So , is answer is blowin' in the wind ..Or ?

[Patric]

What do you do with your tree leaves in the fall ? Do you clean them up , or do you let the wind blow them to the neighbors ? If your a clean it up kind of guy , what equipment do you use . I use a lawn sweeper behind my garden tractor , then I take a rake to the yard .

Why I ask is , I am thinking of getting a gas powered leaf blower to help speed thing along . I was told 15 years ago that the leaf blower's at that time didn't work that well . That they would not blow pine needles very well at all, & if the leaves were stuck in the grass ..they were ...not so much ...

But that was then , so if you have a leaf blower . Does it help a lot with cleaning up , or ??? ... I just thought I would ask , before I spent the big $$$ , to find out that was a waste .:kaboom:

Thanks in advance for your reply

[robasay]

Leaves? what Leaves? Just move to the southwest, we ain't got no stinkin leaves.:histerica

[kk610lt]

I tend to be a clean up the yard guy. I have a Troy-built chipper vac that has a scoop in front for "vacuuming" the lawn or a hose/wand for getting around the bushes etc. Has a 8 to 1 shred ratio. Good if you half to pay for yard waste disposal. This is mostly for city/suburban yards not for people with a 1/2 acre etc.

[Ted]

They work - the shape of the nozzle will effect the grass vs pavement performance. A round nozzle works better for leaves on the yard, while a flat nozzle works better to clear sidewalks and driveways.

I have a Stihl handheld which is about 6 years old - no problems. Went to website but looks like they have changed models - mine is closest to the BG 86 C-E.

Depending upon the size or your yard, you might consider one of their backpack models.

There is a certain degree of "technique" in blowing the leaves into a pile - use too much power and you just keep scattering them. But, you'll figure that out pretty quick. Nevertheless - it sure beats a lot of raking and saves the hands for more delicate things like motorcycle riding.

[DaveDragon]

Here in FlatLand, "Leaves" is what da SnowBirds do come Spring!

[GUNTER1100]

When I had leafs, I no longer am plagued with them, I used 2 tools- an electric leaf blower/mulcher from Steil, to gather them pesky buggers into a pile. Then I had a V shaped electric mulcher from Sears. It was about 3 feet tall & 2.5 feet across at the top & could sit on a tarp, or mount on a trash can. It used heavy plastic line to chop them up. I had 2 maple trees, 2 russian olive trees, a birch tree, & the worst offender, a sycamore, with leafs the size of dinner plates, with stems 4-6 inches long & tough as bootlaces. I would do the exercise 3 times each fall, & fill 3-4 60 gallon garbage cans each time. After that, the wind took care of the stragglers.

[Patric]

Here in FlatLand, "Leaves" is what da SnowBirds do come Spring!

Hi Dave... I know ...I are one :histerica

...But ...I do try to get thing cleaned up around the house , before we come down there for the winter .
Also , ... I get to rake a lot of leaves off the Oak tree's down there in the RV park We winter at in Zephyrhills:v:

[kdog]

Leaves? what Leaves? Just move to the southwest, we ain't got no stinkin leaves.:histericaMust be nice to live in the city. I have tumbleweeds blowing into my yard in the fall. :(

[hschisler]

We live on 3 acres in a very rural area, with numerous mature trees. Late October to the first week of December is "Leaf Month" here. I kid you not. If we didn't pick up the leaves there would be no grass when winter was over.

Over the years I think I have tried everything when dealing with the leaves:
- hand-held gas leaf blower
- backpack-style gas leaf blower
- bagger attachment on a typical lawn tractor's 42" mower deck.
- raking the leaves onto tarps and dragging them to the garden.

Each of these has their place. I should add that we are allowed to burn leaves, so that is our disposal method of choice. Once they are collected we take them to the garden and burn them. Please don't suggest we till them into the garden, grind them up, or mulch them. The volume of leaves precludes that. And, recycling is not available here. Even if it was we would go broke filling hundreds of bags to have it hauled away.

Last fall we bought a Cyclone Rake (http://www.cyclonerake.com/xl.htm). In fact, we bought their largest model. It is towed behind a lawn tractor or ZTR mower. In our case, that is a Kubota tractor with a 60" deck.

Here is a photo of the product we bought, lifted from their web site. I don't mention the price to brag about it, but the price shown below can easily exceed $2k with the addition of a few necessary options.

