Whats your method for clearing leaves from your yard?

[Pat Barry]

Went out yesterday and did my fall duties hand raking up 12 55gal trash bags full of maple leaves. Meanwhile my neighbors had their leaf blowers going all over the place. A couple were using the lawn mower and bagging method. I'm pretty sure some won't do anything. So what method do you use, rake, leaf blower, lawn mower / mulch, lawn mower/bag, hire someone, nothing?

[Ron Kellison]

Leaf blower to herd all the little suckers into the same general area and then mulching them. The mulch is deposited into flower beds, etc.

[phil harold]

Mow them
and let nature do the rest

[David Weaver]

Used to mow them with a mulch mower just to make sure they didn't choke off grass, but now do that for a while until they get heavy and then bag them to save for leaf mulch. If I didn't want the leaf mulch, I'd just keep the grass height high and mulch them, did it for years and it never hurt the grass.

Where I grew up, we used a two stage vacuum system, but had a lot more leaves (5 acres of woods). Probably 5 tons of dry leaves in any given year.

(can't stand leaf blowers, but they sure do run and run and run here in suburbia - all year).

[Matt Meiser]

Mow them and let nature do the rest

This. I do blow them out of a few areas thy tend to get trapped but with 4 mowed acres, woods to the south and west it's a losing battle to do much else.

[Chris Griggs]

Yard? What yard?

[Shawn Pixley]

What are leaves? ;)

We have no trees but we get lots of sand that blows in. Back when I had a house with trees, I raked and bagged.

[Gordon Eyre]

First blower, second rake into big pile, third bag them, fourth put out for trash man.

[Stan Terrell]

Leaf blower to vegetable garden. Then lawn mower to mulch. Then till in. I changed Georgia red clay to desent topsoil in 13 years with the addition of lime.

[Jamie Buxton]

God put them there. God will take them away.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I mow and bag, rake and bag, use a blower to round them up and then rake and bag.........I use multiple methods. My wife has been gone during the past 2 Novembers and she's leaving again in a week so I will end up doing all the leaf raking again. Hmmmmm. I starting to wonder if it's on purpose.

[Jim Koepke]

God put them there. God will take them away.

Amen.

Did rake up a bunch the first year here, but only to put on the strawberry plants.

jtk

[Bruce Page]

I mow and bag, rake and bag, use a blower to round them up and then rake and bag.........I use multiple methods.

I do the same.
I'm still waiting for the leaves to drop!

[ray hampton]

I mow and bag, rake and bag, use a blower to round them up and then rake and bag.........I use multiple methods. My wife has been gone during the past 2 Novembers and she's leaving again in a week so I will end up doing all the leaf raking again. Hmmmmm. I starting to wonder if it's on purpose.

Do you mean to say that you are surprise that your wife are smart

[Jason Roehl]

I send the kids out to rake at least weekly once the leaves start coming down. Then I run them through the chipper/shredder for garden compost (the leaves, not the kids--at least not the good ones). I HATE the number of leaf blowers I hear. Once I saw a neighbor blowing their front yard for six hours. So I went out and raked mine (the whole thing, probably twice the area and at least as much, if not, higher leaf density) in two hours. The rest of the year, I (the kids, really) use a mulching mower, so the grass clippings and any leaves go back into the ground.

[Brian Blackburn]

Go to the woodshop and ignore them.

[Dave Cav]

You missed one.

Vacuum towed behind the riding mower.

[William Adams]

Rake, bag (in paper), place bags on garden to compost down.

[David Weaver]

You missed one.

Vacuum towed behind the riding mower.

That's the "two stage" I mentioned. They get reduced once at the mower and again by the impeller that moves them to the wagon.

[Tommy Martin]

Lawn mower first couple of weeks. After that it's a leaf blower and rake into a 10 X 20 tarp to drag back into the woods. About 4 full and back breaking week ends to remove all the leaves off my grass. House is surrounded by big oaks.

