Garden Faerie: Leaf Loader makes raking easier; win one!
This fall, the City of Ann Arbor is no longer collecting leaves raked onto the street, instead requiring them to be contained in compost carts or yard waste bags for pickup. Though I'm not into garden gadgets, I was happy to review the Leaf Loader to see if it would be helpful in bagging leaves. Because I was given two to review, you have the chance to win one!
The Leaf Loader is a flexible tarp with rigid edges that helps you rake leaves directly into containers. Leave a comment to be entered to win one!
Monica Milla | Contributor
I have to say it's been a long time since I raked leaves. I usually mulch mow leaves that fall onto my lawn, and I leave the ones that fall into my garden beds as mulch. Tip: Maple leaves decompose most quickly and are great for compost (especially shredded). Oak leaves take the longest to decompose and are great for mulch.
I also curbside shop for leaves which I shred and add to my compost bin. Tip: You can shred leaves without a shredder by 1) using your lawnmower with the bag attached or 2) putting dried leaves into a garbage can, wearing safety goggles, and using a weed whacker inside the can.
I should also mention that I don't view buying something new as the best or only way to meet my garden needs. I often have things laying around that can be fashioned into an equally good solution. However, I was happy to review the Leaf Loader because the City now requires all leaves to be enclosed in the City's compost carts or yard waste bags for pickup. Not everyone is a gardener, but everyone will have to comply with this new rule, so I wanted to see if this product would be helpful. I was given the Leaf Loader in exchange for my review, good or bad, by Platform Media Group.
One end of the Leaf Loader fits into your can or container, the other lays flat on the ground. A strap allows you to adjust the size of the end that fits in the container.
Monica Milla | Contributor
It was easy and quick to rake leaves into the flat end.
Monica Milla | Contributor
It was then easy to grab and lift both the Leaf Loader and the bin into an upright position (like in the first photo). The leaves fell down into the container, with at most a gentle nudging, and it was easy to remove the Leaf Loader from the bin without spilling leaves or tipping the bin. (Trust me, I'm not that coordinated!)
Note: The City's smaller, 32-gallon compost bins taper toward the bottom and have interior ridges. Use the included "bag rib" piece to make a better fit. The piece is not needed with the City's standard 64-gallon bins (shown in the photos) or the larger 96-gallon bins.
You can also use the Leaf Loader without a container. For example, I didn't have too many leaves in my backyard and simply raked them into the Leaf Loader directly on the ground.
Monica Milla | Contributor
I then grabbed the handles and the Leaf Loader turned into a carrier, so it was easy to transport and dump the leaves to a nearby garden bed.
Monica Milla | Contributor
I was also surprised how easily the Leaf Loader returned to its original collapsed position for storage.
Monica Milla | Contributor
The Leaf Loader also works with yard waste bags. It comes with a bag rib that inserts into the Leaf Loader and strengthens the end that goes into the bag, plus sturdy string to use around the top of the yard waste bag to hold the Leaf Loader in place. (FYI, the bag rib comes tucked into one of the edges of the Leaf Loader. I didn't initially see it and found out the hard way that the piece is essential for use with yard waste bags! Yes, here at Garden Faerie's Musings, I mess up so you don't have to! Along those lines, if you're using the Leaf Loader on a windy day, do not leave it unattended.)
The Leaf Loader also works with plastic trash bags, but I did not try it as Ann Arbor does not accept compostables in plastic bags. It would work similarly to paper yard waste bags, requiring the bag rib.
The bottom line: The Leaf Loader really did make raking easier, especially if you have a lot of leaves. It seems sturdy and like it would last multiple seasons. Pros: It worked fantastically well with bins, on its own with leaves carried to another location, and with yard waste bags. I would recommend this product. Cons: I would have liked slightly more detailed instructions, specifically on the handle strap.
The Leaf Loader retails for $29.95. It is not yet available in Michigan stores, but you can order it online through LeafLoader.com or Amazon.com, or by phone toll-free at (877) 598-2599.
To enter to win a Leaf Loader, leave a comment telling me what you do with your leaves by Oct. 31 at midnight. I will do a drawing and notify the winner about picking up the Leaf Loader from a location in Ann Arbor.
Read the official rules for the Leaf Loader giveaway here.
Update 11/1: Congratulations to Leaf Loader winner Kim Gardner, whom I have contacted to arrange pickup. The random drawing was conducted in the most scientific manner of writing down all commenters' names on slips of paper, folding them, scrambling them in an orange Rosti mixing bowl, closing my eyes, and pulling a name, all under the vigilant supervision of two unbiased felines.
Monica Milla, the Garden Faerie, is a master gardener volunteer, garden speaker, garden coach and author of "Fun with Winter Seed Sowing."
Comments
Helen
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 6:55 p.m.
We make many trips with tarps, cans and bags - this looks like it would really help with the collecting of leaves to be added to our compost pile. Will keep my fingers crossed that I'll be able to add the Leaf Loader to the aids used for leaf collecting.
TinyArtist
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 7:08 a.m.
We have a similar maple situation to that shown in your photos. Most of our leaves are composted here or at the Living Stones Community gardens, but anything to ease the initial gathering would be most welcome.
Jim and Janice Leach
Fri, Oct 29, 2010 : 11:06 a.m.
What a great contest, Monica! This looks like a handy garden tool. We will add some leaves to our compost bins to contribute to the "brown layer." The majority of our leaves (and our neighbors'!) will make a heavy all over mulch layer on the garden beds. Over the winter, the leaves get mashed down and begin to decompose. Come spring, the leaf layer helps to deter weeds. We love leaves and so do our plants!
Susan
Thu, Oct 28, 2010 : 1:13 p.m.
