The great leaf battle commences ...

[rayinpenn]

One of the reasons I removed the pool were those darn leaves. I can remember netting leaves to close the pool while simultaneously they continued to fall around me and into the pool.. I thought this is insanity. Well the pool is gone but the leaves are still quite the pain.

My old tractor had a bunch of bags on it so i could mow up some of the leaves. My much loved John Deer is a mulcher so i must blow the leaves first or there will be a huge mess. 2 days later and it looks like the house where the people dont clean their leaves.

I was even think of buying a Billy Goat vacuum (looks like a mower). Anyone have any secrets? Blanket method? I have a couple leaf barrels but its tedious fill em up dump em in the woods.

[aja8888]

My secret is to wait until ALL the leaves are off the trees, then call my leaf removal guy.

[pacergal]

Tree removal?? LOL
Two of our big trees had cracked during the winter ice storms around here in the past, so we eventually had them removed. Our neighbors beautiful huge oak tree was removed two years ago. Decreased some of the leaves for us.
So now, we only have one red maple left, but plenty of 60 year old oak and maple trees of our neighbors whose leaves blow into our yard. We don't have a lot of property, so DH rakes them up occasionally. Otherwise, we let the wind blow them away!

[travelover]

For years I had a vacuum blower mounted on the back of my tractor that blew the leaves from the mower discharge into a small trailer. Then I had to unload the leaves which were chopped and often wet.

Later, I just let them fall and ran them over with a Toro mulching push mower. If they were too thick in one spot, I used the tractor to spread them, then mulched.

[Red Badger]

I had our two Bradford Pear trees removed from our front yard several years ago (these fellas give trees a bad name). Our backyard is wrapped with the neighbors' Leyland Spruce trees. We have ample shade, utmost privacy, and NO leaves!

[freetodream]

Aw yes, the annual leaf routine. I have tried several methods. For years I used to round them up on a huge tarp, clip the tarp shut with spring clamps and drag them into a field adjacent to our lawn. That worked but after dragging 15-20 heavy tarps every fall I got tired of it, & a little smarter...

Since I mow with a non mulching JD lawn mower- the best method for me is to wait till the leaves all drop and then round them up into piles throughout the yard. Then the fun begins by driving round and round them into tighter and tighter circles until they are chopped up into tiny pieces. Sometimes after a bunch of circling you have to drive straight thru the piles, spreading them out and then repile them again. This does take a little practice but once you get the hang of it, it works very well.

I then pick up the larger mulched piles and haul them to compost. I also spread them in the lawn which is good fertilizer for next year.

The key is to greatly reduce the leaf volume by turning them into mulch; it works well and the best thing is you have much less residual leaves to pick up and haul away.

[GravitySucks]

Put in ever greens.
Last house has so many maples that I had to use a snow shovel to pick them up on the front lawn. One year when I was out of town a few days it snowed, then most of the leaves fell, then it snowed again. Killed all the grass.I

Always just used a mulching mower in the backyard.
This place has only one maple. I just mow them up.

[nativenewenglander]

I have a Gravely tractor with two mower attachments. Once I get the leave is piles using my 50 inch mower I roll over them grinding them up with the brush deck. It's like a food processor for leaves. The oak leaves go around the blueberries all others on the vegetable garden.

[Ronstar]

I use a leaf sweeper behind my lawn tractor and throw the leaves on the burn pile.

[GalaxyBoy]

I got one of those lawn sweepers to pull behind the riding mower over 10 years ago. When it gets full, which can be after one pass in my yard, I dump them in a pile at the back of my property where it meets the woods and the drainage ditch. The problem is all the getting on and off the mower. I think this year I’ll try the mowing over the leaves to chop them up method.

Years ago we lived in a small old house where the city eventually came by to vacuum the leaves up at the curb. We’d pile them up and leave barely enough space for our two vehicles to parallel park. The neighbor college kids in their rental duplex would fill their spaces with leaves then park in front of our house. One of many reasons not to live near rental properties.

