Lawn & Garden
Ditch the Blower and Mulch Your Leaves
Mulching means chopping your leaves into small pieces, which can be done with a lawn mower or a leaf shredder. These 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. Leaf mulch gradually decomposes, adding nutrients and humus to the soil. To learn more and learn how, visit Irvington's Love 'Em and Leave 'Em website
From Healthy Yards: Lawn turf grass can be smothered by excess leaves, if they are simply left in place. It’s much better to mow right over the leaves to create mulch than to blow them away. The resulting shredded leaves will settle into the grass, providing nutrients and reducing the need for fertilizers, weed killers and insecticides. Mulch mowing is a simple, affordable alternative for the use of leaf blowers. Leaf mulching requires more strength from your mower, so reel mowers can’t cope, but most regular mowers will do. Once the grass stops growing, 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 so they get chopped into smaller pieces.
Leaf mulching on lawns has many advantages. Mulched leaves will add nutrients to the soil, and create a better soil structure. Sometimes the 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 the area twice. But the lawn will be healthier and won’t need as much fertilizer or water. If there are many trees on the property, more labor might be required. Try to mitigate the labor costs with the savings on fertilizer or hauling costs, or maybe even reduce your lawn area.
Link to: Hastings Pollinator Pathway Project
Leaf Blowers and Hastings' Leaf Blower Law
Lawn & Garden "Waste" - what to do with it
Water-saving Tips for Your Lawn & Garden
Pictured: Native irises