I have a lot of leaves on my lawn (in Oklahoma). Will it hurt
the grass if I leave the leaves there over the winter? Yes, if
they get matted down - just like covering the grass with
anything else would - by reducing sunlight and air circulation.
Less importantly, leaves will compete with the grass for
nitrogen - they consume it in decaying. Oak leaves are
especially bad because they're acidic. Some folks have good
results with shredding leaves and leaving them on. Not me. I
suspect this may work well (or at least better) if you fertilize
a lot, which I don't. Grass still grows in the winter, except
when it's very cold - just a lot slower. If you mow over the
leaves with a lawn mower and chop them up, they will go between
the blades of grass and decompose into the soil. The grass
clippings and leaves chopped up make a good carbon/nitrogen
ratio for composting. If your leaves are a quickly decomposing
type like cherry, a thin layer will not damage the grass during
winter, but oak leaves will mat down and depriv