Radio Transcript
November 9th, 2026
Tanner Collier

Hey there, this is Tanner Collier, the Horticulture Agent with Burke County Cooperative Extension. It’s fall time and the leaves are turning beautiful colors!! I just love seeing a sea of red, orange, and yellow when I look out my office window. But with these beautiful leaves comes one chore, raking!!

Raking leaves doesn’t have to be something that you dread each fall. Just like everything else, there are certain amounts of leaves that can remain on your lawn that will not negatively affect it. A quick estimation of how many leaves you have will determine what your next steps will be.

When leaves cover a quarter or less of your lawn, you do not need to worry about removing them. Grass will be able to obtain everything it needs with this amount of cover. More than a quarter is when action needs to be taken. When leaves cover half of your lawn, you can use a lawn mower to chop up the leaves into fine pieces. These pieces will then decompose in the soil and are beneficial to your lawn. When leaves cover more than half of your lawn, removing them as soon as possible is important. All you have to do is rake a large portion of the leaves off your lawn and chop the remaining leaves with a mower. The raked leaves can be used as compost and mulch or you can just discard them.

As we head into the peak of fall, enjoy the leaves and don’t dread them. Just keep an eye out and remove the leaves when needed.

This has been Tanner Collier with Burke County Cooperative Extension. If you have any questions or want more information, stop by our office located at 130 Ammons Drive in Morganton, or just give me a call at (828) 764-9480.