Poll

How do you remove your leaves?

Only registered users are allowed to vote for this poll.
37 votes were received.

Rake	4		11%
Leaf blower (gas)	2		5%
Leaf blower (electric)	4		11%
Chop 'em with the lawn mower	17		46%
I don't have leaves you insensitive clod!	3		8%
There is no single technique that works for me	2		5%
I AM M A V I C	5		14%

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I've been mowing the fallen leaves in our yard and its been working pretty damn well. Its recommended by both environmentalists and law care nerds. Its also pretty easy - I don't understand why everyone doesn't do it this way although I heard a report that its not 'acceptable' in some neighborhoods - whatever that means.

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I have also been mowing them for the last couple years, but there is definitely something nostalgic about raking them up into a big pile.

If you intend to use fallen leaves as mulch it may make more sense to rake them into areas nearby and then mow.

Yep, you answered it already. HOAs do have a way of making selfish decisions for "aesthetics" not based on sustainability.

Leaf breakdown is good for the ground.

I primarily rake, but since so many redwood needles end up on our roof I have an electric leaf blower that I use up there since it is a bit dangerous sweeping near the edge (2.5-story drop off). I usually bag the big piles on the roof by hand, then blow the stuff off the edges of the roof and then rake everything down below. Have to keep after it after big windstorms, especially during fire season since that stuff is very flammable.

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

End of October . I mow lawn putting green height . Wind moves most away . neighbor to south has fence that stops the downwind leaves .

Like srf1957, mine are blowing in the wind. I’ve never raked in the last three+ decades we have owned our own home.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

How about an option for spousal contradictory opinions?

I'm a mower/composter, spouse is a raker. She also rakes at the first sign of leaf drop and i like to wait.

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Hurts like a bastid...

I'm not stupid. I pay the neighbor kid.

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“A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand.” Seneca the Younger

The police have no duty to respond. See Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005) or Warren v. District of Columbia[1] (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981)

Judge Lee wrote that “we cannot jettison our constitutional rights, even if the goal behind a law is laudable." 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

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I bought a Flowtron LE-900 Ultimate Mulcher and I've been very happy. It handles great big leaves very well and condenses huge piles of leaves so they can fit into my yard waste bin. When I don't have time to do it myself I pay for a service but that's pretty expensive.

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Ukulele music I couldn't find anywhere else.
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Quote
deckeda
Yep, you answered it already. HOAs do have a way of making selfish decisions for "aesthetics" not based on sustainability.

I logically understand this but our lawn looks pretty darn good after the mower mulches the leaves so I can only understand the 'we can't mow them' to mean 'I can't change my behavior for reasons I can't express'

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Quote
mattkime

Quote
deckeda
Yep, you answered it already. HOAs do have a way of making selfish decisions for "aesthetics" not based on sustainability.

I logically understand this but our lawn looks pretty darn good after the mower mulches the leaves so I can only understand the 'we can't mow them' to mean 'I can't change my behavior for reasons I can't express'

That sounds right. And it would help to attend the HOA meetings and come armed with some data or whatever. If nothing else it would cause them to state policy is based on subjective opinion of seeing no leaves > seeing mulched leaves.

If I ever move back into an HOA it'll be too soon.

We mow ‘em up, too. Bagging grass clippings when you mow is just as silly.

Combination of
Mow and bag
Mow / Mulch
Toro Leaf Vacuum.
Our drive way traps a lot of leaves due to a retaining wall…
Our Hedge traps a lot of leaves in the fence that runs parallel to it.

Steve

Ages ago I had raked the front yard and asked my roommate to pick up some leaf bags at the store as he was leaving. He said "No, let me tell you an easier way- Just rake the leaves into the flower beds and leave them there. That's why we have these big flower beds, the flowers themselves are just a cover. You notice everything in the flower beds is perennial and requires zero attention once planted". That was my "A-ha!" moment, and everywhere I've lived since then that had a yard I've put in a big flower bed with Cannas, Bearded Irises, Daffodils, Hostas, and the like so I'll have a place to rake the leaves to in the fall. A little effort right after moving in to delineate and plant a flower bed saves me a lot of effort bagging and disposing of leaves later on, the decaying leaves keep the weeds down in the flower bed(s), plus every square foot of flower bed is a square foot of yard that doesn't have to be mown, either.

Your mileage may vary.

Edited to add: Four O'Clocks are a great flower to use as well: They self-reseed, they form a bush that grows to a height of three feet or more, and the first frost makes the bush die and collapse completely so no mess to clean up, just more mulch for the flower bed.

One more edit- A bulb planter like this one makes short work of planting bulbs- [www.amazon.com]

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Lie to me if you must, but don't lie to me and insult my intelligence in the same sentence.

Resist the Thought Police: George Orwell's book 1984 was meant as a warning, not an instruction manual.

"Political correctness is just intellectual colonialism and psychological fascism for the creation of thought crime" - Steve Hughes

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/10/2021 11:31AM by Thrift Store Scott.

for decades I mulch mowed. then started to feel the build up was choking the greeneage. now i alternate mulching and mulching/bagging and spread the choppings around the bases of the oak and poplar trees in my yard.

