A golden carpet of leaves on the lawn can look quite a picture, but left hugging the lawn for any length of time and they could spell trouble.

Leaves are not particularly fussy where they fall, and end up clinging to the lawn, beds, borders, paths and even around the pond. Starved of light and air all these areas become susceptible to a variety of potential pests and disease problems.

But it isn't all doom and gloom, you can easily transform a pile of autumn leaves into a rich and useful soil conditioner, the sort of thing you might normally actually exchange your hard earned cash for at the garden centre.

Leaf Mould

It doesn't sound particularly attractive, but leaf mould is actually the name given to composted leaves. It is actually a lovely, dark brown, crumbly material that should smell sweet and earthy. You don't need any special equipment to make leaf mould, though if you have masses of leaves it might be a good idea to make a leaf bin where they can rot down together.

Composting

Small amounts of autumn leaves can be added to your compost bin. Simply mix them in with your normal compost waste. Larger amounts can be gathered together and swept into large black bin bags. It's essential to provide drainage holes to allow excess water to escape and also some air to circulate. Fill a perforated bin bag completely with leaves and tie at the top. Place this bag and any others in a shady spot out of the way. Behind the shed is ideal. Some leaves break down sooner than others, but after about 12months you should have a material that can be used as a surface mulch around the garden. If you want to use the material to improve the garden soil, it's a good idea to leave it for a total of 24 months so that it is fully composted and will condition the soil.

Collection

With a little regular attention and the right tool for the job you can quickly clear fallen leaves and use them to make valuable leaf mould or soil conditioner for the garden. The tool you choose depends on your budget and the size of your garden. Many gardeners make do with a rake but don't use a soil rake or a scarifying rake, it will make the job much harder, instead opt for a real leaf rake that is designed to move leaves quickly. Leaf rakes should have tines that are like flat ribbons and that do not spear the leaves.

If you've got a bigger budget then choose a powered leaf vac, there are many to choose from. Bear in mind that the electric models need a local power supply, but petrol machines can also be very heavy with prolonged use. Most will blow leaves into a pile to be collected later and can be vacuumed up by the same machine with a collection sack attached. Some blower vacs can swap over from blow to vac at the flip of a switch.

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To move and clear debris such as leaves in the garden, a leaf blower is an ideal garden tool. Addressing pollution issues, four stroke engines were recently marketed by the various manufacturers who were previously marketing two stroke engines and electric motors. Some leaf blowers with vacuums can also pull in small twigs and leaves and then cut them into pieces for storage in the attached bag.

The leaf blower was invented in Japan in the early 1970s. Originally used by the farmers in the United States as an agricultural sprayer, it was turned into a blower after removing the chemical sprayers from the equipment. The manufacturers immediately seized the opportunity to market this redesigned equipment as a garden maintenance tool among the garden enthusiasts. Many city and municipal administrations in United States banned the leaf blowers because of the noise generated by them.

When buying a leaf blower as an alternative to the back breaking garden cleaning process, consider the various features included in the models.

The size of your garden and whether it has a lot of leaf shedding trees should be the first factor when making a selection. The volume of air output by various models is a major factor when selecting a leaf blower/vac. Weight of the leaf blower should also be taken into consideration. The most important feature should be the vacuum capacity and capability. Check whether they operate in reverse mode to route the leaves in to the built in bag rather than blowing the leaves away. While a gas blower is powerful they make quite a lot of noise when compared to the electric powered leaf blowers and vacuums. Find more info at www.leavesbegone.info

Entry level models of leaf blowers with decent capacity to vacuum the leaves are normally fitted with an electric motor of 1600W capacity. There are options to either suck and shred or blow the leaves. To hold the debris, a collection bag is attached in the back. They are priced around $65.

If you don’t want to be restricted by the length of the electric cable, then you should opt for a leaf blower cum vacuum which uses gas/petrol for its operational energy. Suitable if the garden is large and contains lot of trees. The petrol powered Engines normally have a 29 CC two stroke engine and electronic system to initially ignite the unit. The price is around £250.

A less costly model is the electric powered sweeper/blower with vacuum capacity. With its 200 miles per hour airflow, this powerful tool is suitable for most gardens. The ease of use and the accessories, such as shoulder strap and collection bag are some of the good features of this model which costs around £100.

By Lucy Bartlett

Lucy Bartlett is a proud contributing author. Find more articles here. For more info visit Leaf Blowers and Vacs or Gas Leaf Blowers and Vacs

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