Q: I over seeded my fescue lawn 10 days ago and now its covered with leaves. How do I clean up the leaves without damaging the plants? Should I leave them for a while, blow them, or vacuum them up with my lawn mower?

A: If the fescue grass sprouts need mowing, let your mower shred them. If they still seem thin and barely rooted, use a blower to blow leaves off. Gentle raking is fine but try not to walk on wet soil and compact it.

Bottom line: You don’t want leaves accumulating and shading your grass from the sunshine.