News Flash! New York Times Likes Mulching Leaves!

[schreibdave]

This is going to ruin it for you guys who collect leaves from your neighbors. I propose a disinformation campaign of some sort to "educate" people of the dangers of mulching leaves into the lawn.

What's next? A NYT article suggesting that an early spring fert drop may not be ideal?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/25/nyreg ... ml?hp&_r=0

[McLovin]

"In the past few years, lawn signs have sprouted in this Hudson River village and across Westchester County, proclaiming the benefits of mulching the leaves in place"

Andy is placing those signs I bet.

[schreibdave]

I have a plan that I havent implemented yet - it's to find the neighborhood kids who go around raking people's leaves up. I want to pay them to bag the leaves and spread them on my lawn. I was even considering buying a leaf vac to loan out for this purpose. This could ruin everything.

[HoosierLawnGnome]

My college roommate lives not too far from me and was complaining about the volume of leaves he was getting.

He posted a picture of a hundred bags or so of leaves in his yard.

I told him it would be great OM for his grass.

He jokingly offered to spread them on my lawn. I accepted, but I think he thought I was kidding.

I sorta am - I'm looking forward to taking a breather and enjoying the holidays, but I'd love the OM in the spring!

[andy10917]

Andy is placing those signs I bet.

No. I go to Westchester and wet the leaves down. Why? That makes them weigh more.

Westchester spends $3.5 million a year on private contractors who haul away leaves in tractor-trailers and bring them to commercial composting sites in places like Orange County, N.Y. In Westchester, for instance, the county pays a private hauler about $40 for every ton of leaves that it takes away.

Orange County is my home. We take the leaves from the idiots that will pay to have them hauled away and then

commercial firms use fall leaves as a raw material to produce mulch and compost for sale to nurseries.

We sell them back to you in the Spring, so that you can feel oh-so-green and responsible. Both sides of the transaction are profitable for us.

Piles of leaves left at the curb can clog storm drains; the nitrogen and phosphorous leaching from decomposing leaves heaped by the street can also more easily enter the drains and harm local rivers.

Where have I heard someone ranting on this before?

The holdouts are not convinced. In Hastings-on-Hudson, Chloe Sikirica, a 50-year-old artist, was blowing leaves off her yard. With twin boys, she worries about the leaf confetti. “If you shred them and leave them, then the kids will track the mulch into the house,” she said.

Thank you, idiot. Wanna buy some compost? It's right over here...

The county also takes "displaced wildlife" from the area. Staten Island paid $30,000 to have a large flock of wild turkeys (probably 30-40 birds) removed from the large grounds of a mental hospital, because the birds could "have dangerous droppings". I guess the city's 8 gazillion pigeons are completely sanitary. The closer you get to the city, the more insane the logic gets.

[Tony!]

For years now my township (Schuylkill) has posted an entire article in it's fall newsletter promoting the practice of mulching.


Sent from my iOS device using the Yard Help App

[schreibdave]

The funny thing is that you wont find a more environmentally conscious population on the east coast than in Westchester. And by "environmentally conscious" I mean that they will pay twice as much for something labeled "green." I would also bet that environmental groups collect more per capita in Westchester than in most places in the country.

But we've all been raised to believe that leaving the leaves on the lawn smothers the grass, is ugly and promotes disease. Our dads and grandads raked, so it must be the right thing to do. Plus the guy at the hardware store sells all kinds of contraptions for collecting them - they wouldn't sell that stuff if it wasn't necessary, right? And the fact that the village spends millions of dollars a year to haul the leaves away, pretty much seals the deal. That's irrefutable proof that leaves are bad for the lawn. Can't fix stupid.

[andy10917]

Want to get some real eye-rolling exercise? Read the comments of all the people at the end of the article - it is absolutely full of misinformation from every person that has an opinion but (obviously) has never done it. Everything from "animals will live in the debris!" to "this is a government plot!".

[bpgreen]

A few years ago, I asked a neighbor for his leaves. He asked why I wanted them and I explained. He then said, "I never really thought about that. Mowing them into my lawn instead of raking them and throwing them away is probably about the best thing I could do for my lawn." I agreed and started walking off without the leaves. He called out to me that I forgot the leaves and I pointed out that he had just said mowing them in would be the best thing he could do for his lawn and he said he agreed, but didn't think he was going to do that and would just wait until summer and put the fertilizer down as usual.

