Curly Sue-I thought I was the only one who knew about the mower trick
;-) I have a mid size tractor with a mulching deck, (and a lot of leaves
from numerous mature pin oaks, maples, lindens, etc) 2-3 times over the
yard twice a season mulches them neatly into the grass with no more
effort than cutting the lawn, which I assume is using them as
fertilizer. I do it 1st when about half are down, then again when they
all are. Been doing it for years, every fall the neighbors still stare
like I'm nuts but no dead patches in the lawn or other adverse effects.
Only trick is they have to be pretty dry to chop up effectively. The
pin oaks in particular practically turn to powder.

Used to use a leaf blower to blow the gutters clean. Always wore
hearing protection. Damn things stink too, 2 cycle engines are pretty
dirty. Recently I got a Ridgid 5 hp shop vac with the larger diameter
hose, tried it on the gutters not really expecting it to work & was
stunned how effective it is. I'll NEVER use another method. Plus
unlike the blower which blasted the leaves everywhere, you just empty
the vac into a suitable container; nothing to rake up! A big-ass shop
vac is one of the best things to have around the house!

Dan

Curly Sue wrote:
On Mon, 01 Nov 2004 20:44:13 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


Rochester NY: We're being buried in leaves. My son and I raked up 40+ bags
of leaves in about 2 hours this past Sunday. We seem to be alone in the use
of that prehistoric tool, the rake. I'm surrounded by neighbors in their
early 30s to mid 40s, in good shape, all of whom use leaf blowers and take
all day to gather the same amount of leaves. And...cripes....the noise! Want
an investment tip? Hearing aids - the Next Big Thing for an entire
generation.

What's with these things? Is Home Depot putting guns to peoples' heads and
forcing them to buy leaf blowers?

End of Totally Pointless Rant


Best of both worlds- rake the leaves into a pile (quietly), then use a
leaf vacuum/shredder for two minutes to suck them into a bag. Another
advantage, 1/2 (or less) the number of bags. Save the shreds and use
them for mulch in the garden.

Alternatively, just mow the leaves and let them disintegrate in place.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!