It’s that time of year again, and you know what that means: It’s time to start cleaning the leaves off your lawn and rake up all those pesky acorns! But before you get started with any fall chores, we’ve got some helpful tips on how to make the job easier. Read below for our list of quick and dirty hacks for keeping your garden clean this fall.
Use a leaf blower or vacuum cleaner to remove fallen leaves
Doing so will take a lot less effort than raking them, and you can get rid of your autumn leaves much faster! You can also pick up walnuts with a lawn sweeper, which is a great way to get rid of them quickly. This is super easy and can be done in a matter of minutes.
Use a smaller rake for getting up fallen acorns or small twigs that may be in between grass blades, instead of using a larger one that’s going to take more time and energy.
If you have an above-ground pool in your yard, make sure to remove any debris from it before winter sets in since this could cause damage when freezing temperatures hit. You should also add some protection to prevent rusting if necessary. And don’t forget about cleaning out birdbaths as well! If they’re dirty now, imagine how bad they’ll smell when winter comes around…gross!
Use the leaves in your yard for composting
You can add fallen leaves directly into an outdoor composter or you can make leaf mold which is even better! To do this, place dried leaves inside of a large trash bag and moisten with water until they’re completely wet (make sure not to use too much!)
Once it’s soaked, tie off the top so that all of the moisture stays inside before placing it under a sunny spot where it’ll stay warm. You should check on your leaf mold after about two weeks and mix up any dry material from the bottom if necessary since this will cause some bad smells otherwise, but be careful when doing so as heat may have built up and could burn your hands!
Use leaves as mulch around shrubs and perennials
Grab a handful of fallen leaves from your yard, place them directly on top of the soil surrounding certain plants, then pat down with your hands until it’s nice and firm. You can also sprinkle some grass clippings or other materials over the top to help keep moisture in if you’d like!
If you find that things are drying out too quickly after adding this step, consider cutting up some larger pieces into smaller bits so that more water will be able to penetrate through instead. This is where leaf blowers come in handy again since they’ll make quick work of shredding those leaves for you!
Rake up extra leaves to use as mulch around other plants
Grass clippings or even straw can be used for this step too, but you may want to consider using the lawnmower again if it’s not completely filled with dirt! If there are still some small sticks and twigs caught in between blades of grass after mowing, grab these along with your fallen leaves so that they don’t get blown all over the place. You can also try out a leaf vacuum cleaner as we mentioned earlier instead since those tend to work better than ordinary vacuums when picking things up off surfaces like driveways or porches where debris tends to accumulate more easily.
Use a leaf blower to clear paths, driveways, and sidewalks
If you need something that can get into tight spaces without the hassle of moving around heavy equipment, try using one of these instead! It’ll make it much easier for you since they’re lightweight enough to carry with just one hand. You may want to consider wearing ear protection though if your ears are sensitive or on the smaller side as these things can be pretty loud at times. And don’t forget about safety goggles too since there’s always potential for debris being blown back in your direction when using them outside!
Let your grass clippings fall back onto your yard
This is something that many people tend to do when they’re done mowing their lawn, but it can actually be helpful for several reasons. First of all, this allows the nutrients in the blades of grass you just cut down to reenter into your soil which will help improve its overall health and growth over time since plants need nitrogen as much as possible. This also prevents extra waste from entering public landfills too so it’s definitely a win-win situation!
Fall brings with it the natural beauty of changing colors, crisp air, and leaves that are just waiting to be raked up! If you want to keep your yard looking nice this year then follow these helpful tips on how best to clean out fallen leaves!
