Snow Plowing and Property Care in Sherborn, MA: A Guide for Large Lots

Sherborn has kept its rural character on purpose. Open space covers more than half the town, there are active farms and orchards, and the Residence B district, which covers roughly the western half of town, requires a two-acre minimum lot. Those large lots exist in part because homes rely on their own wells and septic systems.

The landscape is just as distinctive. Most of the town lies between the Charles River on the east side and Popping Brook to the west, and it holds Farm Pond, a 125-acre spring-fed kettle pond, plus a network of streams, springs and wetlands. For a property owner, that means long frontage, long driveways, stone walls along the road, wet areas near the back of the lot, and a lot more lawn and edge than a typical subdivision yard.

A 300-foot driveway with a curve and a slope is a different job from a short, flat two-car apron. Before winter, walk the whole length with your plow contractor and agree on three things: where the edges are, where the snow goes, and how wide the plowed lane should be.

Stake both edges with tall reflective markers before the ground freezes, every 20 to 30 feet and at every curve. On a long drive the plow cannot see the lawn edge, the stone wall or the drainage swale under a foot of snow, and the stakes are what save your turf and your plow blade. Pick snow storage spots in advance, away from shrubs, the septic area and anything you want to see alive in May. Wide turnarounds and the area near the garage fill up fast in a heavy winter, so plan for where storm number four will go.

Ask whether your plan includes pushing back the banks after a big storm. On long driveways, banks that creep inward storm after storm can narrow the lane to one car width by February.

This is the point that makes Sherborn truly different. The town has noted that about 99 percent of its water comes from private wells, and it takes groundwater protection seriously. Sherborn's bylaws even prohibit trucking snow into town from elsewhere for storage or melting, specifically because of the road salt and deicing chemicals it carries.

Your well is probably closer to your driveway than you think. Sodium chloride (rock salt) dissolves and moves into the ground with meltwater, and over years it can raise sodium and chloride levels in shallow wells. A few practical habits help: use salt sparingly and only where people walk or drive, shovel or plow first so less ice needs treating, use sand for traction on long driveway slopes, keep salted snow piles away from the wellhead, and never pile plowed snow over the septic field or right next to a wetland or stream. If you are hiring a contractor, tell them where the well is and ask what they spread.

Sherborn's bylaws also say no one may put snow or ice onto a street or sidewalk that has already been cleared, so all of your snow has to stay on your own land. On a big lot that is usually easy, as long as the storage spots are planned.

Sherborn's DPW adopted a mailbox policy that every homeowner on a town road should know. Most mailboxes sit inside the public right of way, and the town is clear that damage from the weight of snow thrown by a passing plow is not covered, which happens often with heavy, wet snow. If a town or town-contracted plow or truck strikes a mailbox directly, the town may reimburse up to $100. Claims must be submitted in writing within 48 hours so the damage can be verified.

The town's own advice is worth following: install a snow guard or shield to protect the box from thrown snow, check the post at least once a year and replace it if it is rotted or loose, and add reflective tape to the side of the post that faces traffic. Decorative or expensive mailboxes in the right of way are installed at the owner's risk.

On a two-acre property it pays to manage the lawn in zones. Keep the area around the house and the front approach mowed weekly at about three to four inches in season, and let back areas or meadow edges go to a less frequent cut. Taller grass shades out weeds and holds up better in dry spells, which matters when you are watering from your own well.

Fall is the heavy season. Big oaks and maples along Sherborn's roads and stone walls drop an enormous volume of leaves, and on a large lot that can mean many truckloads. Leaves left to mat down over winter smother the lawn and create snow mold in spring. A thorough fall cleanup in late October and November, followed by a final pass after the last leaves drop, keeps the turf healthy and the driveway edges clear for plowing.

Spring brings branches down from winter storms, sand pushed onto the lawn edge by plows, and beds that need edging and fresh mulch. Plan cleanups early in April, before the grass starts growing fast.

Sherborn residents use the town's Recycling Center and Transfer Station on North Main Street (Route 27), just south of the Natick line. It has been open Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m., with last entry at 3:15 p.m., and closed Monday and Tuesday. A transfer station sticker is required; it is free for Sherborn residents and is issued with a copy of your vehicle registration. The town has also offered backyard compost bins there.

Hours, accepted materials and rules for leaves and brush can change, so check the town's current transfer station page before you load up a trailer. On a big property, many owners find it more practical to have their landscaper haul away fall leaves and storm debris, or to compost leaves in a corner of the lot well away from the well and any wetland.

For owners who want one crew for the whole year, Procopio Landscaping & Design, a family-owned company based in nearby Framingham, handles mowing, cleanups and snow plowing on Sherborn properties. Estimates are free, there is no visit fee, and we speak English, Portuguese and Spanish.