This time of year, the leaves begin to pile up on our lawns. Should you rake them? Or better yet, give your kids a life lesson of a good day's work and have them rake them? Or should you mulch them in place?

Back in the day (boy, I'm getting old), my dad would have us rake the lawn before the snow arrived. We would rake them onto a tarp and drag them to the woods behind our house. Oh, the joy of hard labor and the money my dad saved having kids! The best part was that the leaves were always put into a big pile for jumping into first. 

Now that I'm the dad and kids today seem to be busy, I figured out that my riding mower with a mulching blade and a cup holder is the best way to get rid of fall leaves. Not only for my back, but my lawn as well.

Mulching leaves shreds them into much smaller pieces and are perfect worm food. Yes, there are a lot of worms lurking below the surface in your lawn.

Have you ever walked very quietly on your lawn at night, or better, yet stand still for five minutes then turn on a flashlight pointing down? If you don't like things that slither around, don't do this! You may never walk barefoot on your lawn again.

Very healthy soil can have up to one million earthworms per acre of land. A typical 60 foot by 100 foot (.14 acre) suburban plot can have some 75,000 earthworms. These earthworms can chew up shredded leaves in short order. What comes out the other end is free fertilizer. Soil particles and undigested organic matter (such as leaves) pass out the worms in the form of castings, also known as worm poop!

Worm poop is 100% nutrient-rich organic humus (but probably is not too good on pita bread). These castings contain five times more nitrogen, seven times more phosphorus, and eleven times more potassium than ordinary soil. These are the main ingredients in those expensive fertilizer bags. Castings are water soluble and perfect to keep your lawn well fed through the winter months.  

So, don't rake or bag your leaves. Grab your favorite beverage and ride around your lawn for an extra hour or two and mulch those leaves. Double bonus points for those using a push mower for exercise (do they have a cup holder?).

Just make sure you mulch them before the snow hits, because full size wet leaves sitting under snow can kill your lawn and promote fungus.