I'm looking to plant native plants with strong roots in my Minnesota backyard, where half of it is currently bare soil with some invasive creeping Charlie creeping in. I'm planning to do some tilling this fall to get rid of the invasives and prep the soil for spring planting. However, my yard has a lot of leaves on the bare soil and patches of creeping Charlie. Should I rake up the leaves before I till, or is it fine to till them into the soil? I appreciate any advice!
3 Answers
If you do decide to rake the leaves, don’t throw them away! Spread them back over the tilled soil. They’ll decompose over the winter and improve your soil quality. Alternatively, you could just leave the leaves on top; they work as a natural mulch too!
Have you thought about renting some goats? They can munch away at the creeping Charlie for you while you deal with the rest of the yard. It’s an eco-friendly solution and they’ll help clear out those invasives fast!
If you till the creeping Charlie back into the soil, it might just come back even stronger in the spring. It’s better to rake up the leaves and pull out the invasive plants first before tilling, then you can add the leaves back on top afterward. That way you won’t encourage the creeping Charlie to spread more!