- Thread starter Midway
- Start date
You may want to try some gator mulching blades on your mower . You can chop up the leaves a lot and sort of windrow them and really cut down the raking and leaf hauling. Even with a bagger the mulching blades will help you. Some mowers have a mulching deck with a cover that keeps the leaves in and really cuts them up. Keeping up with the leaves and mowing them when dry is best. I have never used a bagger but have friends with one. You will have a lot of cut up leaves to put on a garden, compost or get rid of with a bagger.
kcm.MN
Well-known Member
- Location
- NW Minnesota
We have a simple Husqvarna riding mower and have a 3-bag bagger for the rear of it. It fills up FAST, especially when collecting dry leaves, but sure beats raking!!
3 years ago I basically buried some almost-dead Spruce trees with leaves. Trees were all under 36" tall, and we had written most off as dead. Well, they were still alive after Spring thaw, then started looking better over the Summer. Now 3 years later and every one is strong and healthy, including one we thought was stone-dead.
This year we used grass clippings in flower beds. Had the worst drought on record. Never did water the flowers, but they still survived due to the heavy mulching.
I cannot recommend a bagger highly enough. There are times I wish for a pull-behind unit, but they are too large for me to get in many of the areas I need to get to, so will stick with the mounted bagger -- and smile every time I empty it! :mrgreen:
3 years ago I basically buried some almost-dead Spruce trees with leaves. Trees were all under 36" tall, and we had written most off as dead. Well, they were still alive after Spring thaw, then started looking better over the Summer. Now 3 years later and every one is strong and healthy, including one we thought was stone-dead.
This year we used grass clippings in flower beds. Had the worst drought on record. Never did water the flowers, but they still survived due to the heavy mulching.
I cannot recommend a bagger highly enough. There are times I wish for a pull-behind unit, but they are too large for me to get in many of the areas I need to get to, so will stick with the mounted bagger -- and smile every time I empty it! :mrgreen:
Russ from MN
Well-known Member
- Location
- Bemidji MN
I don't see a bagger listed as an accessory or attachment for your mower, but I certainly would think there is one. We have a Husqvarna with 2 solid tubs on it, and love it! The previous mower had soft bags, and that makes it harder to dump into a plastic bag, but if your putting it on a pile or in a trailer it wouldn't matter. The grass or leaves need to be pretty dry, but we don't ever mow when it's wet anyhow.
gtractorfan
Well-known Member
Leaves fill up a mower bagger fast. Sometimes when the leaves are laying extra thick I mulch them first, then use the bagger. Other times I go around and around with the garden tractor blowing the leaves to the middle. Then use a large sheet of plastic and rake them onto the plastic and drag them to the garden or etc. That works best for me and no extra investment.
Geo-TH,In
Well-known Member
I have a large bagger, a 54 inch Ohio steel leaf rake and a agr-vac
I don't use bagger becasuse it tends to choke with wet grass. It tends to pic up dust, dirt, mold and puts it very close to my head. Need a shower after using
Vac wagon will also pick up a lot of crap, but it holds more. When I pick up leaves, I have to pay attention which direction the wind is coming form, like spreading manure with an open cab tractor. Keep the mower pointed such you aren't covered in crap.
It's best to chop leaves before picking them up with any of the three options. '
Leaf rake doesn't hold many unchopped leaves. It however it's doesn't pick up dust and crap. No shower required after using it.
I don't use bagger becasuse it tends to choke with wet grass. It tends to pic up dust, dirt, mold and puts it very close to my head. Need a shower after using
Vac wagon will also pick up a lot of crap, but it holds more. When I pick up leaves, I have to pay attention which direction the wind is coming form, like spreading manure with an open cab tractor. Keep the mower pointed such you aren't covered in crap.
It's best to chop leaves before picking them up with any of the three options. '
Leaf rake doesn't hold many unchopped leaves. It however it's doesn't pick up dust and crap. No shower required after using it.
Steve in IL
Member
Not a big fan of mower-powered collectors/baggers. Mom has one on her JD 445 It does ok, but you have to go slow, or it will plug the pipe. Also, it doesnt chew up the leaves much, so the collector fills up very quickly. Brother has a trailer collector, with its own engine (there are many similar brands). Works great. Only downside is that youll need room to turn around in your yard.
