What is your favorite leaf mulcher/shredder?

[patandchickens]

I wonder if the string trimmer in a can will work with a plastic garbage can?

Given how rapidly a string trimmer slices thru plastic step-in posts for electric fencing, and even the heavy-duty plastic kiddie wading pools, I am going to guess "poorly"


Pat

 

[SKR8PN]

I have a Trac-Vac that I hook to my tractor. The mower deck chops them up, then the Vac sucks and shreds them a second time and puts them in the trailer. I back up to my compost pile and dump it out. Easy-peasy.

http://www.trac-vac.com

 

[Ron]

I have a Troy Bilt that I got several years ago. It does a great job on leaves and branches. And, amazingly, it IT WAS BUILT IN THE USA!

 

[davaroo]

Thanks everyone. I have tried the lawn mower method, but it seems to scatter more than it shreds. I forgot about the garbage can/string trimmer method. I will try that too. I just have SOOOO MANY leaves in the fall. Actually, I also decided to pile them up, unshredded where I don't want anything to grow, like next to the fence behind the rock garden, a difficult to access area. My neighbor rented a BIG commercial chipper/shredder for a couple of days this week and I told my family that that was what I wanted for my birthday. I wonder if the string trimmer in a can will work with a plastic garbage can?

I use an electric Black and Decker. I got it from a friend who never used it, so it had gotten abit shop worn. In my usual repurposing fashion, I made a few repairs and upgrades. But it works good.

Try asking it around on Craiglist and Freecycle for a month. I did that and got several offers. Im going to do it again in the winter, as Id like a bigger one.

 

[aquarose]

Thanks Davaroo. A couple of months ago, I altered my existing chipper shredder and its working really good now (as long as the leaves are bone dry!) It had a safety cap on it so you couldn't get your hand in but the slot for leaves was so small you could only get a handful of leaves in at a time, rendering it virtually useless. So I removed the one way screws, made a big giant funnel out of oak tag and taped it to the top, I wear safety goggles and if it gets clogged, I poke it with a long wooden stick. I can pick up big rakefuls of oak leaves and dump it in. I am almost looking forward to the oak leaf drop this fall. (Three really big oak trees!)

 

[davaroo]

Thanks Davaroo. A couple of months ago, I altered my existing chipper shredder and its working really good now (as long as the leaves are bone dry!) It had a safety cap on it so you couldn't get your hand in but the slot for leaves was so small you could only get a handful of leaves in at a time, rendering it virtually useless. So I removed the one way screws, made a big giant funnel out of oak tag and taped it to the top, I wear safety goggles and if it gets clogged, I poke it with a long wooden stick. I can pick up big rakefuls of oak leaves and dump it in. I am almost looking forward to the oak leaf drop this fall. (Three really big oak trees!)

Thats pretty much what I do, too. I made a wooden "poker downer" like yours, with a cross piece, so it wont get closer than an inch to the whirling blades. It works good for the small size, although it doesn't like large branches.

My wife came out back recently and there I was, shredding up the now defunct refuse from my former melon patch.

She watched for awhile, then over the roar of the shredder, she shouted, "You like doing that, don't you?"
"Yeah, I guess I do," I told her.
"WHY are you doing it?" she wondered.
I shrugged, "Mostly because I should."

I then picked up a large fork full of still wet shreddings and laid them neatly as mulch along my seeded beds of collards and turnips.
"See," I said, "...no waste."
"Hmmm," she said, then nodded and did that neat little thing she does with her lip when she approves.

So yeah, I like shredding. Call it "therapy."