LEAVES!!!

[JB4310]

Where I live now, the leaf burning is just out of control. You are allowed to burn, but by law you have to do it in a covered container with a mesh lid. And you are not supposed to do it on windy days, have a hose nearby, etc.. common sense stuff but no one does.

We have not been allowed to burn them around here for 30 years, wouldn't want to anyway they smoke so bad even when perfectly dry. I don't even use leaves to start a camp fire unless it's the only option.

The first time I went to Poland to visit in-laws in 1992, it was September and they had just harvested potatoes, which is a huge staple in Poland. Anyway the tradition is to burn the left over plant in a ditch by the sides of the fields. This stuff is still green and just smolders for days, all over the country side was this nasty smoke, I don't have any respiratory issues except maybe hay-fever, but that stuff was getting to me. I've heard it's not as acceptable anymore to burn them.

JB

 

[Dozernut]

We live in the woods and have a lot of leaves to deal with every Fall. The easiest way to handle the problem is with Gator blades installed on the tractor mower and the zero turn ZD. I have never run into the problem of having too much to mulch, the Gator blades do a fine job and are well worth the investment.

We do have to do a little hand raking to get the leaves from around trees and the house. We just rake them into the open them mow over them. The leaves are chopped up real fine and go back into the soil to add nutrients. We don't have to bag or haul the leaves anywhere and I don't have to breath the smoke from burning.

 

[ragkar]

You're looking at $1500 for a cyclone. But there's a cheaper approach - lawn sweeper. Just drive it around and dump near the woods or your compost heap. Then blow it into the woods.
This year I've been using a lawn sweeper and it's reduced the time to rake/blow from three days to one morning. I drive around and then dump. Then I get on my tractor, now configured with a snow blade with rubber edge, and plow the leaves into a big heap. Then I go back for more sweeping. When I'm done I use my shredder to mulch the leaves reducing the volume by six to one.
My volume of unshredded leaves is 6 cubic yards.

 

[wolc123]

I use a sweeper behind my riding lawn mower and a second, light-weight tractor with a snowplow on front (Farmall Cub). I have a large area of "rough" behind my manicured lawn and I make repeated trips back there with the lawnmower/sweeper dumping the leaves by pulling the rope on the sweeper. I never have to drop below full speed and this operation takes little time. Each time too many leaves accumulate back there, I fire up the Cub and plow them into a pile. Over the winter, I dump my wood ashes (heat house with wood) in a seperate pile next to the leaves. In the spring, I mix the ashes with the rotted leaves, using the tractor loader, which makes a great compost to use in the garden (the ash - base, cancels out the acid that results from the leaves rotting). This allows me to cut back on garden fertilizer and still produce nice crops.

 

[ragkar]

I dump non-stop using a rope also. My compost heap is bordered by a hardware cloth fence and it's big and in between a couple trees in the woods.
By the way, I've tried it and a landscape rake like the York will not work. Too bad.
I learned something this year using this technique. Before using the sweeper I have to go around with the blower and move the leaves out from under the deck and away fro the walls. Also the sweeper doesn't work too well on the gravel side shoulders of the driveway.
My beech finally dropped its leaves in the last two days and I have to go back again.
One year I waited patiently for that beech's leaves before raking and then it rained. The next day it froze and I was stuck with an unraked lawn all winter.

 

[RBLapham]

You're looking at $1500 for a cyclone. But there's a cheaper approach - lawn sweeper.
When I'm done I use my shredder to mulch the leaves reducing the volume by six to one. My volume of unshredded leaves is 6 cubic yards.

Yes the Cyclone is pricy but worth it. I tried a lawn sweeper but had to empty it every 50 foot. Was a little better when I mulched first then used the lawn sweeper but the Cyclone does it all at once. Do not know how big your yard is but for my 3/4 to 1 acre I get 1.4 Cu Yards in each load of the Cyclone - usually takes 4 dumps or 5.6 CY of shreaded leaves per mow. Usually do 4 times per season. Using your 6 to 1 for unshreaded thats about 36 CY per mow for 1 acre (six times your yard), or 144 CY per season:confused2:

 

[High Compression]

This is our first fall season at the new house... Wow the leaves! We have 12 acres. About 4 of those acres I would like to get rid of the leaves... Or at least 75% of them. Lots of trees and hilly. I briefly tried blowing some of them into the woods, but soon realized that was not the solution... just too many. I could mow them, but there is so many, I'd just end up with little bits everywhere. Any suggestions? Is there an attachment for my 2520, that can help me rake them into piles for burning? Here is a pic of one area. Thanks!

I grew up in the middle of the woods looking just like your picture. We would have to wage war on the leaves for a month of weekends. You can't do it all at once. When they first came down, covering the ground, we would start raking. 36yrs ago it was just rakes. As I got older it was a God send for an electric leave blower, then mowers with baggers. We lived on a hill, and at the bottom was a big ditch that we burned them in. 4 weekend in a row till we had nice green grass showing.
Anyway, you'll have to find the most efficient way for you, but the main thing is that you will have to take care of them in stages. If you wait for them all to come down, your making way more difficult. Good Luck!:thumbsup:

 

[bbsnow]

Replying to an older post from last year- my friend, you have one beautiful piece of property and your pride and care for it are obvious. Nice job!

 

[hitts427]

Well I must admit, there isn't much lawn under most of the leaves. It's semi wooded, but not wild. I want to keep it somewhat manicured or at least not overgrown. I think I will just take it a little at a time, blow away what I can and mow what's left. Would burning piles of leaves be a bad idea?

You can still find these old Jacobsen"s around. There is one by me for 1000.00 bucks,I gave 850 for mine.I too live in the woods and mow about five acres.