Leaf blowers

[daffodilbrain]

I've got pleached hornbeam (c25) and grasses amongst others and quite frankly get loads of leaves gathering in corners. Whilst I have a blitz and clear the worst occasionally I was wondering if it's worth investing in one? Do they such the leaves up or blow them in an area ?

[Rosamultiflora]

Hi Daffodilbrain, there are plenty on the market and they can be very useful. There are ones that do both leaf blowing and then sucking them into a bag (although you need to swap the kit from one to the other). You need to find one that’s right for the size / power for your garden. Do look online for reviews of how effective they are.....some aren’t powerful enough to be worth the investment. If your hornbeam is near to an electrical point you can get an electrical one.....otherwise the options are petrol (more work to maintain) or one that charges but it might have a short battery time. They tend to be quite heavy so do go and pick one up before you buy.

[Cantspell2]

I have an electric black and decker one I bought cheap second hand off of eBay.
One side of my garden has holm oaks that over hang it and it manages to deal with the none stop leaf fall without any problems. It has a net bag to collect the leaves which I then just empty out into my leaf mold bin.
I wouldn’t bother buying new as usually you can get one for around £20 secondhand on eBay.

[Trethew]

They are noisy brutes but I find mine invaluable. It saves me hours of sweeping and raking. It’s petrol 4 stroke so no fuel mixing, and always starts easily. I have a lot of gravel and a lot of trees which makes for a lot of work. Originally I had a blower/sucker which was pretty hopeless and did neither satisfactorily. It finally died as a result of sucking up too many stones

[Rosamultiflora]

Hi Trethew, we have recently moved and need something a bit more heavy duty as we have masses of leaves. I am teetering on the idea of petrol leaf blower – would you recommend yours?

[Namethecat]

With a blower the problem only gets moved. You need one that picks it up in a bag which you can them compost.

[Nakedavenger74]

If I could get my hands on my neighbour's leaf blower I'd smash that fucking thing to smithereens.

Every bastard sunny day that shitting machine is out. Loud and intrusive and it goes on for hours.

Get one if you want your neighbours to murder you in your sleep. With a good quality rake.

[Trethew]

Agree they are noisy and bloody irritating but no more so than a strimmer. The baby ones that collect are not suitable for large areas as they have to be emptied so frequently. You soon learn how to drive the leaves into a corner or against upturned wheelbarrow and then gather into a dumpy bag. Alternatively blow onto lawn and then “mow” with high blade setting. The minced up leaf/grass mixture goes straight onto the compost heap. It takes me approx 10 mins to blow my drive, and another 10 mins to take the leaves away. Used to take me several hours of hard work with a rake

rosamultiflora mine is a Makita BHX2501. Ideal for large areas, not a hobby version. Thoroughly recommend

[Rosamultiflora]

Thanks very much Trethew