It's one of the busiest times of the year for yard clean up as the leaves continue to pile up on the ground. Corina Cappabianca explains how some are sprucing up their lawns to prepare for seasons to come.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- It's a collection many of have building in their yards. And, as the leaves continue to fall, it seems the cleanup just won't quit.
"It will probably take me like two, three hours, but it's something I have to do all over again next week. We had to do it last week, and two weeks ago. You do wonder when you should do it. Should you just do it once or should you do it every week?" said Syracuse resident Carla Dias.
TWC News’ Garden Journeys expert Terry Ettinger says shredding leaves is "the best thing you can do for your lawn." And, you should keep doing so as long as they're coming off the trees.
"So basically it's everything that was in the ground that the tree took up and put into the leaves. Now you're simply recycling it right back into the soil in your lawn," said Ettinger.
The process could even help prevent weeds from growing.
"Maple leaves in particular have what is referred to as an allelopathic effect where they can actually reduce the amount of dandelions in your lawn if you mow the leaves," he said.
But, Carla who prefers raking hers, has a different way to recycle.
"I'm making a big pile and it will compost the leaves, and I'll use the leaves for the soil because this will all be compost," said Dias.
And, she says it's pretty simple to create the "black gold."
"You're not bagging them so we started doing that. We use that soil for growing things in pots like flowers," said Dias.