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If you want to fix our country, work with us in the states. statesproject.org

"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama

Any leaves in the yard get mulch/mowed. On concrete surfaces, I use my leaf vac.

Florida is different though. Most leaves don't fall until spring, when new growth forces old leaves to fall. I moved to a house with a much larger yard and a whole lot more trees this year, so it remains to be seen how different it'll be at the new house. But I got mulching blades for the new riding mower, so I'm ready.

As kurtzie noted, you left off leaf vacuum.

It's clear that the conditions at each respondent's home have a huge impact on method. Mowing and mulching is a nonstarter where we live because 1) we don't have a lawn...only stone patios, decks and dirt forest floor; 2) when a big windstorm comes we can get over a foot of redwood needles and branches covering almost our entire lot and roof; 3) Instead of breaking down, the redwood needles dry out quickly in our climate and become an extreme fire hazard...gotta get them outta here ASAP.

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

I blow them around and mulch with mower, so I voted M A V I C.

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In tha 360. MRF User Map

We live in an evergreen (fir, hemlock, cedar) forest - one ornamental cherry, and a couple of small leaved "trash trees" leave them where they fall.

Rake and blow into pile and mow.
Take mulch to flower beds and garden areas.
Rake pine needles and place on top.

Once this is done, it may or may not get bagged to put around trees. It was /is 71 today in the valley and the beds and garden is done.

The odds of seeing another day like this any time soon, one more time in the next 3 months.

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Staunton, Virginia

I usually rake.

i have a older electric leaf blower that works good for clearing grass clippings off sidewalks and those tiny little leaves but for palm sized leaves or larger, I can't quite get the hang of how to blow and heard the leaves into a pile.

I know my city frowns on yard waste but my garbage can is usually only 1/4 to 1/2 full of actual garbage so this time of year I will rake the front lawn and put the leaves in there for pick up with the big side arm garbage trucks.

Mostly mow-mulch. We have one tree that lays down leaves so thick that it takes multiple passes to grind them down, so we often rake those into the veggie garden or a compost pile at the back of the lot.

Make the kids do it.

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Quote
M A V I C
Make the kids do it.

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********************************************
“A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand.” Seneca the Younger

The police have no duty to respond. See Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005) or Warren v. District of Columbia[1] (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981)

Judge Lee wrote that “we cannot jettison our constitutional rights, even if the goal behind a law is laudable." 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

[www.youtube.com]

Update - perhaps mowing the lawn doesn't remove them as completely as I thought they would. I'm happy but I can see how people who need to see an expanse of uninterrupted lawn would be upset. I'm curious how it might look in a day or two.

Quote
davester
It's clear that the conditions at each respondent's home have a huge impact on method. Mowing and mulching is a nonstarter where we live because 1) we don't have a lawn...only stone patios, decks and dirt forest floor; 2) when a big windstorm comes we can get over a foot of redwood needles and branches covering almost our entire lot and roof; 3) Instead of breaking down, the redwood needles dry out quickly in our climate and become an extreme fire hazard...gotta get them outta here ASAP.

Excellent point! I sometimes forget that not everywhere gets an average of 52 inches of rain a year like Birmingham does. That plus temps that don't often dip much below freezing in the winter means fallen leaves rot much more quickly and easily here than in other places.

Magnolia leaves are dang-near indestructible though, even here. Millions of years of evolution wasn't wasted on those bad boys, that's for sure.

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WARNING- If I posted a link in the above message, assume it is at minimum "NSFW- Language". Occasionally you'll be wrong.

Lie to me if you must, but don't lie to me and insult my intelligence in the same sentence.

Resist the Thought Police: George Orwell's book 1984 was meant as a warning, not an instruction manual.

"Political correctness is just intellectual colonialism and psychological fascism for the creation of thought crime" - Steve Hughes

What's my "Super Power"? I can make active threads go stone-dead with a single post. I try to use this power only for good and not for evil but, you know... stuff happens.

Wish I could mulch, but gotta bag them. Way too many to just leave them on the lawn.

At our old place, I had a big sweeper bagger thing I pulled behind my riding mower/tractor, then I dumped them in the pine straw beds between the Bradford pear trees that lined the yard.
If I was too lazy to get the sweeper out, I would use the riding mower to blow the leaves into the beds by making ever closer passes to the leaves thereby “herding” the leaves with the mower. What didn’t get blown got mow/mulched where they sat.

Now, I have a small strip of artificial turf that I can rake, sweep, pick up by hand in about 10 minutes. Lol

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Lawn service. I gave up all that outside stuff 20 yrs ago.

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JoeM

some rake, some electric, some not at all.

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!#$@@$#!

proofraed by OwEn the c@t.

We rake. It's good exercise. We also have an electric blower for the harder to rake areas. Rake into piles. Dump leaves into leaf shredder that drops into bags. Bags go to street. Then mow the rest. It's a fun Sunday. Not.

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Quote
Racer X

Quote
M A V I C
Make the kids do it.

Well, over the next few days it appears we're using rain instead. I have a feeling it'll take some dirt and grass with it though.

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