YARD WASTE

One of the biggest responsibilities for any homeowner is maintaining the yard. It's equally important that we responsibly manage what's left after cutting and trimming - "green wastes" like grass, leaves and tree limbs.

We don't want these materials ending up wasting space in the decreasing number of landfills that will accept them.

There are many benefits of responsibly managing green wastes. For example, by using green wastes as fertilizer, we can reduce the need for water and chemical fertilizer - and minimize toxic runoff entering storm drains and polluting nearby waterways, including the sources of our drinking water.

Free Fertilizer - Aka Grass Clippings

Unlike chemical fertilizers, grass clippings are an organic source of nitrogen and other nutrients and do not threaten the health of our kids or pets. And grass clippings are free.

When you consider that a typical suburban lawn (about 300 square metres) can generate approximately l36 kg of grass clippings per year, it's clear that we have a great resource if we can make use of it.

Fortunately, there are two excellent ways to utilize grass clippings:

• Grasscycling: leaving grass clippings on the lawn after mowing and letting them decompose, returning nutrients to the soil.


• Mulching: grinding grass clippings and other yard wastes for application on soil surfaces.

Both of these practices save you time because you don't have to bag the clippings and you don't need to send as many bags of yard waste to landfill.

Grasscycling

Any healthy lawn can benefit from grasscycling.

You need to start with short clippings that don't cover the grass surface. Here are a few useful pointers:

• always cut grass when the surface is dry


• ensure that the mower blades are sharp (grass that is shredded by dull blades is susceptible to disease)


• mow the lawn frequently enough that you don't need to remove more than a third of the grass blade each time

A healthy lawn also depends on the right amount of watering. If you water deeply and infrequently, it will produce a deeper, more extensive root system and the lawn will be more resistant to disease.

Mulching

Mulching is an excellent way to deal with grass clippings and other yard wastes in an environmentally responsible manner. Mulch is a protective cover that can help your garden retain water and control weeds. It adds organic matter and nutrients to soil, repels insects and controls temperature.

Organic Mulches

• compost


• grass clippings


• straw


• bark

Inorganic mulches

• stones


• brick chips



A caution: If your lawn has recently been treated with herbicides, wait three mowings before using grass clippings as mulch - recently-treated clippings can damage garden crops. These clippings can be place put in with compost because the pesticides will rapidly degrade.

The City of Toronto has great information about mulching practices -
http://www.toronto.ca/compost/mulch.htm

Tree Wastes

There are a number of ways to deal with leaves, branches and wood on your property:

• Smaller tree wastes can be placed in your backyard composter to produce nutrients for your garden or lawn and reducing or eliminating the need for artificial fertilizers.


• Many municipalities collect yard wastes, so be sure to bag them and have them ready for pick-up.


• Call your local public works department to see if there is a facility that accepts yard-waste in your area - call your local public works department.


• Check with local landscapers or firewood suppliers - they may be able to use extra wood.


• Consider renting an electric chipper/shredder - the resulting material can be used as mulch.


• Leaf wastes can be used for composting and mulch. Don't burn leaves - it can cause problems for neighbours with asthma and bronchitis.