Garden Stories
Garden.True.North is about gardening in Zone 4,
sharing thoughts, ideas and tips for all northern gardeners.
sharing thoughts, ideas and tips for all northern gardeners.
Do you want no raking, no removing debris, no hauling mulch and drastically reduced work in cleaning up your perennial beds this spring? The equipment you will need is your lawn mower and broadcast spreader. And the timing is just about now, well not quite now with snow and ice still on the ground. But pretty soon. I got this tip from Roy Diblik in his book “The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden”. He has many tips in the book about how to reduce maintenance in the garden. One tip he provided was to do only minimum clean-up of herbaceous beds in the fall and come early spring use a mulching mower to go over the beds. This eliminates raking and removing plant debris and provides those plants with their own mulch.
Mower – I set the mower height to about 5 inches to avoid damage to the crowns of the plants. It may take several passes to mulch depending on how many leaves are still in the area and how many woody stems remain. This mulch provides a good cover and sometimes it is enough so that I do not need to supplement with outside material. Broadcast spreader – I have found that after using the mower is an excellent time to add a light fertilizer. I’ve heard from friends and fellow gardeners that Milorganite works as a deer repellent. I gave it a try by applying it to all my perennial and shrub beds in early spring using my broadcast fertilizer spreader. With just one application, I noticed a lack of deer damage. Now my unscientific sample may not convince you to do the same, but I have found other research as reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Web site of the Cornell Waste Management Institute at Cornell University reviews research using the fertilizer as a deer repellent. Spreading Milorganite on the ground twice a month in the growing season reduced deer damage to plants in a New York study, the institute said. The fertilizer also reduced deer damage to summer flowers in research done at Berry College in Georgia. Milorganite is a low-nitrogen fertilizer created from Milwaukee sewage sludge. It has been found to be safe for use on ornamental plants. I plan on using this in future years because it is so much easier than applying a liquid repellent. Last year I only added it in early spring, this year I plan more applications. Caution – Nothing is foolproof. So here are some things I found out last year. It is dangerous and unproductive to try using the mower when the leaves are still frozen to the ground. I tried this technique too early last year and almost slipped on the icy surface. Plus, the mower cannot mulch stuff that is frozen to the ground. I know this seems obvious. In my defense I wanted to do it before I left for a 10-day vacation. There is that sweet spot between thawing and when the plants start to grow that these techniques work without damaging plants. I also tried this technique on woody ornamentals such as hydrangea. It doesn’t work; the mower just chewed up the hydrangea. It’s best to use the by-pass pruners for cutting back the hydrangea and other woody plants. These techniques have reduced my spring clean-up from about four hours to less than 45 minutes with a lot less physical effort. It is now a permanent part of my spring clean-up.
4 Comments
4/7/2018 09:41:49 am
Thank you for the tips. I remember when you shared your tips in class last year. Many of us where like, why did we not think of that. ;-)
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11/9/2023 06:32:30 am
Wow, this is a game-changer for the lawn care industry! The integration of innovative technology in lawnmower blade sharpening is a breath of fresh air. It simplifies the sharpening process and enhances the overall efficiency of lawn maintenance. This advancement is a testament to how technology continues to revolutionize even the most traditional industries. Can't wait to see the impact it has on making our lawns even more pristine!
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1/22/2025 06:12:32 am
Thank you for sharing such an informative and well-written blog! The tips on using lawn equipment around perennial beds are incredibly helpful and practical. I appreciate how you’ve broken down the information into actionable advice that’s easy to follow. It’s clear you have a deep understanding of gardening and care for preserving plants. This will definitely help me protect my garden while keeping it tidy. Keep up the great work – your insights are truly valuable to gardening enthusiasts like me!
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