topic Re: LEAVES!!! in Garden

LEAVES!!!

SeaMaiden — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 16:26:02 GMT

I love gardening.. but, fall is so much work with all the maple leaves I have to rake up! Hours and hours of raking. I try to keep up or my yard is just buried. Anyone else in the same boat?

Re: LEAVES!!!

software — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 16:31:23 GMT

I have a blower, it's amazing

Blows like a jet engine.

Lightweight.

I can't wait for fall to use it.

Re: LEAVES!!!

fthunt — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 16:40:34 GMT

A TORO blows those puppies right to the woods. More work when leaves stick to the wet grass - as is now. No raking.

Re: LEAVES!!!

SeaMaiden — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 16:52:10 GMT

@software wrote:
I have a blower, it's amazing

Blows like a jet engine.
Lightweight.

I can't wait for fall to use it.

@software so... you blow them into a big pile and then do what? Don't you still have to put them into a yard waste container?

Re: LEAVES!!!

SeaMaiden — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 16:56:50 GMT

@fthunt wrote:
A TORO blows those puppies right to the woods. More work when leaves stick to the wet grass - as is now. No raking.

@fthunt oh... I see... I have no woods...

I have to manually put them into the one yard waste container we are given and it is picked up once a week.... so It takes me MONTHS of filling this container each week until they are gone... then it is spring LOL! I pay for the container to be picked up weekly... and if I put out paper bags of leaves I am charged $3.00 an extra bag of yard waste. So, I try not to put out the extra bags to keep my bill down.

Re: LEAVES!!!

ValuSkr — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 16:56:01 GMT

Ideally, you can run the lawnmower over them, rather than raking. The shredded leaves are great fertilizer for the lawn. But that's not always possible, especially if they're deep - which can happen if you've had wet weather and have been unable to get out there with the mower.

Re: LEAVES!!!

SeaMaiden — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 16:59:29 GMT

@software wrote:
I have a blower, it's amazing

Blows like a jet engine.

@software Yes.... I hear those" jet engines" often around my neighboorhood

Re: LEAVES!!!

proudlyfromNJ — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 17:05:25 GMT

Our whole neighborhood has lawn services, so those jet engines are around all summer and then for fall cleanup and then spring cleanup.

My husband has a riding mower and a big bag attached for leaves, however we gave this up years ago and have had a lawn service ever since.

Re: LEAVES!!!

catter70 — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 17:29:41 GMT

I just have one big maple tree and then whatever blows in from other yards. The maple usually doesn't even drop until near the end of Nov. In my township, you can rake them out on the street to the curb and they vacuum them, but the issue with that is you never know when they'll be in your area and you rake them out and eventually they just blow back in your yard. I tried it last year and the day they finally picked up, someone parked right over them and they couldn't vacuum them up. I do get a lot of help from my neighbors, also. They blow them and vacuum them as I rake. They put them in their composter for their garden.

Re: LEAVES!!!

mousiegirl — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 18:18:00 GMT

@SeaMaiden wrote:
I love gardening.. but, fall is so much work with all the maple leaves I have to rake up! Hours and hours of raking. I try to keep up or my yard is just buried. Anyone else in the same boat?

@SeaMaiden I use all of our leaves as compost, really enrich the soil

Re: LEAVES!!!

Equuleus — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 18:20:32 GMT

@SeaMaiden we have a Sun Joe that you can either blow them or vacuum them up and empty the bag into a lawn and leaf bag and we put that on our sidewalk for the city to pick up.

My husband used ours yesterday and said it was the best suggestion I ever had to purchase it.

Re: LEAVES!!!

Qcloudy — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 18:23:57 GMT

When I used to have leaves, I mowed them up into the mower bag. A huge amount of leaves will be reduced to one bag. Areas that can't be mowed I blew to a mowable area and then sucked them into the mower bag.

Re: LEAVES!!!

mousiegirl — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 18:29:46 GMT

@SeaMaiden Yesterday, I spread newspaper around the plants in an area and then topped them with a thick layer of leaves, hopefully to ward off weeds, and will put other leaves in the flower beds.

We used to have a mulching machine, and that in addition to bunny business, gave us the best soil ever. Now, it is a struggle, no more bunnies or machine.

Re: LEAVES!!!

