Fall Leaves: what do you do?

[AielLandscaping]

what do you guys do/suggest when it comes to fall leaves, i live in an area where there are lots and lots of mature trees that make my life a living hell when it comes to the fall... i have a echo pb-201 (i hope that's right) but i know that there has to be something better to use to move a lot of leaves.. does anyone use a parking lot blower to get leaves off of lawns? i've been thinking about that and i'm not sure if it would work or be practical...


Jeremiah

[BRL]

Jeremiah,
Welcome to LS! There's a great search feature at this site that you'll want to try. There were some real good threads about leaves last fall that had tons of info that you will find helpful. The search button is toward the top under the banner ad. Try "leaves" & "fall clean ups" to find those threads. Good luck.

[TLS]

You can go a number of ways for leaves.

1) Get a 8-10hp (parking lot blower) and blow into a pile. Then get a truck loader 18-25+hp and suck them up into a truck.

2) Depending on the type of mower, get a bagger system for it. Either an aftermarket make with a seperate engine or an OEM with spindle driven impeller fan. Then just dump your hoppers or bags into your truck and move on.

Either way is going to be $2000- $5000. A big (parking lot) blower is a nice investment as it is very usefull for other blow jobs. (no pun intended) You still need a backpack blower for blowing out beds and other small areas. So its wether you want to buy a leaf loader or a bagging system.

Good Luck

[ronslawncare]

heres the order i do it in.

blow out all beds with my bp blower .then mulch them WITH THE MOWER. then what evers left hit it with a rake or double cut it.bag it or tarp it. then use a ground blower ....the property will look spotless this way..good luck to u.but definataly ground blowers are the best for cleanups...

[lawnboy82]

i have found that the best way to do it is to blow out the gardens. then go over the turf areas with a ztr such as a walker, cougar, Z with a peco vac or something like that. the parking lots just keep a big 9 hp honda little wonder blower with you and blow em into a pile, however in a lot of parking lots the leaves seem to accumulate in certain areas and not all over the place. try using a lawn mower, goes much much faster.

[jones]

We're real lucky here. The city comes around and sucks up the leaves curbside. Just blow the leaves with a couple BR400's onto a tarp in the backyard and dump them in a pile ont the curb. The fronts even better, just blow them down the lawn into a pile. We get some monster piles at the curb and the city comes around and sucks 'em up. Anyone else get this kind of royal service from their local gov't??

[AielLandscaping]

we have curbside pick up as well.. so i don't have to haul the leaves away.. i'm just wondering if it would be better to get the largest backpack i can and/or a parking lot blower for my residential houses (all my customers are residential) and/or a debris loader to suck them off the lawn?

[Scag48]

I use my backpack blower to blow out all the leaves from the beds then just go at it with my Toro. I usually bag the leaves so I have to borrow my grandpa's Toro since mine doesn't bag but this year I'm gonna use my Groundsmaster since it bags. I did one leaf removal last year and they pay fairly well since most people hate dealing with the job. If you've got a ZTR, JRCO makes a Leaf Plow for them. I've heard they work pretty well. Just hook it up and plow away. It would save alot of time if you had a truck loader. Just push all the leaves to the curb and suck 'em up. A parking lot blower would be nice if you have large properties to do, but you will still need a backpack blower to get into the small places. Plus with the parking lot blower, you can do other jobs as well with it. Might be a good investment, but they will run you anywhere from $1,000-$2,000 for a good sized one.

[AielLandscaping]

oh ya, forgot to say that i don't have a ztr just yet, so that's not going to be an option for this fall, although next spring i'm going to get a 36" great dane super surfer.. so if you think that would work for leaves let me know

[jones]

Get the largest backpack much more versatile for doing res. props. Parking lot blowers can't blow out the beds . Backpacks have plenty of power for most res. cleanups. You don't need a debris loader if the city's sucking them for you.

