Are The Leaves Down?

[dpg]

Hello - can someone please comment on the leaf situation in the Moultonborough area? Are they down yet? Is it too soon to come up this week for a good (and last) cleaning? I'm hearing there should be some warm days this week. Thanks in advance.

[hilltopper]

At my place in Meredith, the only hardwoods still clinging to their leaves are some red oaks. I would say now is a good time to start cleanup. I started mine yesterday. Have fun!

[angela4design]

The leaves have mostly fallen by now, and we've recently had some really windy days, helping to clear the trees. Even the pine cones have dropped by me place in Meredith.

I plan to do some outdoor cleanup this weekend, myself! I did the inside of the house this past weekend, weatherizing etc., getting the cordwood all set; now it's time to clear up the brush and leaves.

The 10-day forecast projects 60% chance of rain for the weekend, though. Hopefully the weather holds out! I'm not trying to rake wet leaves - yuck!

[Pineedles]

I just realized that raking leaves, although necessary at my CT home, isn't a chore I have to contend with at the lake. Pineedles, lots and lots of pineedles, that never have to be raked. Nor any grass to be mowed. I love it! Sorry to rub it in all.

[dpg]

Thanks all. Sounding like a good couple days coming up to "bang in" at work and head up for the day.

[Newbiesaukee]

I have the impression that the leaves seem more persistent this year, particularly the oaks, at least on Long Island

[dpg]

I know at least in mass their hanging in there longer.

[webmaster]

Originally Posted by dpg

Are The Leaves Down

If you would have asked "Are the leaves all down" we could have had a repeat of this funny thread from 2003:

http://www.winnipesaukeeforum.com/ar...mes;read=68417

[Pineedles]

That is just too funny Don. Are any of those comedians/singers still active?

[BlackCatIslander]

I swung by our place today and to my dismay there was at least one tree that was full of leaves. In my area I would estimate that 20-25% of the leaves were still in the trees. At our place it looks that it will be another two weeks before everything is down.

[CanisLupusArctos]

Originally Posted by BlackCatIslander

I swung by our place today and to my dismay there was at least one tree that was full of leaves. In my area I would estimate that 20-25% of the leaves were still in the trees. At our place it looks that it will be another two weeks before everything is down.

The islands, and especially the south-facing shores of those islands and the south-facing mainland, are typically the last places to lose all the leaves. They're also the first places to lose snow pack in winter. Combination of sun exposure all year long, and still-warm water at this time of year, contributes to a slightly longer growing season. My tomatoes only stopped producing about 2 weeks ago.

Other localized leaf effects are wind gusts. Wind gusts in this New England topography get localized to within hundreds of feet. There could be a windy day where some people's yards just don't get enough wind to knock down leaves, even if the wind is audible all day from all around.

[dpg]

Well hopefully their almost done cause I went up yesterday. They were pretty much down when I did them. Doesn't take long to blow them into the neighbors yard Just kidding.

[chipj29]

I cleared my yard on Tuesday afternoon. Looked out the window this morning, and it appears as though the oak trees took their leaves back out of the woods and put them on my lawn, directly under the oak trees. Ugh. Guess I will be clearing again this weekend.

[fatlazyless]

A perfectly good 30" lawn rake runs about ten dollars.

For $400 to 600, one can power up to a 4.5hp, 6.5hp or 7.5hp lawn vac-shredder-chipper.....designed to vacuum up a large quantity of leaves, shred them down in volume and place them into a catcher bag.

Basically, it looks like an oversized lawnmower.

Made by Yardman, Troy Built, Sears, and others.....got to ask....do they actually do a decent job...or do people who buy one end up returning it and going back to the ten dollar lawn rake?

How good of a job do these lawn vacs do wih vacuuming the leaves?

[M/V_Bear_II]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

A perfectly good 30" lawn rake runs about ten dollars.

For $400 to 600, one can power up to a 4.5hp, 6.5hp or 7.5hp lawn vac-shredder-chipper.....designed to vacuum up a large quantity of leaves, shred them down in volume and place them into a catcher bag.

Basically, it looks like an oversized lawnmower.

Made by Yardman, Troy Built, Sears, and others.....got to ask....do they actually do a decent job...or do people who buy one end up returning it and going back to the ten dollar lawn rake?

How good of a job do these lawn vacs do wih vacuuming the leaves?

They work great. I can do my 2/3 acre in about an hour and a half, and most of that time is walking the catcher bag back and forth to the compost pile. Compare that to what seemed like two days (but was probably more like 5-6 hours) with the 10-dollar rake.

But they don't de-thatch. You still need the rake for that.

[Merrymeeting]

I'm very happy with mine too. To minimize the need to constantly empty the bag, I often use the attachment that converts it into a large, powerful leaf blower.

There is a curved attachment you can put on the output chute that blows the leaves to the side very well. Once the pile gets too big to blow, I then pick them up.

[fatlazyless]

No kidding...honest....you aren't mess'n with my mind or something...I see everyone using rakes and never see anyone using a gas powered lawn vac. You know...if they work so good...and raking is such a pain....then how come....too many wet brown oak leaves....


Over at Lowe's Gilford, they have a black Yardman 4.5hp lawn vac....reg price 399....reduced to 299....just one unit only....maybe a discontinue or something?....think maybe I'll race over there and grab it fast. Say, doesn't Lowe's have a 30 day, return policy?

[Misty Blue]

I borrowed one of those high powered back-pack leaf blowers from work. Figured out how to get it going and went to work. A short time later I was doing an impression of "Captain Keds" flying twards the wet side of the beach! If I hadn't found the kill switch I would have ended up on Glines Island! YIKES!

Misty Blue

[dpg]

Originally Posted by Misty Blue

I borrowed one of those high powered back-pack leaf blowers from work. Figured out how to get it going and went to work. A short time later I was doing an impression of "Captain Keds" flying twards the wet side of the beach! If I hadn't found the kill switch I would have ended up on Glines Island! YIKES!

Misty Blue

haha I have a "high powered back pack Blower" they work great. At bit loud (and expensive) now that I think of it.

[fatlazyless]

Someone else got there first on that lawn vac special at Lowe's, so it's just me & a rake.

Say, anyone guess-timate how much a lawn service like Miracle Farms, or Bruce's Landscaping, or a local under-employed person gets for doing a fall, leaf clean-up? Talking a 1/4 acre, water front lot, just about buried in wet oak leaves.

[SIKSUKR]

I always use my Craftsman riding lawn tractor to simply blow the leaves to the perimeter of my property.It's a fantastic vacum\blower.I bought the clipping collecter barrels for the rear and used them twice for leaves.They fill up so fast I was spending more time emptying them than collecting.In my case I can just mow/blow them to the outside of my property(3/4 acre) and there the stay to till nature does it's own recycling.

[dpg]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

Someone else got there first on that lawn vac special at Lowe's, so it's just me & a rake.

Say, anyone guess-timate how much a lawn service like Miracle Farms, or Bruce's Landscaping, or a local under-employed person gets for doing a fall, leaf clean-up? Talking a 1/4 acre, water front lot, just about buried in wet oak leaves.

My neighbors in mass pay just around $400.00 a lawn. No me, I just can't part with that much money just for leaves.