Today is not a "pretty picture" day - but I think tomorrow will be! :) A couple people inquired about the shredder I use to do my leaves. So I thought I would share that info with you.
I have a "Super Tomahawk" with an 8 hp Briggs & Stratton engine. I'm guessing this is overkill for a small 'burban lot - but if you're married to an engineer, you'll understand perfectly!
I have owned 3 other shredders - and this is by far my favorite. It has the power to do about 1 1/2 to 2 inch branches and damp leaves. It will bog down if I put in bag after bag of soggy leaves - but then I bog down when I try and do that too! It has a wonderful design - most of the shredders we looked at make the leaves or sticks go around a corner - and this is where you will end up with clogs. This one lets me dump things in, and the shredded product comes straight out the bottom. The only thing I would like to change on it is to add an electric starter - I hate trying to start it with the pull cord - but Mark doesn't have a problem with it.
I talked to a master gardener a few years ago about shredding - and he said he simply runs his mower over the leaves a couple times and it works much better than any shredder he's tried. I think that works fine - but I don't like the mess it leaves on the grass. I want all of my hard work to go into the mulch pile!
Today I did 49 bags of leaves - that's a lot!!!! Here's what my pile looked like when I was done. I think I did about 20 bags on Saturday. I'm kind of hoping this is all I'll have to do this year, but I'll let it settle for a couple days before I decide for sure.
In the meantime, here's my compost pile waiting to be moved. It's a good thing my gardens look fairly good in the summer, because this is a ton of work!!
I have owned 3 other shredders - and this is by far my favorite. It has the power to do about 1 1/2 to 2 inch branches and damp leaves. It will bog down if I put in bag after bag of soggy leaves - but then I bog down when I try and do that too! It has a wonderful design - most of the shredders we looked at make the leaves or sticks go around a corner - and this is where you will end up with clogs. This one lets me dump things in, and the shredded product comes straight out the bottom. The only thing I would like to change on it is to add an electric starter - I hate trying to start it with the pull cord - but Mark doesn't have a problem with it.
I talked to a master gardener a few years ago about shredding - and he said he simply runs his mower over the leaves a couple times and it works much better than any shredder he's tried. I think that works fine - but I don't like the mess it leaves on the grass. I want all of my hard work to go into the mulch pile!
Today I did 49 bags of leaves - that's a lot!!!! Here's what my pile looked like when I was done. I think I did about 20 bags on Saturday. I'm kind of hoping this is all I'll have to do this year, but I'll let it settle for a couple days before I decide for sure.
In the meantime, here's my compost pile waiting to be moved. It's a good thing my gardens look fairly good in the summer, because this is a ton of work!!
6 comments:
I am in awe of the amount of upkeep your gardens and yard require. 69 bags of leaves! I guess I never really thought about what it's like to live in an area that is native to so many trees. Here on the front range, we're living on what is basically prairie. If there's any raking up to be done, we can thank ourselves, because we planted the trees there! My friend who moved into a new home a few years ago asked if she could come rake leaves in my yard so she would have some to fill her pumpkin bags for the front yard! I won't complain anymore about my few trees:)
Holy!
Now I see why you own a leaf shredder. But I bet you never run out of leaf mould!
I'm kinda jealous of the shredder, but I'm really jealous of the space you have for your leaf pile. I'm gonna have to settle for a pile 4 by 6 feet this year.
I am jealous of the shredder, that is for sure!!
My husband is an engineer so I know how that goes. :) Engineers are a breed apart.
I cannot understand how I worked in earlier times in my garden without having a shredder. Now that I have one (since about 7 years when I really started with gardening!) I wouldn't give it back anymore. It is my favourite tool....though mine is not so big as yours. I shred my leaves with the lawn mewer which has a fixed bag on it. So I do not loose any of the leaves ;-) !!
Happy gardening!
Barbara
Wow!!!! I'm impressed! Remember Tim the Tool Man Taylor doing the manly gorilla grunt? That's what I had going through my head as I read this post. Must be chipper/shredder envy or something. ;) Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage
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