The best thing to do is chop them up with the mower when you cut your grass. The little pieces of leaves break down faster than if they were whole. They also help protect the grass from ice and cold, and provide nutrients in the spring.
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