[pwking]

Want to get some real eye-rolling exercise? Read the comments of all the people at the end of the article - it is absolutely full of misinformation from every person that has an opinion but (obviously) has never done it. Everything from "animals will live in the debris!" to "this is a government plot!".

The comments are part hilarious and part sad.

I will say, even out here in farm country I know of only one other person in my town that mulches the leaves in - that's one of my neighbors. The others still rake and bag. In fact, this fall they were raking right when I got home from work and had up to my property line done. I jumped on my mower and mulched my leave in while they were all out bagging and raking. I got my entire yard mowed and mulched (2 times larger than theirs) and they were still raking and bagging when I got done. I thought maybe they'd change their ways after that since it was obviously much more work and took multiple times longer to do. The next week, I see them out there again raking away.

They must think I have a magic mower!

[HoosierLawnGnome]

I have another friend that has a disabled wife and 4 children, so as can be understood - he's quite overwhelmed with work.

He doesn't have significant tree or leaf coverage.

On Sunday morning, 20+ people showed up to rake and bag his lawn.

I don't have the heart to tell them that, while I applaud their work to serve him well, this could probably have all been accomplished by 1 person in 2-3 hours with a mulch mower.

[Green]

For those who do it themselves, the mulching attachments can be cumbersome. And then there is the aesthetic factor. "Stephen J. Edwards, the director of public works in Westport, Conn., agreed. 'Unfortunately, people are just very conscious of the appearance of the lawn, and they want to see it spotless all the time,' he said, adding that the town spent $85,000 to take residents’ leaves away."

This is ridiculous. After I'm done mowing, the grass looks just like the neighbors' lawns who bag them with their mowers. No hint of leaves left. The trick is going over it three times...first a rough go wherever the heaviest leaves are, and two more careful passes as needed. And I blow off the driveway in between. I don't have to stop and empty the bag...they do. By the time I'm done, everything has disappeared.

It's really amazing how clean it gets after. And the leaves are GONE. Unlike neighbors who throw them in the back woods (which then blow out over the winter).

And there is no mulching (munching) attachment needed. If you have the right blade and it's sharp enough, you're all set.

I really enjoy the process...it's satisfying to get rid of the leaves and help the grass at the same time. And I have allergies, too.

Oh, and one of the comments said it cuts out the need for blowers. Sorry, but I haven't found that to be the case. I'm still using a blower, and find it indispensible. In fact, it makes munching with the mower much easier.

[Green]

Some of the comments are also off-putting from the extreme-green crowd...

Like leaving all your leaves and not mowing them because that uses gas and produces exhaust. Or using a reel mower to mulch. Or that having a green lawn is a sin because of all the watering and fertilizer required. Some of these dogmatic, overly green, organic-wannabees without any desire to learn how to do it or put in effort for the upkeep are just as tedious to listen to as the proponents of carting everything away in bags.

I'm not going to lie, though...when I was a teenager, I used to think organic lawncare was just a cop-out for people who didn't mind a brown, unhealthy, weedy lawn. That's because I never had a good example of good organic care shown to me. Just bad examples! There are still people who think that. And there are others who think that's the way to go (no fertilizers whatsoever, do nothing for the soil, just let nature take it's course...hell, don't even mow for crying out loud...it uses gas).

We're right in the middle, between the crazies at either end. So why is it that people think we're crazy, then? I've always said, if you're getting flack from both ends, then you must be doing something right.

[andy10917]

This is ridiculous. After I'm done mowing, the grass looks just like the neighbors' lawns who bag them with their mowers. No hint of leaves left.

+1. That's why I made a comment that almost all of the opinions were by people that had never tried it -- they describe conditions that don't happen except in their minds. Not that that stops anyone on the Internet.

[Green]

This is ridiculous. After I'm done mowing, the grass looks just like the neighbors' lawns who bag them with their mowers. No hint of leaves left.

+1. That's why I made a comment that almost all of the opinions were by people that had never tried it -- they describe conditions that don't happen except in their minds. Not that that stops anyone on the Internet.

Yeah, but let's not kid ourselves...most people would probably only mow over it once. And then they'd burp up and panic when it's still visible.

[andy10917]

Okey-dokey! Here's your rake back...