Bottom line: This is the best $2k I have spent. What took us days now takes a few hours with this machine. The darn thing just does exactly what they claim it will. And, with a bigger deck it cleans up even faster.

The old lawn tractor's 42" deck with attached bagger filled up with a single pass across the yard. The Cyclone Rake handles many times the volume. And, because it shreds the material again after it goes through the mower deck, the volume is greatly decreased. The downside to that is it's more difficult to burn. That is why this year I'm getting their option power unloader. Check the web site for that. I'll pull up to the woods across the road and blow all the material from the hopper into the woods.

http://www.cyclonerake.com/images/CRXL_01.jpg


We still use the backpack leaf blower for getting leaves out of corners, blowing sidewalks clear, etc. The Cyclone Rake does not pivot behind the tractor - it's a fixed setup. Think of driving a Winnebago around the yard and you'll get the idea.

[MattKas]

I would recommend Sears electric garage vacuum/blowers. Multi purpose..
Also around here sometimes gas leaf blowers are banned when the air quality is bad. Then you can switch vacuum mode...

What do you do with your tree leaves in the fall ? Do you clean them up , or do you let the wind blow them to the neighbors ? If your a clean it up kind of guy , what equipment do you use . I use a lawn sweeper behind my garden tractor , then I take a rake to the yard .

Why I ask is , I am thinking of getting a gas powered leaf blower to help speed thing along . I was told 15 years ago that the leaf blower's at that time didn't work that well . That they would not blow pine needles very well at all, & if the leaves were stuck in the grass ..they were ...not so much ...

But that was then , so if you have a leaf blower . Does it help a lot with cleaning up , or ??? ... I just thought I would ask , before I spent the big $$$ , to find out that was a waste .:kaboom:

Thanks in advance for your reply

[rcoolbaugh]

I ride the mower over them and chop them into fine pieces. I go over them a couple of times until you can barely see them and let em lie and breakdown over the winter.

[Razmataz]

I ride the mower over them and chop them into fine pieces. I go over them a couple of times until you can barely see them and let em lie and breakdown over the winter.
+1 here on that one...

[pkpr1998]

I ride the mower over them and chop them into fine pieces. I go over them a couple of times until you can barely see them and let em lie and breakdown over the winter.


DITTO :D

[living_free]

I ride the mower over them and chop them into fine pieces. I go over them a couple of times until you can barely see them and let em lie and breakdown over the winter.


Yup, free mulch!

[deanwoolsey]

Gator Blades and a mulching cover for the riding mower. It usually takes two passes but they pretty much just disappear as long as I stay on top of it .

[Razmataz]

Gator Blades and a mulching cover for the riding mower. It usually takes two passes but they pretty much just disappear as long as I stay on top of it .
Yes, the gator blades are nice, and they are only a couple bucks more per blade than the stock ones on my Cub Cadet....
I've found that if I run a file through the slots on the mulching part of the blade when I sharpen them that the discharge is even in smaller pieces.
YMMV

[Chockkicker]

What do you do with your tree leaves in the fall ? Do you clean them up , or do you let the wind blow them to the neighbors ? If your a clean it up kind of guy , what equipment do you use . I use a lawn sweeper behind my garden tractor , then I take a rake to the yard .

Why I ask is , I am thinking of getting a gas powered leaf blower to help speed thing along . I was told 15 years ago that the leaf blower's at that time didn't work that well . That they would not blow pine needles very well at all, & if the leaves were stuck in the grass ..they were ...not so much ...

But that was then , so if you have a leaf blower . Does it help a lot with cleaning up , or ??? ... I just thought I would ask , before I spent the big $$$ , to find out that was a waste .:kaboom:

Thanks in advance for your reply
Ninja mulching blade on a Snapper lawn cruiser mower, tried many different mulching blades but none even came close to the Ninja blade, only problem is the blade is owned by and only sold for Snapper mowers. Blade usually grinds up grass clippings and tree leaves into fine dust in one slow pass. Blade last about three or four years and can be sharpened. 33 inch blade for my Snapper runs about $50.00 and worth every penny.

[RonKMiller]

Grab a beer, (its self propelled) put on some ear plugs and goggles, fire up the 13 hp Honda motor and pick a night when your neighbor isn't home. You're done in 15 minutes... :D

http://www.billygoat.com/site/intro.aspx?pid=78

OR... you can suck and get free compost:

http://www.billygoat.com/site/intro.aspx?pid=65

[zippy_gg]

Jesus takes care of the leaves in my yard... :rolleyes::D