Scientists at The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, working in partnership with Michigan State University turfgrass researcher Thom Nikolai, have discovered a fall regimen for obtaining a healthy lawn without backbreaking leaf raking.
Over years of study, Nikolai found that turf was healthier when homeowners mowed fall leaves back into the lawn instead of raking. When The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company became aware of his research on ways to reduce lawn waste, its scientists learned that recycling fallen leaves back into autumn lawns saves time and money, adds nutrients, speeds spring greening and reduces weeds.
ScottsMiracle-Gro scientists partnered with Nikolai for further study on this leaf and lawn practice. The team found that following leaf mulching with a feeding of fall lawn fertilizer reduced leaf refuse on lawns the following spring. What neither partner anticipated was discovering a fall leaf recycling practice that homeowners and municipalities alike could embrace: retiring leaf rakes and reducing municipalities' fall leaf pick-up.
"In the fall 2007 leaf mulching study with ScottsMiracle-Gro, I discovered yet another way to encourage decomposition: fertilizing after the mulching process," said Dr. Nikolai. "We tested up to 18 inches in leaf litter topped with Turf Builder or Turf Builder Winter Guard and showed that the fertilized areas had significantly less leaf refuse in the spring."
"Partnering with Dr. Nikolai on this research is an exciting way to develop innovative products for lawn care," said Jeff Garascia, Ph.D., vice president of Research and Development at Scotts. "ScottsMiracle-Gro views this connection between leaf mulching and fertilizer as integral in our continued efforts to offer sustainable products that further enhance the already acknowledged environmental benefits of turf."