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It's that time of year: spring! It seems a little slow coming thanks to mother nature, but the cooler temps make it a lot more comfortable to work outside and get the yard ready for summer. We partnered with EZ Lawn & Garden to find out if it could claim that it was Making Yard Work Easier, and it did! It really was like a large dust pan for the yard.
We follow a routine each spring to get things ready and, the yard at the new house is much smaller and easier to manage. Still, we have the same list that we work over and I will share it with you below.
We always start with looking over the shrubs and trees. It's important to remove the dead and dying branches so they will focus on new growth instead of trying to keep itself healthy. Get the pruners out and clean them up!
Now, we take a moment to set up the EZ Leaf Hauler bag... it is a 6 foot by 4 foot gem that really made our yard work go faster.
It has some assembly to keep it's reinforced side pannels rigid while in use and then has "tent stakes" to keep in place. No worries - they are easy enough to lift out so you can move it to a new location when you have finished working in that area.
Then, it is time to rake the grass, clean out the flower beds and look at that raised garden bed. All the junk goes into the EZ Leaf Hauler and is easily moved to your compost pile with the built-in heavy-duty handles. If you are in a place like Madison, Wisconsin - this is where you could take it to your curb and dump it out. They have those wonder trucks come through that just vacuum up the debris. Towns like mine require bagging, so we compost.
If you ARE a bagger, they have this cool thing that fits on the back of your rake to help you tamp down the yard waster to fit more in the bag! It is actually called the EZ Leaf Stomper. It attaches to most rake and broom handles, has a foot pedal activated attach and release and means you use fewer bags!
It's just darned cute too!
Everything cleaned up? Take a walk through the yard and look for bare patches of grass. Maybe you had a herd of over aggressive nut burying squirrels last fall and you have bare spots all over. Maybe you had some die back. Maybe those bunnies wore out a path to the bird feeder where they cleaned up the ground from what the sloppy birds threw over the edge. No matter what the reason, get out the grass seed and replant.
Throw a quick round of fertilizer on the ground and then get the mulch out to repack the flower beds. I know it seems like you are killing an entire weekend here, but the effort is more than worth it!
In case you forgot what we do, here is our checklist for you to print off: yard work checklist 
Now, I know you are probably thinking like Andy did: I use a tarp and it's just fine...
He is sold on the EZ Leaf Hauler because
- Better than a tarp: 3 sturdy sides, ground stakes that hold it down, 6 built-in handles
- Better than a wheelbarrow: holds 4 times more, no lifting, just rake in and haul away
- Better than a blower: cheaper, quieter, no gas needed.
- Sturdy 12-to 24-inch sides; 24-square-feet of surface area
- Simple fold for compact storage
Hmmm, environmentally friendly, quieter, sturdy, and designed for the job?
If the 6 built in handles aren't enough for you, you can get the EZ Tarp Tugger Kit, but we never cracked it open. It's good for those of you who still love your old blue tarp - but you are seriously missing the boat! I HATED raking piles on to the tarp, just to have them sail over. The "backsplash" on the EZ Leaf Hauler is what sold me!
Now that the yard is ready, I have to start planning what to put in my square foot garden bed this summer! If that is a new concept for you check out my post on it: Tips for Square Foot Gardening
Connect with EZ Lawn & Garden:
- Website: ezlawnandgarden.com
- Twitter: @EZLawnGarden
Tadej says
Interesting"tent" for making the job easier.