Kubotas and leafs

[steveky]

Has anyone used a Kubota lawn tractor and bagger for leaves and long pine needles? I'm considering replacing my John Deere rear engine rider with a Kubota lawn mower and bagger. Just curious as to how well they work. The local Kubota dealer says that the Snapper hi vac will work better, he sells both brands. Thanks for your advice comments.

Steve

 

[JWE]

I have a Kubota BX2200 with a bagger and it usually sucks up everything in site, including pine needles and pine cones. It has only clogged once on me but it was when I was picking up wet pine needles. Pine needles are the toughest to pick up, especially if they are woven in with the grass.

 

[WayneW]

I have a B7610 with a 60" MMM and blower. I purchased the blower with picking up leaves as it's main job. (don't really care about the grass clippings in summer) It was NOT cheap, but it works great! Like previously stated, the only times that it works just ok, is on wet wet leaves. Though I have never had it clog, I just had to go over the leaves a few times. When dry, I can rake the leaves into a long row, then suck 'em up. No problem. It also shreds the heck out of them so that the bags fill up much mmore slowly than I would have thought. It even sucks up & shreds the Catalpa leaves. (they're huge)

I think the BX blower is a little different. The blower is in the rear and runs off he rear PTO (I think). Where as the B runs off the spindle of the mower and mounts to the side of the mowing deck. Anyway, as I said, it wasn't cheap, but if you hate to rake, or have lots to rake, this fits the bill.

 

[scott_in_ny]

how much is not cheap.

i have 3 acres mostly lawn with old mature ash & maples.some willows.

i have loads of leaves and twigs etc......
i do my lawn with a 9hp blower and a backpack and a rake. i dread the fall leaves...they just keep coming. i used to blow the front of the house to the road where the town would collect with the vaccuum and the back of the house i would wait until they have mostly fallen and just drive back and forth over it with the mower.

now our town last week has given notice that they will no longer p/u leaves.they are cutting the budget.....for next year.

so my question is:

would one of these baggers off of my 60" deck be suitable for picking up a ton of fall leaves....or is there something else i should think about to do the job.

i am thinking about turning all these leaves into mulch.i could set up a couple piles in the way back of the property...i figure i can turn it over with the loader. when i need the dirt , i was thinking about a wire screen on a wooden frame to fit the small trailer on the back of my craftsman,then i can dump the dirt onto the screen ,work it thru and i have some nice clean stuff in the trailer ready to go.......

am i on the right track?
is there a better way?
how much do they go for approx.?
thanks
scott

 

[surfran]

I do what you are talking about, but on a much smaller scale. I only have about 3/4 acre with 2 large oaks, 1 large maple and a handfull of other smaller trees. The oaks are by far the toughest as the leaves are much harder to mulch up. Attached is a quick thread to give you an idea of what the bagger can pick up. I put the leaves in my mulch pile and on my garden when the pile is full. The bags do fill up faster with the oaks as they don't shred as well as the maple, box elder etc that I also have.

In the pictures you can see that at the 8" or so depth of the oak leaf pile I was able to go about 30-40' before I needed to go empty the bags. Now this isn't an issue for me as I only have to drive a couple hundred feet, but may be an issue if your moving them further.

If you have more questions feel free to ask. I don't check every day, but typically at least a couple times a week.

Raking Leaves the Kubota Way

The cost is about $1600 if I recall correctly, but I bought mine with the tractor so it was part of the package.

Good luck

 

[rswyan]

As far as making compost out of your leaves you can certainly do it and it makes a great organic ammendment to soil, but one thing you'll have to watch out for depending on the type of trees you have is whether the compost will be too acidic for whatever you plan to use it on. If it is you need to neutralize the acidity by adding something akaline (powdered limestone is good) to bring it back to proper PH. This also should speed up the decomposition process (the bacteria involved in the process require nitrogen and lime is an excellent source)

I have oaks and maples here and supposedly their leaves are on the acid side of the ledger. I have a pretty good pile from the last two years leaf gatherings that I plan on adding lime to before I use it next year.