Lawn sweeping

drglinski · #1 11-02-2014, 05:14 PM

Need your opinion on lawn sweeping. I get quite a lot of leaves in my yard during the fall and I'm debating what to do with them. I can either ignore them, mow them down (mulch) or move them to the street for a leaf pickup. Currently I mow them down with a push mower as it's the only thing I have that mulches. I have entertained the thought of getting a sweeper for more seat time and it'd be quicker then dumping they on the street for pickup. Doing the vacuum thing is out because of $$.

What do you think? Thanks

Jeff in Pa · #2 11-02-2014, 05:19 PM

I "mulch" mine with the 42" cast iron mower deck on my 125. The only modification I do is to remove the belt covers on the deck so I don't smoke out a belt ( again-- happened a few years ago, removed the covers, no problem with leaves )

j4c11 · #3 11-02-2014, 05:26 PM

If there's grass ignoring them is out of the question since they will kill the grass underneath. Mulching over them is actually good for the grass since it puts organic matter into the soil. Depending on how healthy of a bacteria population you have in your soil you can mulch 200-300# of leaves per thousand square feet. I would put down some fertilizer as well since the bacteria needs nitrogen to break down the leaves.

EricR · #4 11-02-2014, 08:57 PM

I don't rake leaves, but what I do is mow them into a big circle and keep mowing them up till you can hardly see them, I don't rake leaves!

red56turbo · #5 11-02-2014, 10:00 PM

I don't rake or sweep leaves either. Within a day or two of them falling, the wind comes along and blows them out of my yard. Guess that's one good thing about living out in the boonies with farm fields around you. Kinda stinks when the wind is blowing and the wind chill is in the negatives though.............

Berwil · #6 11-02-2014, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricR

I don't rake leaves, but what I do is mow them into a big circle and keep mowing them up till you can hardly see them, I don't rake leaves!

This is what I do also, it works really well to reduce the leaf volume, plus cutting the grass lets new leaves blow through and instead of collecting again. I run the sweeper over the strip that is left and I dump them next to my compost bin since the leaves take longer to break down than grass and food scraps. The following fall I spread what's left of the pile on the empty garden and build a new pile.

Bill

rwairforce · #7 11-03-2014, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricR

I don't rake leaves, but what I do is mow them into a big circle and keep mowing them up till you can hardly see them, I don't rake leaves!

Ditto. I did change my blades to Gator blades. I used the OEM high lift blades and they don't provide the same level of small pieces that the Gator blades do. Here is a before and after picture. I also don't wait until I have leafs a foot deep, I do this over two or three weeks, however many times it takes but I don't rake.

PaulS · #8 11-03-2014, 10:29 AM

When I was also mowing my mom's yard I had over 4 acres of lawn with a bunch of pine, maples and birch trees. I decided that a DR lawn vac was in order. It was way too expensive but does a fantastic job. I had been using a pull behind sweeper but had to stop about every 15 - 20 feet to empty the bin. With the DR I can go and go. Although I now mostly keep mowing the leaves till they mostly disappear the pine needles that fall are sucked up with the DR and gotten rid of. I believe the pine needles turn the soil too acid to grow grass so they come off with the DR. I also have several places that the grass is very thick and also use the DR to pick up a day or so after mowing. In all I count the DR as a good investment.

jimbob200521 · #9 11-03-2014, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rwairforce

Ditto. I did change my blades to Gator blades. I used the OEM high lift blades and they don't provide the same level of small pieces that the Gator blades do. Here is a before and after picture. I also don't wait until I have leafs a foot deep, I do this over two or three weeks, however many times it takes but I don't rake.

Woah, you mulched those leaves so good they disappeared!!

rwairforce · #10 11-03-2014, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimbob200521

Woah, you mulched those leaves so good they disappeared!!

Ryan,
That's right! I swear, I did nothing but mow over them maybe three times after making a collective row. Maybe it's the 3 blade 54" deck on my GT1554 or 1864 that does such a good job over the 2 blade smaller machines. I don't know. I only know that I'm very happy with the results. I don't use a mulching plug either.