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Ford 9N, 2N & 8N Discussion Forum
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Grinding the leaves

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RandyR

11-23-2005 22:41:40




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Hi Folks. After running a lawn mower over the leaf piles and chopping them into little pieces, I wonder if a chipper, PTO or small engine powered, would chop them up as well. Anyone tried it? Thanks.




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Carl S in NH

11-25-2005 04:38:19




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 Re: Grinding the leaves in reply to RandyR, 11-23-2005 22:41:40  
I have a chipper/shredder that I acquired as payment for some work I did for someone.
It does a great job shredding leaves. You just have to be very careful not to feed it any stones.
I wait for a good dry day, run the dry leaves I raked up through it twice, then double bag them and store them under a tarp to be used for next year's mulch in the garden. Any excess is composted. I think of fall as "leaf harvesting season" - the leaves are sort of a crop that nature provides for my use!
Carl S.

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Angelo

11-24-2005 19:50:49




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 Re: Grinding the leaves in reply to RandyR, 11-23-2005 22:41:40  
I planted 300 eucalyptus about 20 years ago. I've cut trees down, pulled stumps and used most of the wood for firewood. For kindling, I used the smaller branches down to 1/2"; the rest I stack in windrows, back the tractor over the beginning of a windrow, and engage and lower my 5' Befco rotary mower over it. I do this far enough away so that no one can be hurt or anything can be damaged. I also look straight ahead rather than at the mower as I lower, though have never felt any pieces hit me or my 8N. When through, I repeat, backing over the windrow. Leaves are pulverized, though I do get short cut-up twigs remaining, which are no problem for me. I've cleaned up eucalyptus leaves that are green as well as dry this way.

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BillB

11-24-2005 10:42:18




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 Re: Grinding the leaves in reply to RandyR, 11-23-2005 22:41:40  
Funny story, I use my 22 hp Craftsman mower with the 8 hp chipper vac trailer to pick up my leaves. My wife usually sees me out sucking them up and rakes them away from the trees and other obsticals. This usually is a great help. A few years back the resulting ridge of leaves was particularly thick and began to build up in front of the mower deck. I ignored it and just plowed the pile. Until it reached the muffler and started to burn! And got sucked into the trailer and that started to burn too. Opened up the back of the trailer and burning leaves blew out all over the yard. Seemed like a stupid comedy thing you would see on TV. I was running around like a nut trying to stomp all the little fires out. Since then I have learned not to let them build up on the deck! Have a great Thanksgiving everyone. Bill

PS. I do not recommend the mower-trailer setup I have, too much customization needed to make it work and last (lots of plastic that did not last).

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Ole country Boy

11-24-2005 09:16:23




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 Re: Grinding the leaves in reply to RandyR, 11-23-2005 22:41:40  
Here at the house, we have 6 oak trees, two pine trees, two memosias and bushes. Of course we get leaves. Not so many yet this year, still have not had a good frost. Wife has me blow them out away from the porch area with the riding mower. Once they all fall, or many more fall, we will use her Toro with the bag catcher on it for the major piles. Then dump those ground of leaves in the compost pile.

Also have a gas powerer blower that has a sucktion feature, can use it as well to suck them up, and blow all over the yard. they look almost like dust after that.. Good mulch and we never rake them up and put out as trash like some do.. Stupid people, that if free mulch!!!

Happy Gobble Day!!!

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2fordsmike

11-24-2005 09:14:12




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 Re: Grinding the leaves in reply to RandyR, 11-23-2005 22:41:40  
I had a lot with large oak trees and the lot was situated where many of the neighbors leaves blew onto my yard and never left (fences and etc.). I tried many different things including an engine powered chipper to chop and compress the size of the leaf pile that had to be bagged before city would haul it away. I believe the fastest chopper is a good mower. My best was a Kubota 1400HT with a 38-inch deck that chopped the leaves to the size of finger nails if you windrowed them then backed over them. My yard was not quite large enough to justify a blower-bagger that would attach to the mower. I bagged with an aluminum scoop shovel. Mike-Iowa

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CraigNAA

11-24-2005 06:14:41




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 Re: Grinding the leaves in reply to RandyR, 11-23-2005 22:41:40  
Hi all I use a EZ Vac that pulls behind the lawn tractor (JD345) has its own 5hp motor to vacuume and chop leaves to 1/2 inch and fills a 32 gallon can. I have 48 trees in the front yard...
almost 30 in back..... ..... Craig



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Tom in MS

11-24-2005 05:14:44




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 Re: Grinding the leaves in reply to RandyR, 11-23-2005 22:41:40  
I use a blower and blow the leaves away from the trunks of trees and out from other places I can"t get to..If it makes a windrow thats good..I run over them with a 5 ft finish mower usually two passes and you would swear there had never been a leaf there..I"ll never rake another one...Sometimes they are deep enough that they get up on top of the finishmower and I just lift it a little to shuffle them off and cut em up.....

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don t.-9n180179

11-24-2005 02:27:33




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 Re: Grinding the leaves in reply to RandyR, 11-23-2005 22:41:40  
Depends upon how much leaves your talking about. When my ma lived in the Ozarks, she had TONS of leaves. We'd use the rider-mower to put em in to rows, then burn the rows. For the areas that were to rocky for the mower, we raked em onto a blue tarp and dragged it to the burn pile. Usually took the better part of a weekend to do her whole "yard". If ya didn't do this, her grass would be dead next spring.
How about adding em to a compost pile?
HTH....don t. ...

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