Lawn & Garden

Quick links:

• Healthy Yard Basics
• Link to: Hastings Pollinator Pathway Project 
• Leaf Blowers and Hastings' Leaf Blower Law

How Not to Use Leaf Blowers: Mulch Your Leaves

Mulch mowing is a simple, affordable alternative for the use of leaf blowers. Lawn grass can be smothered by excess leaves when leaves are simply left in place. Mulching means chopping your leaves into small pieces, which can be done with a lawn mower or leaf shredder, and most landscapers have appropriate equipment. These leaf pieces can be left on your lawn (they fall between the grass blades) or piled on garden beds and around shrubs. Mulch acts as a protective layer in the winter, and prevents weed growth and conserves water during the growing season. When it decomposes, it adds nutrients and improves soil structure. To learn more and learn how, visit Irvington's Love 'Em and Leave 'Em website or Bedford's Healthy Yards website.

DIY: Leaf mulching requires more strength from your mower, so it's hard for hand-push reel mowers to cope, but most motorized mowers will do. Once grass stops growing for the season, switch to mulching blades — gator blades cut through deep piles of leaves — and make sure your mower deck’s exit chute is closed, so that the leaves stay in the deck for another rotation and get chopped into smaller pieces.

Sometimes mulching takes a little longer than regular mowing, and with a thick layer of leaves you might need to mow more often, or go over an area twice. But your lawn will be healthier and won’t need as much fertilizer or water. If there are many trees on your property, more labor might be required. Some of the labor costs can be reduced by not using fertilizer and not having to haul leaf debris. You can also reduce lawn area.

Lawn & Garden "Waste" - what to do with it

Water-saving Tips for Your Lawn & Garden

Pictured: Native irises