Submitted By: Steve Richard (swrichard@comcast.net)
Challenge
Every time our weekly "mow and blow" lawn service came to cut our grass and blow our leaves around, I felt somewhat annoyed by all the noise, but put up with it anyway, figuring our lawn was too large to cut myself. After reading about the amount of emissions created from gas-powered yard tools (one hour of mowing creates the same amount of emissions as driving 100 miles and 5 percent of all air pollution is caused by gas-powered yard tools), I had another, even more important, reason to feel uncomfortable. So, I decided to investigate how to transition to a more green model for keeping the lawn and yard maintained.
Solution Details
I learned that leaves and other debris actually enrich the soil after they break down, so why are we blowing them all away and disposing of them in our yard waste bin? Many people compost these types of yard debris. We aren’t currently setup to compost, so I decided to just tell the mow and blow guys to stop blowing and simply sweep our front walk and back patio instead. They were confused initially, but did finally figure out what I wanted. I was immediately relieved that we had less noise.
That small step reduced our yard waste that we normally put in the green bin and got me thinking about our green waste more thoroughly. I recalled that when I was growing up in the Midwest, all the dads in our neighborhood used composting lawn mowers (Lawn Boys) because then they didn’t have to hassle with collecting and disposing of the grass clippings. A friend of mine reminded me that the grass clippings are actually good for the grass. They provide nutrients and act as a mulch, so the soil retains moisture better and requires less water. So, my next move was to tell our mow and blow guys to begin mulching the grass and leaving the grass clippings on the lawn. I was caught off guard the first Wednesday evening when I went out to take our bins to the curb and the green one was empty for the first time since we’d lived in our home! I didn’t have to take it to the curb!
I was feeling pretty satisfied, but it gets better. My oldest son (14) had recently visited his grandparents who had a push-mower. He thought it was “fun” to cut their grass and started bugging me to get a push-mower. I finally relented figuring he could do the smaller front lawn while the mow and blow guys continued to take care of the very large back yard. After we brought the push mower home the kids were so excited they immediately mowed the front and back and said they could do it every week. I offered to pay them half of what I was paying for the weekly lawn service, but told them they had to be reliable or they could get fired! That was about six weeks ago and it’s working beautifully so far.
It's important to mow every week and not allow the grass to get too long, which would make it more difficult to mow and produce longer grass clippings.
The two main adjustments are that the lawn looks a little more “natural” - not as perfectly cut but I’ve gotten used to that. Also, I’ve realized that the mow and blow guys also used the weed wacker/trimmer to hack any weeds that they notice. So, I just payed the boys to do some real weeding. They are at the age where they’re looking for ways to make money, so it’s actually nice to have jobs for them to do.
Benefits & Payback
- Eliminated all emissions – we eliminated the use of a gas-powered lawn mower, gas-powered leaf blower, and gas-powered weed wacker/trimmer. This is roughly equivalent to driving 400 less miles per month or 5000 miles per year.
- Eliminated all yard waste disposal – our green bin used to be packed full, weighing 100 lbs?, and now is empty every week.
- Elminated all the noise associated with gas-powered yard tools.
- Reduced cost – I cut my weekly cost in half, saving $60 per month.
- Reduced water use – I’m anticipating setting our watering times a little shorter due to the mulch that we’re putting on the lawn which should help retain moisture.
- Gave my kids a way to learn about hard work and earning money.
Informational Links
We bought our push mower at OSH Hardware in Moraga. It’s called a Scotts Classic and is 20” wide. It was a little over $100. There are many push mowers available and they are mostly in the $75 - $200 range.
There are also many brands of mulching mowers available – gas-powered, electric with cord, and electric that is charged with no cord. An electric mower that is charged seems like the best option if the lawn isn’t too large and using a push mower is not sufficient. A mulching mower has the advantage of truly mulching the grass into small clippings that easily disappear into the lawn vs. a push mower where you get grass clippings of all sizes.
www.wastediversion.org - read more about grasscycling
$70 rebate on electric mulching mower - at OSH Hardware