KentuckyWoman — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 18:50:52 GMT

Autumn leaves are a fact of life where we live. The maples are beautiful but they do have to be raked and dragged to the curb for the "old leaf truck" to come along and vacuum them up. We live in a neighborhood where there are a lot of mature trees. Mostly pin oak, red oak, and maples. We have a 100 foot tall red oak and a 75 foot tall maple. They are just turning here. We will be raking, using the leaf blower, and more raking for most of November. I really love the leaf blower. Helps get them out of the shrubs and beds a lot faster and easier. When it get windy, leaves blow in and out of our yard from everywhere. What ticks me off is one of our neighbors doesn't lift a rake so all winter and early spring we are cleaning red maple leaves off our front porch and shrubs.

Re: LEAVES!!!

Sweetbay magnolia — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 18:46:26 GMT

We are surrounded by mature (80-100') trees.

I let the leaves blanket my gardens and enrich the compost. The woodland is left undisturbed. This is how soil is made. The portions we have devoted to open space, in lawn, we mow with the mulching mower.

I used to live on a very tiny lot (had a beautiful garden). I cannot tell you how many complaints there were when I put collected leaves in the common area, which was woodland. Instead, the HOA paid $$$ for the leaves to be blown away, and then shredded hardwood to be blown in.

Fireflies complete their life cycle in fallen leaves.

All situations are different. I really hope someday that we learn to live a little more companionably with "nature".

Good luck with the leaves, @SeaMaiden. I truly do understand that work is involved.

Re: LEAVES!!!

RedTop — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 19:03:17 GMT

My husband used to spend hours raking and burning leaves and pine needles on crisp fall nights. He stopped raking years ago and now just uses the lawnmower to chop them up and the wind blows them away.

Re: LEAVES!!!

SeaMaiden — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 20:08:06 GMT

@catter70 wrote:
I just have one big maple tree and then whatever blows in from other yards. The maple usually doesn't even drop until near the end of Nov. In my township, you can rake them out on the street to the curb and they vacuum them, but the issue with that is you never know when they'll be in your area and you rake them out and eventually they just blow back in your yard. I tried it last year and the day they finally picked up, someone parked right over them and they couldn't vacuum them up. I do get a lot of help from my neighbors, also. They blow them and vacuum them as I rake. They put them in their composter for their garden.

Hello @catter70 that sounds nice that your neighbors help out!

Re: LEAVES!!!

SeaMaiden — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 20:16:16 GMT

@Sweetbay magnolia wrote:
We are surrounded by mature (80-100') trees.

I let the leaves blanket my gardens and enrich the compost. The woodland is left undisturbed. This is how soil is made. The portions we have devoted to open space, in lawn, we mow with the mulching mower.

I used to live on a very tiny lot (had a beautiful garden). I cannot tell you how many complaints there were when I put collected leaves in the common area, which was woodland. Instead, the HOA paid $$$ for the leaves to be blown away, and then shredded hardwood to be blown in.

Fireflies complete their life cycle in fallen leaves.

All situations are different. I really hope someday that we learn to live a little more companionably with "nature".

Good luck with the leaves, @SeaMaiden. I truly do understand that work is involved.

@Sweetbay magnolia What a lovely avatar name!

Yes you are so right and understand that the leaves contribute to the soil. I am really into natural everything....and love nature.

There is Plenty of leaf matter is left behind after I rake. I am surrounded my a huge grove of huge maple trees....lovely in the summer ! But so many leaves fall in the fall that they cover everything and my yard would be nothing but feet of leaves for I did not remove some of them. Nature would love to take back my yard!😄

Re: LEAVES!!!

Lilysmom — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 20:39:47 GMT

@SeaMaiden, count me right in there with you hating the leaves. We are surrounded by huge maples, oaks and birch trees. Man, I hate the oak leaves. They do not break down and they fall all winter. In March, there are still leaves falling.

Like others, I bought a 56 V blower which helps a lot. I try to blow them into the grass so DH can mow them but I still have to deal with the beds. I cleaned out two of the front beds today by hand. I will be at it until close to the end of November as well.

I do the Fall cleanup very well because I hate working in black fly season in the spring. Happy cleanup everyone! LM

Re: LEAVES!!!

Lilysmom — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 20:48:00 GMT

@SeaMaiden, here you go...

Now, if the wind blows them back before DH gets home from his trip, I will not be amused. LM