smerchly Posted November 15, 2021 Report Share Posted November 15, 2021 An environment issue ...... I get a ton of leaves from large maples (not mine) , and it's a chore bagging them with those leaf bags which have doubled in price . I have been using a barrel shaped machine that chops leaves up very fine , reducing 8 bags to one bag . During the 50's we burned leaves or let them rot in huge piles (where we got our nice fat red worms for fishing !! I've seen 15 bags sitting by the curb for pickup at ONE residence ! This is very costly and expensive for some low income people and the city . So , I will mulch my huge pile of leaves up & make a large pile of "compost" and forget those bags .I have some green plastic fencing to contain the leaves and go back to the old days and have a fresh worm supply handy . I'll have to watch for rats that may like my leaf pile for their home ......Many people have those leaf blowers and blow them on to the street .. poof ...gone !! I have to wait for them to dry before I mulch them up . You can use your lawnmower with the bag to mulch leaves before bagging or composting them , acts like a vacuum cleaner...works great ! I don't know of others in the city who compost large piles of leaves but country folk don't set their bagged leaves at the curb for a truck to take away . Leaving some leaves on the grass over winter helps the soil (and worms) . I do not use any chems. on my yard to have a "golf course " lawn ....and my grass is fine and so are the worms. My eldest grandaughter (Brie) teaches how to help mother nature keep our environment "natural" . We should look at the alternatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genec Posted November 15, 2021 Report Share Posted November 15, 2021 15 bags is nothing Bill. Last fall I saw 1 house a couple blocks away from us had over 40 bags out for pickup one week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted November 15, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2021 10 hours ago, genec said: 15 bags is nothing Bill. Last fall I saw 1 house a couple blocks away from us had over 40 bags out for pickup one week! That's an awesome amount of leaves to bag up ! I put out a bag of cannas bulbs mixed with large plant stems, like milk weed ....had to weigh 50 lbs. When they came to pick it up I said to the guy, the bag is heavy with roots in it . "She" tossed it into the truck like it was a bag of feathers and said to me "Have a nice day" .......ouch ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidp16 Posted November 15, 2021 Report Share Posted November 15, 2021 Last year sometime I saw a video online of the garbage men picking up easily 100+ bags at a guys house lol. smerchly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted November 15, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2021 27 minutes ago, Davidp16 said: Last year sometime I saw a video online of the garbage men picking up easily 100+ bags at a guys house lol. It is a costly way to clean up our leaves ! I believe they mulch it and add other stuff , compost and use it for city planted flowers , etc. We can buy bags of it at the local dump sites . My large plants like 7 -8ft. cannas plants get bunched up and tied with twine for the branch collection this month . Davidp16 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markster Posted November 15, 2021 Report Share Posted November 15, 2021 Prior to mulching my leaves i used to collect and put out 80-90 bags a year. Now im down to about 30 Davidp16 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
410001661 Posted December 17, 2021 Report Share Posted December 17, 2021 We have curb pick-up so I just need to get them to the curb by large tarps and the city comes and takes them away. BUT I have 3 large maples that drop early and a HUGE Oak that drops late and I am still usually 15-20 bags after the last leaf pick-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted December 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 I saw a city truck about 2 weeks ago cleaning out ditches that were full of leaves . They used a BIG suction hose about 12" in diameter to "vacuum" the leaves directly into the garbage type truck , probably through mulching blades as well . Pretty slick operation ! We have the city clean the streets with the water/brush machines to keep the road grates clean . All set for the salt ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler0420 Posted December 18, 2021 Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 I notice that only the wealthy areas have that option of pushing your leaves to the curb for the vacuum sucker to come and suck them up. Don’t want to rich to work too hard they could break a nail. smerchly and NiagaraRiverFisher 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisb Posted December 18, 2021 Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 City of Welland banned the practice of piling leaves on the street many years ago. I guess it was too much work and the leaves clogged the catch basins before they could collect them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted December 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2021 Many people have gas/electric blowers to clean their yards/driveways . Some bag them and some blow the leaves into the street and let the wind take care of it . We get the street sweepers but not the leaf suckers . I get about 10 well packed bags of maple leaves per year ... no maples on my property ,but I don't mind putting most of them through my super duper mulching machine and enjoy the exercise . I use some of the leaf "sawdust" for my gardens and enjoy the free shade and 02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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