[Jim Belair]

Neander all the way... Rake & bag.

[Joe Ruden]

You missed another one........kids

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

I blow all the leaves out of the beds with my hand held Echo blower then sit on my butt snd suck them up with my little green friend. The round thingie at the base of the chute is called a Powerflow, an impeller much like one in a snowblower thats driven off the blade pulley and vacuums the lawn clean.

[Michael Peet]

True neander fashion: rake. And always in the rain, apparently.

[Dale Cruea]

I mow them suckers with my mower and leave them to rot.
Great for the lawn.
Great for me.

Dale

[Zach Dillinger]

I mow them suckers with my mower and leave them to rot.
Great for the lawn.
Great for me.

Dale

+1, although I do creatively mow them so that most of remnants end up on my gardens or into the tree line. I'd rather have healthy trees and vegetables than a lawn (I only mow because my wife makes me, couldn't care less about the yard).

[John Sanford]

hmmmm, I let the gardener's deal with it.

:cool:

[Charles Bjorgen]

Pick up leaves with a garden tractor with grass catchers attached. For years this material was composted at home with the resulting compost product worked into garden beds. My gardening is being cut back so now the material is picked up as compost by my garbage hauler. Since having my main 44-year-old ash shade tree removed last year, my back yard leaf removal is based on what falls from my neighbors' trees into my yard.

[Charles Wiggins]

I'd love to have a riding mower that would suck those sucker up, but it's not just the cost of the mower, I'd have to get a building to store it and all the attachments.

[Dale Murray]

I did not vote - my method was not represented.

I have only owned my home for a little over a year.

Last year I scored a great deal on a 5hp chipper shredder, cost $100 plus time to clean and rebuild carb. Since then I have not put any wood or leaves to the curb.

Rake
Shred
Shred again
Shred again again (now leaves are a very fine mulch with some near powder consistency)
Spread mulched leaves on flower beds to decompose. They will be tilled into the soil in the spring.

I have a pile of mulch out back equivalent to 3 or 4 50 gallon garbage cans - about 70% leaves and 30% cutoffs from shrubs, trees, etc.

Next year I will build a three stage composting bin.

Since this is a neanderthal thread I should mention I use two push reel mowers - a 20" 5 blade craftsmen if it is a bit long or my 7 blade 16" scotts to keep it neat and tidy.

[Pat Barry]

I did not vote - my method was not represented.

I have only owned my home for a little over a year.

Last year I scored a great deal on a 5hp chipper shredder, cost $100 plus time to clean and rebuild carb. Since then I have not put any wood or leaves to the curb.

Rake
Shred
Shred again
Shred again again (now leaves are a very fine mulch with some near powder consistency)
Spread mulched leaves on flower beds to decompose. They will be tilled into the soil in the spring.

I have a pile of mulch out back equivalent to 3 or 4 50 gallon garbage cans - about 70% leaves and 30% cutoffs from shrubs, trees, etc.

Next year I will build a three stage composting bin.

Since this is a neanderthal thread I should mention I use two push reel mowers - a 20" 5 blade craftsmen if it is a bit long or my 7 blade 16" scotts to keep it neat and tidy.
I will put you down for the hand raking method since it sounds like you need to do that to get the leaves to the chipper / shredder anyway.

[Adam Cruea]

Nature's been dealing with it for several million years.

Why should I put a kink in the process? :p

[Tom Vanzant]

My FIL waited for the wind to blow the Sycamore leaves against the fence, then ran over them a few times with his riding mower. That side of the yard was always greener than the rest.

