Hey everyone,
I’m a new homeowner with about a 1-acre lot full of trees (pics attached). Every fall, my yard gets covered in leaves. I’m wondering if getting a lawn sweeper would be worth it, or if I should just keep mowing over the leaves instead.
Also open to any general lawn care tips for someone new to maintaining a big yard!
What do you all recommend?
by Top_Technician_5735
42 Comments
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Mow that stuff Boss.
I literally just did this 15m ago on my 3 acres
It’s good for your yard – if your blades are nice and sharp you won’t even see the little flakes left because they filter down to the soil and provide nutrient
Mow it big dog
Both. I use my sweeper twice usually for a bulk clean-up, then mulch in everything else.
If you can keep up with it, just mow them. As long as your mower can handle it, great organic matter getting back into the soil. Wet leaves suck though!
Mow
Red Max backpack blower
I recommend you become the mayor of mulchadelphia!
Mulch, then mulch again
Mow it in multiple directions.
Mow it. Fertilizes the yard and it’s a very fun sound.
Mow it! You will be shocked at how it just disappears. Plus it’s great for the soil.
Use some mulching blades, I did this last week.
Low – free nutrients for the soil / lawn
Mow twice
If you mow it, please provide after pictures.
Run em down!!!!
mow then sweep
Mulch it, disappears like magic. And keep mulching until there’s no more leaves in the trees. Free organic fertilizer.
Mow them and let them decompose into the grass. Although you do have a good amount. Course you don’t want to have the grass still covered my leaves in spring. I have a semi good amount of trees and I never rake them. The wind usually blows them away anyways. Even if I try to put them to the curb. Really windy on my hill.
100% in favour of mulching it.
I have 2 acres and had the same decision. Three mulching blades on my 54” zero turn mower were a much cheaper add-on so I thought I’d try them first.
I was amazed, when I’m done, you can’t even tell the leaves were there.
Both my neighbours were so blown away they’ve since put mulching blades on their mowers.
Now them. Or just blow tben into the trees. With a forest like that you just blow that stuff into the abyss.
I take off the bagger attachment on my riding mower and run them over first, chopping them up with mulching blades. Then reattach my bagger and suck them up vs lawn sweeping them (which is what I use to do). It seemed to be more work to do that, so no I just suck them up and bag them. You can undoubtedly fit a higher volume of leaves in paper leaf to bags when they’re chopped up vs un-chopped.
Mulch the leaves. Be done with it and have free fertilizer.
I mow them, and my yard is similar.
Mow. When it’s thick I’ll do a high cut and then go back over again the other direction slightly lower
I suggest trimming the low leafy plants at the margin of the trees; then you can easily blow the leaves into the woods. I use a combo of mulching and blowing into the woods.
Depends how much time you like running over your yard I suppose. Me? In the back? Mow it up and go sit on the deck with a beverage.
I’m a mulcher, mostly because I hate raking and blowing leaves around does nothing. Your coverage is getting pretty thick, but most of what I see are maple leaves — which, as long as they are nice and dry, mulch up easily into practically nothing. I would mulch them today, and if I needed to, I’d do it again tomorrow. Your grass will like it, too.
I have a huge red oak. With a yard like yours I’d blow some out in the open and then try mulching. I unfortunately don’t have that option and need to remove most of mine. If I mulched all of my leaves I’d smother my grass.
Mowing is always the answer in either case.
If you bag it will be way smaller of a mass to deal with.
If you want to mulch (dont over do it) it will require a mower either way.
I’ll GIVE you my lawn sweeper if you can pick it up in Indiana.
Mow
I just keep mowing them and blow them off into the woods.
Terra King leaf bag hooked up to your riding mower’s bagger assembly. Win, game over.
wait until a few days without rain and mulch them.
Put your blower on and push it into the grove- done
Mow them twice, mulch it and mulch it some more!
Mow and bag, create compost pile. If you get a few turns of the pile(s) before it gets real cold you’ll have some great compost by next fall, maybe sooner if it’s a bit warmer than New England. Have 4 compost piles that are cooking right now and just getting started on leaf mold piles.
Mow the leaves! Free fertilizer.
Listen to me. Everyone is going to tell you to mulch. They told me last year. I have the same forest in my backyard you do. Just buy the sweeper and pick it up. Your grass is going to die in the spring if you don’t. Ask me how I know? I bought the sweeper this year. It’s not that bad
Seriously, don’t mulch it. Don’t mulch it and then try to sweep it up. Just buy the sweeper and do the work.
Rake them into a pile and get a Golden Retriever.