Ten top ways to deal with tumbling leaves this autumn

The lyricists may well have written romantically ‘The leaves of brown came tumbling down’ but they didn’t have to clear them up!
The leaf fall is now starting in earnest and they must be cleared away to let sunlight into lawns and flower beds and allow moisture and nutrients to penetrate the soil.
And if left on paths they can become slippery and dangerous.
So here are ten top ways to clear leaves from lawns and paths and borders and drives no matter how big or small the area to be cleaned.

The simplest low cost way of coping with the problem is our own ingenious MD Sweep 26 Lawn & Leaf Sweeper, simple to use and highly effective.
You can adjust the height depending on the surface to be cleared as while it is perfect for clearing leaves from the lawn it can also sweep clean barns and patios and other similar surfaces which have become grubby during the summer.
It is also excellent for clearing down warehouses and is much easier to use than and wide broom.
Brushes rotate as you walk along to sweep leaves (and other debris) into the collector at the back of the sweeper.
The 26 in width means you can quickly clear and small to medium sized lawn and yet it is small enough to push through a garden gate.
Once full the collector can be simply emptied straight on to the compost pile.
It costs £89.95, compared with the recommended price of £149.95, delivery is free the next working day and there is a two year maker’s warranty.
The simplest and best value for money conventional blower shredder is the Warrior EB260V Petrol Shredder-Vac & Leaf Blower which is a real bargain as it sells for under £100.
This neat little machine blows leaves into a pile and then sucks them up through an impellor to shred them into a collector bag.
It is really easy to start and has a fuel pumping system which means it can be used in any position.
The engine produces 1.22 HP delivering a blast of ait at 60 metres a second.
It is light to carry around and very effective – the shredder blades are made from steel not plastic which is found on some machines. So it can deal with pine cones and acorns with ease.
It costs £99.95, a saving of £80, and has a one year manufacturer’s warranty. Delivery is free the next working day.
And for a straightforward backpack leaf blower there is the Einhell BG-PB33 Petrol Backpack Leaf Blower, the sort the professionals use to clear leaves and litter and other debris. It has a blast of air moving at 250 km an hour and is very easy to use as the controls are all at your fingertips.
There is an extended blowing tube so you can clean debris from the back of sheds and from under hedges.
It has a 1.2 hp engine and is excellently engineered to use little fuel and to deliver few emissions.
This blower is on special offer at the moment as it £70 less than the maker’s recommended price. It costs £129.95.
Delivery is free the next working day and there is a two year manufacturer’s warranty.
Another machine from the same German engineering company is the Einhell BG-PL 26/1 Petrol Garden Vacuum / Leaf Blower, offering great value for money and is a real bargain.
It has been designed so that it can switch between blowing the leaves into a pile and sucking them up all at the flick of a switch.
Shredder blades reduce the volume of the debris collected to one tenth, a handy time saver. A clever device separates any hard material which might damage the shredding blades
The collector has a volume of 55 litres.
A carrying strap makes it easier to use and its design means it is less tiring to use.
This machine comes with a free wheel kit which makes it simple to push along on hard surfaces. This normally costs £12.95.
And as another free offer the machine comes with a free fuel mixing bottle and free engine oil.
Currently there is a saving of £80 on this machine as it costs £139.95.
Delivery is free the next working day and there is a free two year manufacturer’s warranty.
For those with a ride-on or lawn tractor this a really handy machine which can clean larger lawns and leave them looking pristine with no effort on your part.
The MD Sweep 38 Tow-behind Lawn & Leaf Sweeper is a highly efficient device which fits to virtually any ride-on or lawn tractor.
As it is driven along revolving brushes sweep leaves and other debris in to a 340 litre collector at the back.
It can be used on both lawns and hard surfaces like patios and tennis courts and has a working width of 38 in to get through large areas in quick time.
The sweeping brushes can pick up pine cones and small twigs as well as leaves.
This sweeper has been designed so you can empty the collector from the driver’s seat.
The price of £169 is over 50 per cent off the maker’s recommended retail price.
There is a two year maker’s warranty and free next working day delivery.
