Grassroots Leaf collecting

Tool rental places sometimes rent the gas powered walk-behind leaf vacuums.

If you get a blower, go plug-in electric. The gas powered ones sit too much and are a pain in the patootie. Batteries will last for 80% of the job, no matter how big the job. I much prefer extension cords.

I have a Billy Goat walk behind. It is amazing. I also have a smaller 2 stroke blower that is great for smaller areas.

My method is blowing all of the leaves from the yard to my driveway, which is basically in the middle of my property. I then mulch them with my mower and then blow the remaining dust into the wooded areas.

I know all of the pros have the backback blowers, but they just don't look like they pack the punch of a walk behind.

So are there good electric leaf blowers? I just need to get them from the back yard down to the curb, where the city will come pick them up with the Noo-noo.

Duke wrote: So are there good electric leaf blowers? I just need to get them from the back yard down to the curb, where the city will come pick them up with the Noo-noo.

I have tried various electric blowers, both corded and battery, and not had much luck when it comes to moving leaves. My current B&D 40v cordless works fine for blowing off the walks after mowing but is underpowered for moving leaves.

For leaves I use a gas backpack to move them out to the street for the city to collect.

For a yard that size, maybe just use a shop vac on the yard? I have a friend who vacuums his yard every year and now the neighbors don't even make fun of him for it.

One or the other will work just fine.

I have an acre wooded lot. Cut down 12 trees last years and hardly made a dent in the amount of trees. Used leaf blow onto tarps. Would drag a couple the size of my Miata to the curb 3-4 time in the fall and spring. Now just drive the rider mower w/mulch blade around the yard till they are small pieces and blow the loose stuff onto areas of no grass. Has helped fill in the bald areas. If I still have too much after mulching the leafs I then pick up the excess with the grass catcher installed. I've tried using the catcher initially but it keeps getting clogged after 1-2 passes so I gave up and just mulch now.

wvumtnbkr wrote: Does anybody have a unique or quick way to get rid of a whole yard of leaves? What contraptions or devices do you use? If it is as simple as a leaf blower, how well do they work? Any restrictions to their usage? Thanks! Rob R. P.S. I don't want to rake the leaves. That would suck.

leaf blower for me … I raked leaves for years and years … after my first session with a blower I wonder how I could have been so stupid for so long

not sure how useful a battery powered one would be … I've a reasonable decent sized area to clear … but even more of the problem is how far I have to move the pile to get it into the surrounding woods

mine is a Stihl hand held .. a back pac would be even better, though much more pricy and I'm not sure HOW much more efficient it would make me

Keith Tanner wrote: If you get a blower, go plug-in electric. The gas powered ones sit too much and are a pain in the patootie. Batteries will last for 80% of the job, no matter how big the job. I much prefer extension cords.

as I mentioned above … electric power wouldn't work too well for me … obviously does for you … I'd end up needing 3 or 4 hundred of extension cords …

I mow over and use a tow behind sweeper in the front yard. In the back, when I need to return the tons of leaves back to the woods they came from the leaf blower is the Easy Button. Wonder why I didn't have one before.

I rake them out of the beds and off the sidewalk into the yard.

Then mow them once to mulch, mow a second time to pick up. I place that in a place I can use them (covering areas I don't want grass, but would like the mulch).

Blower/vac only in areas that the method is a PITA.

I compost, though. Generate my own soil amendments.

Just to take this discussion to the next level...

I'm currently putting my "mulch" in a wooded area of my yard. It has become kind of a mess over the years with so much mulch and debris. Since getting my shredder, it has gotten better.

I know that my flowering bushes (rhododendron, azalea, hydrangea) like the acidic properties of mulched leaves, but what other plants like this mulch? It is way too acidic and plentiful for me to just leave on the lawn as I have to spread lime already to keep the acidity in check. Do annual flower beds do well with it? I have beds with roses, tulips, holly, pachysandra, fire bushes, and hosta surrounding the house. In spring I always get a couple truckloads of black dyed mulch for these areas.

Mulching mower here. I've tried everything else. It's by far the easiest, you just can't let it get to far ahead of you. It seems to be really good for the lawn, except that it seems to draw grubs/worms in, which draws moles in. It's always something.

BTW, for reference - I have a 1/3 acre lot with 6 mature maples and 2 mature oaks . . . and no municipal leaf pick up.

chop that E36 M3 up and let it get reabsorbed into the soil... they are called "leaves" because you are supposed to "leave" them on the ground..

kazoospec wrote: you just can't let it get to far ahead of you.

That's the hard part for me. 2 dozen trees can drop a lot of leaves quickly. Add in weather (can't mulch wet leaves), work schedule and other commitments I always get behind no matter how hard I try. Just takes more passes to get them all mulched.

Used to have to take them growing up. I found it to be the second best method. I think the best method is saving up and once in October and once in November having a lawn service take care of it while I drink a beer. But we had a gigantic yard.

Or the mulch it with a mower and leave it for the lawn.

I used to hate mowing my lawn, raking leaves, and most of all, shoveling snow.

I moved to Las Vegas. Three birds, one stone.

KyAllroad wrote: I use the leaf blower to get them out of nooks and crannies and onto the yard. Then mow with bagger to condense the volume by about 10X. This year though I think child labor may be the answer.

Just did this exact same thing yesterday. Only, I don't bother with the bag thing. Just mulch them up and done.

wvumtnbkr wrote: can I just use my push mower and cover the discharge side and chew them up into tiny pieces?

This is my solution, just did my yard yesterday and hope to leave it be until next spring.

How do you make a mulch plug? I have gator blades on the rider, but find that more often than not the leaves just shoot out the discharge chute. Means more circles before they disappear.

Dusterbd13 wrote: How do you make a mulch plug?

Anything that will cover the discharge chute. I have made them from sheet aluminum and fastened them on with bungee cords. On one mower it was just a sheet of aluminum that was stuck under the hinge of the discharge chute and held in place by the spring loaded chute.

We have county curbside pickup typically 3x over the fall. We wait 'til a dry day before the last one, rake the edges and blow/rake the whole mess into a couple huge piles then onto a big tarp. You drag it like a huge leave-burrito out to the curb.

a craftsman mower with a tripple bagger and some mulching blades. worked great on my acre.

somethign like that.. buy it cheap. use it forever.

EvanR wrote: I used to hate mowing my lawn, raking leaves, and most of all, shoveling snow. I moved to Las Vegas. Three birds, one stone.

See, florida.