Topic: Rake versus Vac.

[budgiebreeder]

I'ed like to hear other peoples views on the Garden Vac,after having spent yet another afternoon vacing up leaves.Is it me or are they just so very heavy.Come on Jethro I'm sure that as our chief inventor there is a fortune to be made here.

[Mrs Ava]

As my trees are in my lawn, I use my mower to 'hoover' the leaves up - kinda like Monty did on Gardeners world.  Cheat huh!  Then they are all nicely shredded and go neatly into sacks to be left to rot down.  Incidently, the blades on my mower are set as high as poss.

[ciderself]

I do that too EJ with leaves on the lawn.
Still it was good to see Monty do it. Didnt feel so lazy.
That doesnt sound quite right :-[

[budgiebreeder]

But I have a wood at the bottom of my garden so the lawn is very rarely dry enough to use a mower at this time of year as it is also on clay.

[ciderself]

Thats why I have curly hair and holes in my boots its an electric mower ???
No serious now would love petrol mower but how expensive?  

[Hugh_Jones]

I usually gather up approximately 60 cu. ft ofleaves from my lawn and another 120 cu.ft from my driveway and paths.  If I had to rake them up my arms would drop off. I use my garden vac purely as a blower to blow them into piles and use my own invention of a picker-upper, which picks up a barrowload in one scoop without any bending whatever.  Then I put the lot through the shredder, which reduces the quantity by two thirds otherwise I shouldn`t have room in my bins.  I have 3 bins so that I have a 3 year rotation.

[Mrs Ava]

Hell Hugh, you are toooo efficient!!  Once you have your leaf mould (sp??) what do you use it for?  Mulching?  Potting compost? This is the first year I am making it - I usually pile my leaves in with my regular composty stuff.  So I have black bags full of leaves, which I watered, all lined up in a neat row - how long before it is useable?   ;D ??? ;D

[Hugh_Jones]

It makes a perfect substitute for peat in potting composts, and also to enrich planting soils for humus loving plants such as hydrangeas. It is the best top dressing for all calcifuges, and any left over after all that is used either as mulch or spread on the surface of the vegetable beds (not carrots or parsnips) in the autumn and left for the worms to deal with.

[jethro]

Well you lot have done it now, i've been collecting leaves around the housing estate since reading this thread:-/ , and the kids are shouting 'there goes the mad proffesor' that's the clean version  ;) . The wife has booked me in for a session with the 'shrink'  ;D , and the kids have disowned me  :o . But i'm happy in my own little world so b*gger them all  ::) . How do you like the new piccy?

[Mrs Ava]

So you cracked it Jethro!  Good pic.  Now I am going to have to work out how to do it - you are all to clever for your own darn good!   ;D

[tim]

It's not the one I tried to get for you, Jethro!

And PS - remind me - can't find the earlier one - do you pierce the bags, or not? - Tim

[jethro]

Hi tim, yes you have to pierce the bag or you get mush :P thanks for trying to get the piccies for me much appreciated bonny lad ;D .

[campanula]

Emma-Jane,

Doris Pinks has a really clear explanation how to change the little piccie for your own choice, involving going to google images, copying chosen address and then changing your personal profile. Or summat like. I am a bit of a techy dimwit but if I can manage....and I did.....then go for it. I think the info is in the gallery bit and the post is called 'testing testing'.
Am I imagining it but have you posted piccies of your garden on gardenweb? 8)

[Mrs Ava]

Hi campanula, not my pics on gardenweb, altho I really must give it a go!  I have a really good digital camera and loads of pics of the garden.  Must get organised!

Thanks Jethro, I pierced a lot of holes in my black bags....and then thought, should I have done that  ???, what would have happened if I hadn't  ???, and you save the day!  ;D

[Beer_Belly]

I've just built myself a "leaf cage" in the corner of my small garden. Four fenceposts and some chicken-wire was all it needed. I did have a problem with the first pole though - I spent ages trying to hammer it through the foundations of my garden fence - D'oh! :-/

[budgiebreeder]

Yes but this doesn't solve my problem where can i get a  lightweight garden vac?Think i'll try blowing them into a pile and then picking them up.I wonder if anyone needs some for a leaf-cage or bagging up ,we could have a leafpicking party.What a good idea!