Removing leaves from long Gravel Driveway

[orangebruce]

I have a hilly gravel driveway about 1/2 mile long in the woods. The ditches fill up with leaves each fall and also spill over into the driveway.

If I don't remove over time my driveway would suffer (Spring melt/rain washing over the road). Currently I rake. I wonder what others would recommend?

 

[uphill]

I wait until the leaves/pine straw is dry and I rake the sides into the center of the ditch then burn from one end to the other. I always have my backpack sprayer and extra water supply ready just in case.

 

[ENC]

Yep. kill em with fire

 

[zzvyb6]

PTO driven super blower with side thrust.

 

[Code54]

I do use a PTO blower to clear our ½ mile drive. Takes me about 20 minutes to clear the whole thing including the ditches. Works GREAT! Mostly one trip up and one trip back will do it. I run it at 540 on a 50hp tractor and it clears about 8' to the gravel in one pass. If you set it too low it will actually blow the gravel off the road so it takes a little practice but once you get it down it is the best system going!

 

[TerryR]

Ours is on a hillside so a PTO blower would only work on one side. I use a backpack blower and blow them into the woods on the downhill side. Where there is a deep ditch with a high bank covered with brush, I use a PTO leaf vac to vacuum them up.

Terry

 

[john_bud]

If one season of leaves fills the ditches, you probably should deepen and widen them.

Great excuse to get a backhoe. ..

 

[Dozernut]

If you can mow the ditch put a set of Gator Blades on your mower. Raise the mower about an inch above your normal mowing height. Then go mow your leaves, the Gators create extra lift plus they will mulch your leaves into a good compost for your lawn. Hit the leaves 2-3 times and you will wonder why you ever bought a rake.

 

[jimainiac]

I also would recommend a good strong backpack blower, although the tractor-mounted blower sounds like it might be faster and easier. We used to have a business in a beautiful location, surrounded by large maples and oaks, and the backpack blower was a valuable tool for moving leaves around. If you go that route, make sure to get a good heavy duty one. We had excellent service from a Tenaka brand blower.

 

[xtn]

Have an F-16 do a takeoff from your driveway.

 

[Baby Grand]

We inherited a Cyclone Rake from my MIL and if I can suck up the leaves from the road before a heavy rain washes them all into our drainage ditch, then all is well with the World. As Dozernut has noted, the leaves make great mulch in the garden - especially if you plant a row or three of garlic.

 

[pacerron]

We use our little old L120 lawn tractor on 1/4 mile of # 4 course limestone driveway, in shallow ditches, around barns, etc. with the 48" mower deck at the highest setting, no mulch cover. It does a fine job on oak,maple, locust that we have around here. Did it 3 times this year before all the leaves were gone from the trees.

 

[oosik]

XTN, I DO like the F-16 idea! I only have pine needles and they turn into mulch pretty rapidly. My driveway ditches are clean after being there thirty-two years.

 

[lhfarm]

I have a hilly gravel driveway about 1/2 mile long in the woods. The ditches fill up with leaves each fall and also spill over into the driveway.

If I don't remove over time my driveway would suffer (Spring melt/rain washing over the road). Currently I rake. I wonder what others would recommend?

You will find some great - and some fun - ideas here. I have a 1400' gravel drive that ends 250' above the county road. I used a pull-behind 5hp blower for a few years, but like others have said, it only worked well on the downhill side with no ditch. I did use a handheld blower to move the leaves out of the ditch and onto the road before making a pass with the wheeled blower. I purchased a backpack blower (http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/lawn-care-landscaping/294968-sthil-br350-wow-wish-i.html) this fall and it has worked very well. I've found that it doesn't take any more time to just blow the leaves out of the ditch and straight across to the other side. Going to be selling my wheeled blower.

Not doubt that a PTO blower and/or vac would be a good solution. But a good backpack blower is a lot less expensive alternative.

 

[94BULLITT]

A Stihl BR600 should do the job.

BR 600 STIHL Magnum® - Professional Use Backpack Blowers | STIHL USA Mobile

 

[TerryR]

If one season of leaves fills the ditches, you probably should deepen and widen them.

A season??? A single fall windstorm fills the deep area at the outlet of the culvert (all of 3 ft. deep).

They blow up across the neighbor's open field, from his neighbor's wooded hillside, and all catch in the ditch at the uphill side of our road. I clean them before each significant rain, but typically they fill three or four times before they are all down for the season. If left they wash down the ditch into dams and the water cuts the road, or worse they pack with the gravel that washes into the ditch in the culverts and cause real problems.

Terry

 

[Phil48]

A Stihl BR600 should do the job.

BR 600 STIHL Magnumｮ - Professional Use Backpack Blowers | STIHL USA Mobile

BR 600: Very good suggestion!

I used to have the equivalent model of the BR 500 air displacement was 477cfm at speed of 181mph, and I just got the new BR600. There is a world of difference: 712 cfm at 201 mph. It's not so much the speed increment but the volume of air that make its more efficient. If your are able to walk with ease your 1/2 mile, it will be a great solution. You will notice through the BR600 will use a lot more gas! Much more air, more speed, more gas consumption, I don't mind the gas increment, but you will find out that you need to keep your gas can close to your working area, or like me, walk back home empty!

 

[94BULLITT]

BR 600: Very good suggestion!

I used to have the equivalent model of the BR 500 air displacement was 477cfm at speed of 181mph, and I just got the new BR600. There is a world of difference: 712 cfm at 201 mph. It's not so much the speed increment but the volume of air that make its more efficient. If your are able to walk with ease your 1/2 mile, it will be a great solution. You will notice through the BR600 will use a lot more gas! Much more air, more speed, more gas consumption, I don't mind the gas increment, but you will find out that you need to keep your gas can close to your working area, or like me, walk back home empty!

I think the BR600 is about the most fuel efficient blower in its class. I have gone though 1.5 gallons blowing leaves this fall but I get the job done really fast.

My BR600 really hogged the gas when it was new. After yours breaks in it might use less.

 

[Gem99ultra]

Lots of good suggestions. Wish I had the money to afford a few of them. I only blow ~1/4 mile of pine needles off the gravel driveway. Pine needles do not chop up like leaves, so if anyone has any suggestions on an easier way to clear the drive, I'd sure appreciate it. But for now, I just make do with my little hand-held leaf blower.

 

[JRobyn]

I'm a little confused why they need to be removed? Do they harm the gravel surface somehow? We just let ours fall and run them over. After a few cycles of this they either blow off to the sides due to "natural" causes, or mulch into the surface. Never been a problem (so far) after about 10 years. I kinda like the natural look.

- Jay