[Kevin Neely]

I have two Toro Zmasters with 62" decks that I have installed their new Z recycler kits on them last fall. I know, I know, there isn't any recycler kit out there that works. Wrong! After being shown the proper usage of the Z with the kits in different conditions I NEVER take them off. No more clipping to deal with, no more leaves to dispose of and more PROFIT to the bottom line.

[jones]

You can't see the grass when our leaves come down. No way that Z would work.

[Kevin Neely]

I'm tell 'n ya I didn't believe it for myself until I used it. Granted in adverse situations you will have to adjust your ground speed and possibly your height of cut and double cut but the bottom line is the leaves are gone. This was a mild condition are you interested in see another?

[KirbysLawn]

How did I handle them? I dropped all customers with huge pin oaks, most, no, all did not want to pay for our time on the job and it was not worth it. Arrive and find layers of leaves on the ground after working for hours the last week, not me anymore!

As for lawns with mild to moderate leaf fall I use double gators and just mulch them up. I did have one lawn last year that I bagged, she moved and I did not continue with the new home owner. I plan on buying ZERO leaf bags this fall.

Ray

[Eric ELM]

I mulch leaves and I have done this for the past 7 years. If you go over a lawn 2 times even if you can't see the grass, it chops them up to small bits of leaves and they turn to dirt. In the below picture, you can't see the grass where I haven't mowed yet, but you sure can where I have gone over it one time. After the second time, it looks like it was picked up. I have seen the leaves so deep that the deck is pushing them even with it raised up to 5", so we do get leaves here in Illinois also. This lawn here isn't our worst one for leaves either. We have some lawns in an area that has huge Oak, Walnut, Hickory, and other trees and we mulch those leaves also. I have found it is quicker and easier to go over a lawn twice to mulch them than to pick them up with my 22 bushel lawn vac. BTW, you have to mulch leaves each week for this to work good. The blade combination I use for leaves is on the double blade page on my website.

http://elmlawnsite.com/images/001011-010.jpg

[jones]

We mulch until the one really big drop near the end then we pile them at the curb & bag the lawn for the winter. Alot of time there's snow on them (Canada) near the end and mulching isn't an option.

[65hoss]

Its way to early in the season to be thinking about the leaf disaster.

From a planning standpoint, I would sit at home if I had to use a walkbehind and a bagger. If you had a ZTR you can do a great job with bagging system.

[lawrence stone]

Kevin thanks for the pics.

I have a 62" Toro and would like to know more details about the recycling kit.

But since the deck just barely fits in my trailer the block off plate might make the unit to wide for me to transport.

[awm]

HI JONES . YOU WILL GET A SUPRIZE WHEN YOU LEARN TO MULCH
LEAVES. ESPECIALY WITH A Z AND DOUBLES.IF YOU CAN HIT IT WEEKLY
IVE NEVER FOUND ONE I COULDNT MAKE THE LEAVES DO A DISAPPEARING ACT.
I USE TO DO THE SAME WITH A LT ,BUT ITS NOT IN THE CLASS W THE Z.

[jones]

HI AWM,
EVER TRIED TO MULCH WITH A DUSTING OF SNOW ON THE LEAVES?

Eric,
That's impressive but are you sure you didn't doctor the pic? I don't see enough trees for that kind of leaf coverage especially if you're doing it weekly. :confused:

[CSRA Landscaping]

You know, I used to have a guy that worked with me that always had a reason for his mistakes. And leaves fall straight down, too. :rolleyes:

[jones]

Just wondering if the coverage on the right side of pic was the same as the section mulched, as I said it's impressive. Should have put smiley face after doctor the pic comment.

[awm]

YES , I GOT LEAVES W A DRY 1/2 INCH ON THEM . THINGS WERE SO BRITTLE THAT NOTHIN BUT BROWN DUST CAME OUT. LATER

[cutntrim]

Not sure where Jones cuts...Oakville maybe? Well we cut in Burlington and Oakville here in Ontario, and I've gotta agree with him. We've got properties here where the leaves are unbelievably thick. Your not gonna be mulching these unless maybe you double cut weekly into December. People here won't go for weekly contracts into December for lawncutting. Hell, we're plowing by then. Most years we end up doing cleanups one day, plowing the next, then going back to more cleanups if the snow melts. Leaves on many trees fall late here, and all at once. Mulching isn't a viable option on most properties.