I have been looking for those leaf claws to help me with picking up the leaves I have raked up in order to put them in the wheelbarrow to move them to the beds where I use them as mulch. However, in reading your review, it looks like this device (the Leaf Loader) would make my job easier. Love to have one!
pj notes
Thu, Oct 28, 2010 : 11:03 a.m.
Hi, Kim. Thanks for your story. We've always used a tarp to collect leaves and take them to the street. This year we did a lot of brush clearing at the back of our lot, and we are depositing most of the leaves along the back to allow a continuous composting area. We are also filling the new city compost tote to the brim each week. We hope between the two, we can handle all the leaves. We still have several huge trees that haven't released their leaves yet. The Leaf Loader sounds like a big help in the process!
Patty
Thu, Oct 28, 2010 : 9:26 a.m.
I get all my leaves (lots of them) from my neighbors' yards. It's difficult loading them into the compost cart, even after they are mowed - so I'd LOVE to get one of those loaders!!
lmhkw
Thu, Oct 28, 2010 : 8:56 a.m.
What a great idea! I love it! I usually rake up 3-6 bags of leaves in my front yard and an equal amout in my back yard. It is quite a challenge to get leaves and weed stalks into a paper compostable bag. The bags teeter between loads and defiantly resist accepting a rakeful of piled leaves. I'd love to win this terrific new product! Thanks for having a drawing!
Mylene J.
Thu, Oct 28, 2010 : 8:49 a.m.
It would be wonderful to own this. My husband and I have physical issues why we can't do a lot of lifting and hard yard work. We are both older and would love to have one of these-- it would make life so much easier. Thanks
Pat Zawacki
Thu, Oct 28, 2010 : 8:39 a.m.
Most of our leaves are in the backyard, so raking to the curb didn't work well anyway. I only like raking on those beautiful, crisp fall days, and we usually end up doing it on gray, cold, drizzly days!! The Leaf Loader looks like it would be a GREAT help!! Might make a nice gift, too!!
Pat Zawacki
Thu, Oct 28, 2010 : 8:36 a.m.
Most of our leaves are in the backyard where raking them to the curb never worked very well anyway. I'm not much of a gardener and only like raking on those beautiful crisp fall days. It usually ends up being cold, gray and drizzly when we do it. The Leaf Loader looks like a GREAT help!! Might make a good gift, too!!
mferg56
Thu, Oct 28, 2010 : 8:12 a.m.
We have 5 large trees and live next door to a small park with a dozen large trees. The prevailing wind tends to blow those leaves into our yard, too, so even with the curbside leaf pickup, it was a daunting task to get all the leaves out there, and way too many to just mulch into the lawn. We bought a Craftsman yard vacuum that grinds the leaves up (claims to do 8-1, but is more like 4-1) and sucks them into a bag. We used some for bedding mulch, dumped some into a home-made chicken-wire composter, and put the rest out to the curb, but now we're dumping the excess into our compost carts (we bought an extra one) or paper bags each week. That leaf loader would be a big help with that part of the job.
countrycat
Thu, Oct 28, 2010 : 6:46 a.m.
My husband has been mulching the leaves with the mower this year but I could see using this device to scoop up the mulched leaves to put on my flower beds rather than just the (full) leaves that fall into the flower beds. My current big plastic leaf scoops (the size of small cymbals) wouldn't work well with mulched leaves...but they did work well with full size leaves - used to scoop the leaves into a big plastic tarp-like bag to then haul the leaves to the street.
LWB
Thu, Oct 28, 2010 : 6:28 a.m.
We used the curbside pickup for some of our leaves, but for most of them, we mow over them in the backyard for mulching. Some of them we shred and put in our compost bin (not the city one, the one in our backyard for food scraps only), which eventually is dumped and rototilled into our garden. We'd love to win a leaf loader for the extras!
ssgardengirl
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 6:21 p.m.
Very cool tool Monica! We have tons of maple leaves here. Sometimes the Lawn Man mulches them, and sometimes he bags them. When he bags them, I come behind him and dump the bags in the garden. Then I fold up the bags and put them back in the garage. :) (p.s. no need to put my name in the hat for the drawing.)
Cheryl Gibbs
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 2:43 p.m.
In past years we did not have the city pick up most of our leaves. Instead, we bought a Flowtron leaf mulcher, which uses plastic strings (similar to weed whacker strings) to chop our leaves. Then we spread the finely chopped particles on our garden beds and lawn areas. Yes, it's more work than simply raking them to the street, but it's a great way to improve our mostly clay soil. The leaf loader would probably help us collect the leaves more easily. I do wonder how the city will deal with leaves in public areas and people who continue to rake leaves into the street.
Kim Gardner
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 11:41 a.m.
Makes sense that it is about money. Also with all the leaves we have, our leaf piles would get pretty high so I can see how it could be a bit of a danger to have that in the roadways. It was SO convenient to have them picked up though!
Monica Milla
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 9:26 a.m.
Tony, thanks. I should have known it was about money!
Monica Milla
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 9:05 a.m.
Kim, I don't personally get too many leaves, but I agree it was nice to be able to get them into the street (tarps rule!) and not have to buy yard waste bags. I haven't researched WHY the city stopped this (and it doesn't say on their website), but I used to work at the UM Transportation Research Institute so I'm going to guess it had to do with safety--I've seen very tall leaf piles that block the view from cars backing out of driveways... and I could see where kids or pets could be hit. I also wonder whether the leaves blocked sewer drains.
Kim Gardner
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 8:45 a.m.
I was sad to hear that the city of Ann Arbor would not be picking up leaves from the street this year. I get LOTS of leaves in my backyard and it will take me many, many weeks of filling bags and the compost bin to get rid of them all when I used to get it all done in one day by dragging them out to the street with a tarp in one day. This leaf loader definitely does seem like it would be a big help this year.