These are my new best friends. After watching some neighbors one year, I’ve been bagging my leaves by using a trash can as a bag holder, and using a snow shovel to get the leaves into the bag. Last spring, I saw the green claw hand extenders next to the shovel in a magazine, and the company also carried this red collapsible can. I love them both. You do have to do more bending, but I can get way more leaves with the claws, and I completed the backyard in about two hours. (I did still have to use the snow shovel for some yard waste – hostas mostly – that had snuck in with leaves, and were denser. )
So I started yesterday morning with the above. Doesn’t really look like much, does it?
Much raking, and five filled bag later, I finished the day with the above. After about an hour this morning, I ended up with this:
And fourteen bags of leaves. I don’t understand how they take up that much room.
I should also point out that the above is the only tree that’s actually on our property. Notice the lack of leaf drop here. Fortunately, it’s on the street, which is enough of a wind tunnel that I rarely have to clean up leaves from this tree – they blow away long before I can get to them. Instead, I have to clean up after the trees that ring our back yard.
Oh well. At least my mother’s compost benefits from it…
How does your mom compost all the leaves? Medway doesn't have leaf pickup, so I mulch as much as I can w/ the mower, but I still have more than my one bin can handle…and I haven't gone near the backyard yet! Does she have a great many bins? A big pile that somehow doesn't blow away?
ARGH! WHY DOES CHOOSING MY GOOGLE IDENTITY ALWAYS DELETE WHAT I JUST WROTE??
Anyway, I was trying to ask how your mom composts that many leaves. I explained why I wanted to know, but now I am annoyed and don't want to write it all again!! 🙁
Weird – looks like it did save your original note.
She does two things. The city sold some simple composite bins a while back, so she has one of those (it cooks faster), but she also does piles (you should have seen the pile we had at the house when I was growing up). A big pile is a little more annoying to turn, but it's definitely doable.
How bizarre! Sorry for commenting twice, then! ;P
Hmm, maybe I'll try a pile and see how it goes. Hmm, or maybe if I can round up some old stockade fence, I can make a sort of chute-like space in the back corner for it..hmmm..
Thanks!