[samclem]

I can mulch mine in place with our push mower, right into the lawn It doesn't look great, but by the time the leaves really start falling the grass is almost ready to go dormant anyway. My thought is that the leaf debris will break down over the wilbreak down over the fall, winter, early spring and, together with some delayed-action fertilizer, help the grass a bit. I think it also helps moderate the soil temps a little over the winter and keeps the moisture in during the spring. Anyway, it's a lot easier than hauling the leaves anywhere.

[MuirWannabe]

The yard leaves are manageable. But the mounds of leaves that pile up in my beds, in and around all the bushes, are a pain. Can’t really blow them out without also blowing all the mulch out of the beds. Plus the leaves get really settled in between the bushes. Haven’t found another solution than good ol fashion raking.

My other challenge is the leaf drop timing. Most drop within a couple weeks of each other. But I have a large red oak in my front yard that doesn’t drop until a month later. So my leaf wars have multiple battles before victory or an armistice can be declared.

[Montecfo]

I mowed and bagged yesterday. i alsk mulcb them. but I have to bag a bunch at least once per aeason. it is really wooded and most of them stay in the woods.

It is not that bad.

[Philliefan33]

It’s a matter of attitude. For DH and I, we look at leaf season as a chance to enjoy the great outdoors. With two houses, our leaves provide us with much opportunity for outdoor recreation.

Leaf season at the mountain house will start soon. We have a small lawn and septic mound in the middle of an acre of oak & maple forest. When the grass gets blanketed, we rake into piles then use a tarp to drag the piles out into the woods. There is a lot of leaves, but disposal is relatively easy. We usually have two or three rounds of raking at this house before the season ends.

Leaf season at the suburban house is about two or three weeks after the mountain house. Fewer trees there, but more fine lawn to protect. At that house we take and bag the leaves into 50-gallon trash bags that get put in the pickup and transported to the township yard waste collection site about two miles away. Usually two or three sessions at that house, not ending until the first week of December.

Yes, we get a lot of exercise courtesy of our trees [emoji4]

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philliefan33 .......... our leaves provide us with much opportunity for outdoor recreation. ...........

[Senator]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 My secret is to wait until ALL the leaves are off the trees, then call my leaf removal guy.

My secret is to do the green thing. I let them mulch in place. The ones that blow against the fence kill the grass so I don't have to trim there, which I do not do anyway.

No one gives away gold stars for having the best lawn in the neighborhood.

[Jerry1]

I have a riding mower and a bagging attachment. The mower sucks up and mulches the leaves and then I dump them on the street and the city comes by and scoops or vacuums them up. Really not that bad but I feel everyone’s pain regarding the timing. Wish the trees would all just pick a nice dry couple of days (the weekend for the working folks) to drop their leaves and get it over with. I also wish everyone would clear them at the same time. It’s a bit frustrating when you’re done and the leaves have all fallen to have to do more cleanup because someone down the street doesn’t feel the need to rake.

[GalaxyBoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry1 Wish the trees would all just pick a nice dry couple of days (the weekend for the working folks) to drop their leaves and get it over with.

We've had a dry several weeks and everything is shriveling up. I came back from an almost 2 week vacation expecting to have knee-high grass; I still haven't had to mow after 3 weeks. Leaves are turning pale yellow and dropping off the trees. Our leaf season is supposed to be late October but I'm wondering if there will be anything left to turn color by then. If I have to rake them I expect them to put on a show for me first.

[target2019]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayinpenn I was even think of buying a Billy Goat vacuum (looks like a mower). Anyone have any secrets? Blanket method? I have a couple leaf barrels but its tedious fill em up dump em in the woods.

We've been on a 5/8 acre lot for 25 years. It is all trees, no grass. Most years I used a yard vac, but just shredded leaves. Did not use the bag. When things become overwhelming, I use tarp and carry the loads to curb. Shredded stuff can be used around certain plants and bushes.

[LRDave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Senator My secret is to do the green thing. I let them mulch in place. The ones that blow against the fence kill the grass so I don't have to trim there, which I do not do anyway. No one gives away gold stars for having the best lawn in the neighborhood.

+1

Also, there will be a high number of cocoons over-wintering in rolled up hardwood leaves. You will be doing them a favor to wait until Spring warms up to remove your leaves after butterflies/moths/other insect emerge from their cocoons.