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A land-clearing project begins with assessing and preparing the property and pulling any necessary permits with your municipal building department. Clearing can begin after the project details are ironed out between you and your pro and a written contract is signed. Pros will bring out the necessary equipment and crew to first remove trees, stumps, brush, and vegetation. Your pro will then load up and haul away the project debris, and depending on the project, they may finish by grading the cleared land. 

A standard home lawn mower with sharp blades can handle a thin layer of leaves without issue. You may need to make a couple of passes within several days to mulch leaves down, but your mower shouldn’t struggle. If your mower comes with a mulching kit, like an attachment to blow leaves out the side, that’s a good sign it’s ready for fall leaves. Set your mower to the highest or near-highest height for this project so it focuses on the leaves rather than the grass below.

Ultimately, pulling weeds vs. spraying them depends on what’s happening in your yard and your personal preferences. Manual weed removal doesn’t introduce any chemicals into your landscape, targets specific problematic plants, produces immediate results, can be free if you go the DIY route, and is inexpensive with a weed service if you only have a handful of weeds. On the other hand, spraying is often preferable for severe weed infestations and situations involving difficult-to-pull weeds because it treats multiple weeds at once, is usually more effective long-term, is less time-consuming, and costs less when done by a pro.

The time it takes for leaves to decompose can range from six months to three years. Key factors influencing the decomposition rate include water, sunlight, and heat, so local weather conditions play a significant role. Decomposition will take longer for thick, matted layers of leaves. To speed up the process, you can mulch the leaves, as smaller pieces break down faster. Spreading large piles into thinner layers to increase exposure to sunlight and water also helps accelerate decomposition.