[ray hampton]

There is a method that was not mention , rake the leaves up, put them in a trash can , use a wed eater to cut them up while they are in the can, a can that are packed full of leaves will be reduce to a very SMALL pile of dust after you chop them with a weed eater

[Pat Barry]

There is a method that was not mention , rake the leaves up, put them in a trash can , use a wed eater to cut them up while they are in the can, a can that are packed full of leaves will be reduce to a very SMALL pile of dust after you chop them with a weed eater
I'd like to see the video of that process Ray

[Daniel Rode]

When I was a kid, I'd go to my grandparents home to help clean up leaves. My grandfather had a lawn sweeper. It was push powered and had wheels in the front connected to a large spinning brush (like a vacuum) that would sweep the leaves into the open canvass bag behind. It was about 3 foot wide and it was hard to get moving but much faster than raking.

After collecting the leaves, he burned them in a metal container that looked like a garbage can with holes.

[Zach Dillinger]

I must say I'm a little disappointed that no one has said "flamethrower". C'mon, what namby-pamby, sissy-mary type of dudes do we have around these here parts these days???

/do not do this
// sorry if I offend the namby-pamby

[ray hampton]

I'd like to see the video of that process Ray

Yes, I would like to see your video of this process too

[Adam Cruea]

I must say I'm a little disappointed that no one has said "flamethrower". C'mon, what namby-pamby, sissy-mary type of dudes do we have around these here parts these days???

/do not do this
// sorry if I offend the namby-pamby

It's more a case of discharging firearms within city limits for me. :( Just a *tiny* bit illegal. While my neighbors may think it's awesome, the police probably not so much.

[Zach Dillinger]

It's more a case of discharging firearms within city limits for me. :( Just a *tiny* bit illegal. While my neighbors may think it's awesome, the police probably not so much.

Ha! Of course. I don't think any sane person would use a flamethrower for leaves. It would be awesome though!

[Derek Cohen]

I leave it to my wife.

Good grief guys, get your priorities right! Leaves or Shop time ... leaves or shop time ... leaves or shop time ...! :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Gary Howorka]

Went out yesterday and did my fall duties hand raking up 12 55gal trash bags full of maple leaves. Meanwhile my neighbors had their leaf blowers going all over the place. A couple were using the lawn mower and bagging method. I'm pretty sure some won't do anything. So what method do you use, rake, leaf blower, lawn mower / mulch, lawn mower/bag, hire someone, nothing?

Watching my yard guy do it! LOL

They use blowers, on top of large tarps, dragged into street, city comes by 5 times a year and collects them.

[Leon Jester]

I used to rake them to the curb, but the city is now requiring their paper bags at a buck some each. Now I use the weed-eater and then the mower. The stuff out of the gutters goes onto the raised beds and is turned under in the spring; makes the worms happy and keeps the beds warmer so I get a bit of a head-start.

Years ago I used the kid method. Now the kid is twenty-six and is training the grandkid to rake; by the time he's trained up I'll have two decent-sized elms in the front yard. He can do mine and his dad's while we're in the shop. As my daughter-in-law is of the opinion that idle small hands are the Devil's workshop, I suspect he'll be doing the other set of grandparents leaves also.

[Dan Carroll]

I did not vote - my method was not represented.

I have only owned my home for a little over a year.

Last year I scored a great deal on a 5hp chipper shredder, cost $100 plus time to clean and rebuild carb. Since then I have not put any wood or leaves to the curb.

Rake
Shred
Shred again
Shred again again (now leaves are a very fine mulch with some near powder consistency)
Spread mulched leaves on flower beds to decompose. They will be tilled into the soil in the spring.

I have a pile of mulch out back equivalent to 3 or 4 50 gallon garbage cans - about 70% leaves and 30% cutoffs from shrubs, trees, etc.

Next year I will build a three stage composting bin.

Since this is a neanderthal thread I should mention I use two push reel mowers - a 20" 5 blade craftsmen if it is a bit long or my 7 blade 16" scotts to keep it neat and tidy.
You have to be a bit careful with the dried leaves. They can be very acidic and cause issues in beds if they have not completely composted. On the three stage bin -- don't bother unless you want to turn the material and work it all the time. Just get four pallets and some steel fence posts from the farm supply store, set the pallets on end, drive the posts in between the pallet sides, and keep dumping material in it you feel like starting another pile. Then sift once and spread it in the garden. I have been doing this way for years and it saves a lot of back pain.

