Bagging leaves ?

[Bass1]

I know someone will tell me to use the search button, I already have and found alot of good answers and I am still cloudy. I have been bagging leaves this year instead of mulching them. I am using a 52" Ferris with a 25 kawi, I am using a ferris 3 bagger fast vac. I have been having good results but I am not satisfied with how fast it fills up its to fast, so I started using the 3in1 gator fusion blades which helped cut the clipping up more, but I was wondering if i use double blades that it will mulch them up even more and would be able to get more clippings in the bags which would mean less dumping and less space being filled up in a truck bed/or garbage bags.

Thanks for any replies and have a Merry CHRISTmas

[Smallaxe]

I gave up on bags, except for pine needles with the mower. Would you see an advantage to blowers and tarps with your setup?
I have finally just tied the tarps into huge baglike packages and haul them individually.

[SchnabelLawnCare]

How about mulching the leaves once without the bagger on and then add the bagger? This will give you finer clippings as well.

[STIHL GUY]

Originally Posted by SchnabelLawnCare

How about mulching the leaves once without the bagger on and then add the bagger? This will give you finer clippings as well.

if you do that some will be too small for the mower to pick up and you wont even notice them in the lawn so you will have less to bag

[SchnabelLawnCare]

Originally Posted by STIHL GUY

if you do that some will be too small for the mower to pick up and you wont even notice them in the lawn so you will have less to bag

Exactly. This helps out. If you can get by with mulching three times with gator blades you may not even have to bag at all. Depends on the leaf coverage, of course.

[LandscapeSavannah]

I use Toros with the mulching kits and the gator blades. I don't bag anything. If the rate of leaf fall is great- do it more often. Just because the turf is not growing does not mean you cannot do the maintenance once a week still. If they are unable to do a regular visit then add a fee for having more than the usual amount of leaves. Most places done often do not need any bags other than the minimal pick up of debris such as pine cones and sticks.

[Smallaxe]

Originally Posted by LandscapeSavannah

I use Toros with the mulching kits and the gator blades. I don't bag anything. If the rate of leaf fall is great- do it more often. Just because the turf is not growing does not mean you cannot do the maintenance once a week still. If they are unable to do a regular visit then add a fee for having more than the usual amount of leaves. Most places done often do not need any bags other than the minimal pick up of debris such as pine cones and sticks.

I had come across an experiment done by U. Mich. in which they mulch leaves onto the lawn at about the same height as the grass. By next spring the leaves, leave no trace and the lawn is green and healthy.
What kind of leaves do you mulch into the turf?

We have mostly Oak and Pine here so I do little in the way of experimentation with that.

[RigglePLC]

Ax,
That would probably be Michigan State University. They found that even heavy covers of leaves could be mulched with a mower, and that no harm resulted by spring.
http://www.msue.msu.edu/objects/cont...0Mulching.pdf/

[Smallaxe]

Originally Posted by RigglePLC

Ax,
That would probably be Michigan State University. They found that even heavy covers of leaves could be mulched with a mower, and that no harm resulted by spring.
http://www.msue.msu.edu/objects/cont...0Mulching.pdf/

Hey, thanks Riggle, that's it.

This article also addressed oak leaves, which I appreciate.

"...Take care that the pulverized leaves do not cover the grass blades
entirely. It is best if the tree leaves are “mowed” regularly, not
allowing them to lie on the turf more than 3 or 4 days. Fall is a
very important time for the turf to photosynthesize and store
carbohydrates, particularly under trees where the turf receives
limited sunlight during the summer."

Even mowing a couple times a week would still be cheaper for the client than hauling all this stuff away. The pine needles I will continue to take for my gardens or resale.

[LandscapeSavannah]

It's either pay a high price to spend a half a day cleaning out beds and leaves off the turf, or spend thirty minutes blowing out beds onto the grass and mulching everything up very fine, and pay a slight fraction of the cost. Plus, it will look great all year. I don't get any snow here like some of you guys. My season is April to September with grass and October to March with leaves. All kinds of leaves. But mostly oak.