[Smolenski7]

At one time most people bagged their grass clippings, set them out by the curb weekly, and watched them being hauled away with the rest of the garbage. This was the norm since the mass exodus from the cities in the early part of the twentieth century until not too long ago. Your grandfather did it, your father followed him, and even you bagged the leaves growing up while your dad sat proudly by with a beer in his hand.

Then, things changed. People became more aware of the benefits of mulching the grass clippings right back into the lawn. Eventually, municipalities adopted ordinances preventing the garbage man from taking clippings away. As a result, although not everyone mulches, it certainly is common place and an accepted practice by most lawn cutting Americans today.

Think of mulching your leaves in much the same way. You are a leader, an agent of lawn care change. In 20 years, you will be considered a leaf mulching pioneer; a person that was at the forefront of organic greenery. That article in the NYT and those signs that Andy claims to have nothing to do with are just the start. Eventually, more townships, municipalities, and counties will pass legislation preventing local pick up of leaves (although I doubt they can do anything to prevent private contractors from doing the same) which will open the eyes of John Q. Public to the benefits of mulching leaves.

So get out there all of you lawn soldiers, sharpen your mulching blades and have at it. Spread the word about the benefits of leaf confetti by asking your neighbors to blow (or rake) their organic goodness on to your lawn. Stop by that 10' pile of brown lawn bags you've had your eye on as you drive home every day from work. Throw it in the back of your car/truck/van without embarrassment and say thank you to the guy looking at you from the front porch.

[Green]

At one time most people bagged their grass clippings, set them out by the curb weekly, and watched them being hauled away with the rest of the garbage. This was the norm since the mass exodus from the cities in the early part of the twentieth century until not too long ago. Your grandfather did it, your father followed him, and even you bagged the leaves growing up while your dad sat proudly by with a beer in his hand.

True. We used to throw them in the woods, though.

Then, things changed. People became more aware of the benefits of mulching the grass clippings right back into the lawn. Eventually, municipalities adopted ordinances preventing the garbage man from taking clippings away. As a result, although not everyone mulches, it certainly is common place and an accepted practice by most lawn cutting Americans today.

It's still not the norm though...most people still bag their clippings around here with the mower and either throw them in the backyard or into a compost heap if they're more savvy. And I have a neighbor who says he wants to improve his topsoil...but he bags his clippings 90% of the time, and doesn't return them to the lawn. Instead, he spreads hot, fresh horse excrement onto his lawn. One time I asked him why he wasn't mulching, and he said he didn't want his grand kids tracking it all into the house.

Think of mulching your leaves in much the same way. You are a leader, an agent of lawn care change. In 20 years, you will be considered a leaf mulching pioneer; a person that was at the forefront of organic greenery. That article in the NYT and those signs that Andy claims to have nothing to do with are just the start. Eventually, more townships, municipalities, and counties will pass legislation preventing local pick up of leaves (although I doubt they can do anything to prevent private contractors from doing the same) which will open the eyes of John Q. Public to the benefits of mulching leaves.

So get out there all of you lawn soldiers, sharpen your mulching blades and have at it. Spread the word about the benefits of leaf confetti by asking your neighbors to blow (or rake) their organic goodness on to your lawn. Stop by that 10' pile of brown lawn bags you've had your eye on as you drive home every day from work. Throw it in the back of your car/truck/van without embarrassment and say thank you to the guy looking at you from the front porch.

And all the weed seeds, sticks, and nut shells that are in there with it!

Kid: "Daddy, there's a strange guy out there stealing your leaf bags!"
Father: How dare he! We're paying to have those collected by the town, and he thinks he can just TAKE them?"

[ligrass]

Mulch mowing is the best thing I've discovered this season (well, besides milorganite). A few of the comments in that article mentioned oak leaves make the soil more acidic. Is there any truth to this?

[zhotster]

I'm one of the dumbos, I didn't even think of mulch mowing as an option until I was on this site! What really got me going was seeing some of the mulching from members here last year. When I did my reno last year, I pulled a muscle badly by shoveling/raking (on top of my violet golf swing). What really got me to thinking mulching was that it would be easier on my back, not the composting benefits. After I got this mulching thing in my mind, I went out and bought a mower that could really mulch, a new Honda. This entire transition to mulching has benefits to my yard as well as saving me agony and time. I ended up watching my leaves fall off my trees and mulched every few days. This made my entire mulching experience go well, all I really had to do was get the leaves away from obstacles to mulch em up!

I seriously enjoyed the fall season and told as many people I could that mulching is EASIER than raking.