Farmall Cub

I have been thinking about getting a bagger for my 2542 and was wondering if it is worth the money or not.I will be using it mainly for fall leaf pick up,I have alot of trees and am trying to condense the pick up process.Does anyone here use a bagger for this or am I thinking incorrectly about using a bagger for leaves?

I don't know what that bagger is or what it costs but ...for leaves you need a very large container or you'll be emptying quite often, especially since you have a lot of trees. I mow about an acre with a bunch of trees and I use a wagon that holds about 1 1/2 cu yards of leaves (about 30 bushels) and I still empty it about 6 to 8 times each mowing/pickup when the leaves are thick. I would consider a trailer with the vacuum, kind of pricy for a new one but it will make short work of picking up leaves.

I use to have a pull behind vac but it did not work good,my yard is very hilly and has alot of small trees that the vac would not go under.My plan was to buy a bagger,around $400 and have my utility trailer hooked to my other tractor and just keep dumping the bags onto my big trailer and once big trailer is full go out to woods and dump them.Right now I use a backpack blower,blow into piles and then hand load them on my trailer,takes me all weekend to get them up,and I have to repeat the process a few times every fall.Thought maybe a bagger would save me some time.

[img[/img]Forget the trailer, use a tarp! I made this one with old lumber wrap I got for free. One two x four and a one x , chain heavy wire and drill screws. When plastic wears out, replace with new. Pile them up, push onto tarp, when you get them where you want them, just roll tarp over and start over! Toggle pix both ways for more pix.
http://photos.cubfest.com/displayimage.php?pos=-6199

I like your tarp,I think I am going to try it and see how it works in my yard.Thanks for the idea.

As for picking up leaves --- I haven't done that in years. I'm surrounded by deciduous trees on three sides and am subject to leaves blowing in from other neighbors. Bottom line, I get a lot of leaves.

In addition I volunteer at an arboretum site of 20 acres, 16 of which have many, many deciduous trees. In some spots up to six inches cover the ground. These leaves are mulched into the grass, as well.

Leaves, mulched in place make an excellent organic fertilizer and enhance the soil structure (no, they do not make thatch a problem. If you have a thatch problem, it is not due to either grass clippings or leaf mulch, but other problems.) Your lawn will not look as pristine as the neighbor's raked yards for about three or four weeks, but will soon look great when all the mulched leaves disappear (and they will) in the grass.

Bill

BTW front or rear mount blade works great to move leaves on to tarp when they are too much for blower or rake.

I bought a new backpack blower last fall,the biggest one Echo makes,if my leaves get to be to much for it I think I'll move lol.I do like the idea of plowing leaves,never done that before.

stevey30 wrote:I use to have a pull behind vac but it did not work good,my yard is very hilly and has alot of small trees that the vac would not go under

I'm surprised the vac-wagon didn't work well. The one I used worked great. Yes, it will not go under low branches too well but just rake or blow the leaves out. I've tried the large tarp idea and that seemed like a lot of extra work to me, just my opinion. Bills idea, however, intrigues me.

Bill Hudson wrote:Leaves, mulched in place make an excellent organic fertilizer and enhance the soil structure (no, they do not make thatch a problem

Bill Hudson wrote:In some spots up to six inches cover the ground.

I know leaves biodegrade pretty well, I might have to try that this year. I just have sooo many leaves...

Some work Bill, but not as much as loading into trailer, then unloading. Frame on tarp helps a bunch, I use a 2X to hold edge of tarp when loading.

The baggers on the 2000 series Cadets actually work pretty good. One suggestion I always give folks is mow everything without the bagger attached, at a really high setting. Then come back and lower the deck one notch, the mow with the bagger attached. This way you are shredding the leaves a bit on the first cut, and you will cover more area when you are bagging, without having to dump it. Also, this method does let some smaller pieces of the leaves and grass fall into the sod, which is good for the lawn. You may not have a picture perfect "vacuumed" look doing it this way, but it works pretty good and is definitely better than raking!