[ray hampton]

You have to be a bit careful with the dried leaves. They can be very acidic and cause issues in beds if they have not completely composted. On the three stage bin -- don't bother unless you want to turn the material and work it all the time. Just get four pallets and some steel fence posts from the farm supply store, set the pallets on end, drive the posts in between the pallet sides, and keep dumping material in it you feel like starting another pile. Then sift once and spread it in the garden. I have been doing this way for years and it saves a lot of back pain.

Do you keep the pile dry or wet ?

[John Sanford]

I leave it to my wife.

Good grief guys, get your priorities right! Leaves or Shop time ... leaves or shop time ... leaves or shop time ...! :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

Easy for you to say as Spring springs up around you... I wonder what your tune will be come April or May????

[Jacob Reverb]

Bic lighter and leaf blower.

The added benefit is that you can smelt iron while cleaning up your yard!

[Mike Holbrook]

I mow a 12 acre dog park with lots of trees, 30 HP Zero turn mower is my answer. Just mowed 4 or 5 acres today. Blew the leaves to the inside of the mowing area, continuously mulching as I went. I shredded a bunch of leaves small enough to vanish, mowing at 10-14 MPH. I don't understand why anyone would remove any organic matter from their lawn, and then what pay for fertilizer?

[Jason Roehl]

I mow a 12 acre dog park with lots of trees, 30 HP Zero turn mower is my answer. Just mowed 4 or 5 acres today. Blew the leaves to the inside of the mowing area, continuously mulching as I went. I shredded a bunch of leaves small enough to vanish, mowing at 10-14 MPH. I don't understand why anyone would remove any organic matter from their lawn, and then what pay for fertilizer?

I remove the leaves so that they can become compost for the garden. I don't care much about the grass--I want yummy food from my little corner of the world.

[Mark Engel]

If they fall in the yard, they get mowed. If they fall on the deck, they get swept up and composted for the vegetable garden.

[Edward Mitton]

I have a leaf blower that reverses and converts into a leaf 'vacuum' It picks up the leaves runs 'em through a blade that chops 'em up and shoots them into a catch bag. The chopped leaves go onto the garden spaces for winter mulch.

[Dan Carroll]

Dry, mostly I depend on the moisture that nature provides. I live in an area that gets pretty constant rain however and once in a great while when we do have a summer drought, I have been known to water the compost and give it a turn. I have a sifter I made with two legs just slightly higher than my wheel barrow that are loose. Set it on the barrow, shovel the compost in, shake and dump the large stuff back to go on the pile when done for some more time. Keep it simple.

[Neil Schoepp]

The kids and I rake them into a big pile at the bottom of the slide. They slide down and disappear. We play for awhile then rake 'em again and again. We end the day roasting hot dogs on sticks over a small fire while drinking either cider or hot chocolate. The kids love it and it's another day they are out and not in front of the tv/ipad/computer/wii screen.

[Dale Murray]

You have to be a bit careful with the dried leaves. They can be very acidic and cause issues in beds if they have not completely composted. On the three stage bin -- don't bother unless you want to turn the material and work it all the time. Just get four pallets and some steel fence posts from the farm supply store, set the pallets on end, drive the posts in between the pallet sides, and keep dumping material in it you feel like starting another pile. Then sift once and spread it in the garden. I have been doing this way for years and it saves a lot of back pain.

My yard would not lend itself to the rustic aesthetic that would come with the post/pallet solution. The three bins system is the one my father and I built 20 years ago, think of it as three single bins each with a difference stage of decomposition and each about the size of your pallet suggestion.

I bought this house 13 months ago, I have a lot of clay in my soil and the beds are horrid - the prior owners were in their 90's and could not keep the property.

Currently I have a massive pile of stuff decomposing where I intend to build my deck, the pile will be relocated to the composting bins next year.