I also grind up the leaves then use the mower to blow them into windrows or piles and rake them onto a plastic tarp with some baler twines thru the grommetts on one end which is my tugs, I drag the tarp onto the garden then pull it over itself to unload it. The one mower I have now with the mulching blades and mulch cover for the deck makes for very few leaves to deal with anymore once I chop them.
I have a bagger I use all the time with my Craftsman. On grass it works great and I have compost pile where I incorporate the grass. On leaves, especially big ones like maple, I try to pick up often. When they are too heavy and plug bagger right away I go over the whole yard, after bagger chute plugs it basically chops the leaves. When I have gone over and chopped them I empty bagger and chute then go back and pick up chopped leaves. They also work out better on compost pile when chopped. If the leaves or ground i too wet it sometimes is a problem to pick up chopped leaves.
Blackhole49
Well-known Member
- Location
- White Lake MI
If your yard is small enough for a collector, make a couple of passes with the mower then back over the pile. and mulch them into oblivion. If it is a large yard, build one of these.
caterpillar guy
Well-known Member
Way to much work for a few leaves. I just let them be. They'll rot out.
I like the Cyclone Rake I brought 4 years ago to take care of my leaves. They will fit on about any mower. It chops them up as it blows them into the trailer. They come in 5 different sizes depending on your needs. You can google them and get their web site.
BarnyardEngineering
Well-known Member
- Location
- Rochester, NY
Regular baggers don't work if you have heavy leaves or grass. The tube just plugs up and you spend all your time stopping to clean it out.
My best experience with bagging leaves is after I grind them down as much as possible. The drier the leaves are when you start, the better. Run over them with the mower repeatedly, blowing them into a windrow. THEN put the bagger tube on and SLOWLY suck up the windrow.
My best experience with bagging leaves is after I grind them down as much as possible. The drier the leaves are when you start, the better. Run over them with the mower repeatedly, blowing them into a windrow. THEN put the bagger tube on and SLOWLY suck up the windrow.
BarnyardEngineering
Well-known Member
- Location
- Rochester, NY
That's fine if you like your lawn to be an ugly, greasy, slimy, dead mess.
It's not just "a few leaves" here. My entire front yard from the house to the road will usually end up shin-deep in maple leaves. They blow in from all the neighbors' trees.
Previous owner left them raked into a windrow by the street. Town never came to get them. Guess that's not something they do... I had to cart them by hand 500' to the back of the property one greasy, slimy, stinky wheelbarrow load at a time. There was a streak of dead ground along the street all summer long. Then that fall I hand raked them on to a tarp, and dragged them to the back with my "new" Cub. Finally after a few years I got a "real" riding lawnmower and started grinding them up.
Brian G. NY
Well-known Member
I got tired of raking leaves 10 or 12 years ago. Mind you, I have a whole bunch of large maples so I know a little about leaves.
I sharpen up the blades really well on my riding lawn tractor.
Start by "mowing" backward over the leaves...this results in a couple of small windrows of half chopped leaves. Then go forward and further chop the leaves which also throws the remaining unchopped leaves to the right. Now back up again and repeat the process until you've covered the whole lawn. The leaves will be chopped so fine they sift right down through the grass. When there is a large layer of leaves, you sometimes have to raise the deck when backing up and you may have to do the process twice. It takes a while but is well worth the effort. Now, your leaves will certainly rot away and add nutrients to the soil. Where I can't get to with the tractor. I use a Lawn-Boy with a mulching block which does almost the same thing in one pass.
I sharpen up the blades really well on my riding lawn tractor.
Start by "mowing" backward over the leaves...this results in a couple of small windrows of half chopped leaves. Then go forward and further chop the leaves which also throws the remaining unchopped leaves to the right. Now back up again and repeat the process until you've covered the whole lawn. The leaves will be chopped so fine they sift right down through the grass. When there is a large layer of leaves, you sometimes have to raise the deck when backing up and you may have to do the process twice. It takes a while but is well worth the effort. Now, your leaves will certainly rot away and add nutrients to the soil. Where I can't get to with the tractor. I use a Lawn-Boy with a mulching block which does almost the same thing in one pass.
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