If you are thinking of buying a leaf blower you should take a look at the Greenworks 40v Cordless Variable Speed Leaf Blower.
Modern battery technology gives power equivalent to petrol models and modern lithium-ion batteries are much easier and faster to charge than the old fashioned ones, plus they are much cleaner to use and the motor is virtually silent in running.
The battery gives this blower 70 minutes continuous running, 40 per cent longer than equivalent conventional batteries.
It is light and very easy to use and has all the power to shift leaves and twigs into a pile.
The variable speed motor can blast an air stream of up to 150 mph and the nozzle is adjustable to vary the force.
It comes with a battery which has a charge level indicator plus a charger.
You can but additional batteries and chargers plus other Greenworks machinery like a chainsaw, hedge trimmer and strimmer at special prices.
It costs £179.95 and has a three year manufacturer’s guarantee.
Now for a machine which is often the choice of professional gardeners.
The Tanaka THB-260PF Commercial Grade Handheld Petrol Blower-Vac is really solidly built and has a terrific blast of air to shift leaves and garden debris.
It has a 25 cc PureFire engine and is designed for fast easy starting and a long life.
The high-volume fan gives top performance and with a free vac attachment can be turned into a shredder-vac.
For its power it is light in weight and has an auxiliary soft grip handle to make it easy to use for longer periods.
The machine costs £228, £140 off the manufacturer’s recommended price. And remember that the vac shredder kit which normally costs £69 is included in the price.
Delivery is free the next working day and there is a five year guarantee for consumer use, two years for commercial use.
Now here’s a much more powerful machine, easy to use and very effective.
The Al-Ko 75BA Hurricane Wheeled Vacuum has at its heart a 140 cc four-stroke engine with a quick start system to make it simple and reliable to fire up.
The turbine, housing and vac nozzle are all made from powder coated steel and it comes with a 200 litre nylon collection bag.
There are four height options so you can set the machine according to the surface you are working on.
The operating width is 75 cm and there is an optional hose kit to help you clean down flower beds and those awkward hard-to-reach parts of the garden.
This machine costs £375 and comes with a free steel 10 litre jerry can.
The optional hose costs £120, there is a free next working day delivery and a two year maker’s guarantee.
If you are a contractor or have a very large area of land to maintain you will need a very sturdy piece of kit to help you and the Ohio Steel 50SWP26 5 in Professional Grade Leaf Sweeper is just that.
A very high spec machine it has a 50 in working width and uses 11 in tough brushes to sweep up and whole host of rubbish.
The wheels have proper ball bearings and the hopper holds a massive 26 cubic feet and is designed so that it does not clog while in use.
The height is adjusted so that once set it cannot slip.
There is a four prong hitch which can fit any tractor and has a ball hitch as well.
It costs £379, a saving of £180 on the maker’s recommended price and there is a two year warranty. Delivery is free the next working day.
And finally there is the Billy Goat KV600 Estate Series Lawn Vacuum, a really powerful machine which can deal vigorously with any sort of garden rubbish.
Light and easy to use it can hoover up all sorts of debris including twigs and pieces and wood, glass bottles and drink cans and shred them through a very powerful medal bladed impellor.
A Briggs & Stratton 6 hp engine provides the power for this machine which has a 27 in working width.
The collection bag is simply clipped to the back of the machine and as it fills increases traction to the rear wheels.
Variable height adjustment is featured allowing the Billy Goat can be used on either hard surface or lawns.
The working height is easily adjusted by a lever according to the surface being cleaned.
An optional hose kit is available for £168 to extend the use of the machine.
It is available for £879, a £221 saving of the recommended retail price.
Plus there is a very handy 10 litre jerry can totally free.
Delivery is free the next working day and there is a 12 month domestic guarantee, six months for commercial use.
The bag has a six month guarantee, three months for commercial use.
Replacement bags, a castor kit and a nozzle plate can also be purchased to extent the use of this model.
The rains and wind have blown the leaves about so now is the time to starting the clearance work if you don’t want to be faced with an even harder task.
And it’s not leaves that need sorting, remember to keep the lawn neat and tidy and the straggling shoots on the hedges trimmed back.
If you need advice on anything please call our team on 08454 588905.