[jones]

Cutntrim,
Etobicoke. Seen our tree lined streets?
Thank god I havn't been breaking my back every year cleaning those leaves for nothing. I was beginning to actually believe I could have just run a mower over them.

[cantoo]

We do some leaves in Ontario too. One property the leaves were 12" deep on the lawn and on the roof of the cottages. We had to do pickup with the Walker then blow off the rooves then go over it again with the Walker. The leaves were so thick I used the bacpack blower and walked beside the Walker to spread them out so they could be picked up instead of just plowing them. We use a 8 hp peco to load them into the pick up for removal to our compost pile. I actually like doing leaves because it looks so good when we are done.

[Eric ELM]

Originally posted by jones
Eric,
That's impressive but are you sure you didn't doctor the pic? I don't see enough trees for that kind of leaf coverage especially if you're doing it weekly. :confused:

I have the original high resolution picture. Do you want me to send it to you? Why is there so much doubt about what I post. I have no reason to BS you or others. I am here to help members and I figure if I show you pictures of what I'm talking about, it should be enough proof. It doesn't seem like you believe what anybody says. I have a before and after picture of a lawn that has more leaves than that on it, but you wouldn't believe the pictures anyway.

If you want to find out about my honesty, do a vote on who the members believe more, You or Me. Until you find me wrong, you better stop posting all this crap. Consider this your last warning Casey/Jones.

[jones]

Eric,
I think you misunderstood my comment. I have no doubt that is an untouched photo but the leaf coverage on the right side of the photo seemed excessive and I was wondering if the mulched sections had the same coverage?

[KirbysLawn]

Let's see....Casey age 24 Toronto, Jones age 26 Ontario, both the same person, age 2 years and moved in one month. I'm with Eric on the trust thing.

Jones did post later "Should have put smiley face after doctor the pic comment", I do think he was kidding.

Ray

[Eric ELM]

How could I have misunderstood your post?

I took that picture so I could show how good mulching works. I tried to get more of the completed area than uncompleted area in the picture, since that was what I wanted members to see. I have posted this picture before, but I wanted new members to see how good it works. I realize everywhere in the world, you have more leaves than here (so it seems), so it might not work for you.

[awm]

I think NC is as blessed with trees as anywhere ive been.
like i say i can make any leaves disappear if the customer will let me hitem weekly.as for the ones who wait for them to fall ,they get
hit plenty hard in the wallet.no sense in that. just mine, later now

[TFL]

Get a bagger its the only way to go as long as you have a good place to haul them of to.

[John DiMartino]

I bought a bagger for my Dixie chopper,mine does mulch them up pretty good,but people here dont want it pretty good,they want them gone,and are willing to pay for it.I add a bagging fee,and its easy for them,and it keeps the propertys from getting out of control in the fall with buildup.Spring clean-ups/dethatching is also much easier and more productive than using a rake and bp blower.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

I make a lot of money on leaf pick ups

I charge generly $75.00 per a man hour

I put Peco vac's on my Lazers
use back pack to blow out beds
pick up with mowers
curb side pickup with a Giant Vac 6001 (if they want it hauled away)
need a big truck for curb side (have an IHC 4900 with a 16' dump bed)
charge them a lot to haul because dump fee are expensive. Truck is barrowed from a farmer

YOU CAN MAKE A LOT OF MONEY ON LEAF REMOVAL
we do it almost all winter as long as no snow ofcourse
I get more on leaves there a less LCO that do leaves

LOL THE LAWNGODFATER

[coyeote]

Kevin Neely,

Which mulch kit were you using on your two 62" Toro's?