Re: Leaf Shredder

**Janet Wintermute jwintermute@erols.com>**

At 08:03 AM 9/27/01 -0500, Lisa Cummings asked,

>Has anyone out there ever used the "Deluxe Leaf Shredder" sold by
>Gardener's Supply? I am thinking of purchasing one and would like know
>if it's reliable, etc.

I do not have any info on this brand, but a few years ago I went in with a 
neighbor on purchasing a similar device from Home Depot.  If you rake your 
leaves into a biggish pile and they are dry, the machine does a great job 
of sucking them up and shredding them down to 1/7 their original 
volume.  But it does not do all that well if you just go over your unraked 
yard (as if you were using a lawnmower only just hoping to suck up and 
shred the leaves).

In a major design flaw, IMO, the leaf bag on mine is made out of white (!) 
fabric that is smooth like parachute material on the outside (which is no 
problem) but flannel lined, which is a huge problem.  The leaf bits stick 
to that lining and don't want to let go when it's bag-emptying time.

Now if the Gardener's Supply item is not a mower-like device but rather a 
stationary, stand alone tool that shreds only what you dump into its 
hopper, I'm sure it will work great on dry leaves.  It will undoubtedly 
shred wettish ones, but perhaps only with a lot of gagging and strain on 
the motor.  Wet vegetation is a hassle for all chippers and chipperlike 
devices.

The volume diminution via shredding methods may be a big deal if you live 
in a suburb that accepts only so many bags of leaves or charges YOU to buy 
THEIR leaf bags for pickup.

Plus I'm sure shredding the leaves will speed your 2002 composting 
processes along very nicely.  Unshredded oak leaves take years to break 
down, not months or weeks....

--Janet

P.S.  Did you know that a full-size maple tree can have a *million* leaves?

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