Q: I am tired of raking! Is there any reason I can’t shred lawn leaves with my mower and not rake them into piles for removal?

A: There are two good reasons to let your mower do the work. One experiment in Michigan found that mulched leaves suppressed dandelions in a lawn by 84 percent. A study in Pennsylvania found that mulched leaves had no effect on ryegrass turf visual quality, no effect on turf growth and no effect on thatch depth. As long as you don’t allow mats of wet leaves to accumulate on the grass, you can kiss your rake goodbye.