# Crazy? Genius? or Both?



## Wlodyd (Aug 27, 2018)

I've heard of other people doing this before on this forum, so I know I'm not alone, but I felt like the craziest person on the planet when I raked leaves from my front yard and spread them all around my back yard. I then did a double-pass mulching of them. My neighbors had to think I was crazy... wondering is this is worth the effort? Especially if I'm only doing it once with this quantity of leaves.


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## JohnP (Oct 24, 2017)

@Wlodyd last year I found some of those Lowe's branded yard bags that people had put their leaves in. I loaded up the back of my SUV and poured them on my front lawn to mulch in.

You might be crazy in your neighborhood but here, well this is a #safespace


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## jessehurlburt (Oct 18, 2017)

JohnP said:


> You might be crazy in your neighborhood but here, well this is a #safespace


 :lol:

I moved some leaves to an area where the soil is sandier and mulched them there. So, no you're not crazy.. or maybe we both are..


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

I just had my kids help me move leaves to the upper part of the yard without trees. Everyone thinks we're crazy so might as well embrace it!


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## MichiganGreen (Aug 7, 2018)

I don't move them (I should because I have TOO many leaves in back and none in front).

But I do mow them - however it's such a battle to keep up, I mowed them on Tuesday and it'ss already covered....and we have snow coming Friday 

Since my mower has no headlights I might be out of luck for the year.


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## Wlodyd (Aug 27, 2018)

@JohnP Ha! That's pretty awesome man. I feel a little less crazy now. I know where you're coming from tho, I started composting this summer for the first time and had plenty of nitrogen sources (grass clippings) but no carbon (leaves in the fall are hard to come by, and I can only eat so many eggs), so I started scavenging my neighbors yard for sticks, twigs, pine cones, leaves, etc. He has a birch tree that sheds a millions small sticks a week, plus some pines and an oak.

@MichiganGreen I grew up at a property with several huge oak trees, as a kid I would just rake leaves every day. My dad always told me "There is a finite number of leaves." and something I think about to this day when the leaves start falling, so it is a battle that you can win! The trees aren't growing any more leaves, so every leaf you rake is progress!


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

MichiganGreen said:


> Since my mower has no headlights I might be out of luck for the year.


Where there's a will, there's a way. On Saturday, I spent the last afternoon of Eastern Daylight Saving time mulching leaves, and still finished in the dark. No problem, I borrowed my son's LED bicycle headlight. It has a silicon based elastic band which I strapped to the crosspiece of the mower, and finished up the front yard. I'm sure the cars driving down the street thought I was nuts. I mentioned it at work today amongst a few coworkers, and their eyes bugged out and they chuckled.


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

Not crazy at all. If you think that is a lot of work, try getting a couple yards of compost delivered to top dress your lawn, hauling it all over the property and trying to spread it well enough so it doesnt kill your grass. Doing that really sucks. Why not let mother nature do it for you, for free...

Honestly, I think the crazy thing to do is to put your leaves out for the municipality to pick up, so that they can sell it to someone who will compost it and then sell it back to you for 8 bucks a bag at HD.


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

gm560 said:


> Not crazy at all. If you think that is a lot of work, try getting a couple yards of compost delivered to top dress your lawn, hauling it all over the property and trying to spread it well enough so it doesnt kill your grass. Doing that really sucks. Why not let mother nature do it for you, for free...
> 
> Honestly, I think the crazy thing to do is to put your leaves out for the municipality to pick up, so that they can sell it to someone who will compost it and then sell it back to you for 8 bucks a bag at HD.


Edit: @JohnP I have also picked up leaves on the roadside. Also I often blow leaves from my neighbors lawn onto mine so I can mulch them. They think I am just being nice....


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## Wlodyd (Aug 27, 2018)

Well, when you out put it that way @gm560 it was a piece of cake!


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Wlodyd said:


> I've heard of other people doing this before on this forum, so I know I'm not alone, but I felt like the craziest person on the planet when I raked leaves from my front yard and spread them all around my back yard. I then did a double-pass mulching of them. My neighbors had to think I was crazy... wondering is this is worth the effort? Especially if I'm only doing it once with this quantity of leaves.


If you really want them to know that you're a real lawn nut, you could offer to remove the leaves from their yards. You could rake/blow them onto a tarp, run a rope through the grommets, and drag them onto your yard and mulch them up. :lol:


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## agillespie (May 1, 2018)

It is crazy genius. I mulch as many leaves as I possibly can. I am like the others here, don't send them off to the city to sell if you can benefit. I have had to send two piles off in the leaf truck this year because of a few storms come through and making the trees drop more than I could chop up. One way or the other you had to move them, so why not let the work benefit you. Wow I rambled a lot there and I haven't even been drinking.


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## Chris1011v (Jun 25, 2018)

Genius... It's better than blowing them into the woods. Even with my little wonder it's a pain in the ***. I'd much rather mulch them. I now blow them into the lawn and mulch with the timemaster. Now I only wish I had a wright stander or Toro grandstand.


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## x Wild Bill x (Aug 17, 2018)

As stated, definitely not crazy! I go around our yard and blow the leaves on the edges of the woods into the yard! Then I mulch them up. Took me one hour last night to double cut my entire yard that was covered in leaves. There is no other method that could possibly clean up the yard as quick, plus it is beneficial to the soil.

The last four or five times I've mowed it's been at 8pm in pitch dark. No question the neighbors think I'm crazy, but they are far enough away they don't care about the noise and say the grass looks great!


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## craigdt (Apr 21, 2018)

That's exactly what I do- super beneficial for your soil


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