As autumn turns to winter the last of the leaves are falling from the trees. For all sorts of reasons it is good practice to remove them from your garden as quickly as possible. If left for any length of time on the lawn, dead leaves can prevent the grass from growing, create bare patches or slow down drainage, causing dampness and encouraging the growth of moss. On paths, drives and other hard surfaces, leaves can create a slip hazard. They can also make you very unpopular with your neighbours as the leaves from your tree are blown onto their lawns and gardens.

In the past, the only way to remove the leaves from the lawn was by using a garden rake, a tiring and time-consuming task. Similarly a brush was the preferred method of removing leaves from hard-standing areas.

Now you can remove fallen leaves quickly and easily with Trueshopping’s combined leaf blowers, vacuums and mulchers. We have two models in the Trueshopping range:
Trueshopping 2500W Blower-Shredder: This is an entry-level machine that blows and picks up leaves, grass, small twigs and bits of paper. When in 'vacuum' mode, it acts as a shredder to mulch debris and maximise bag capacity. With its large 40L capacity bag the blower-shredder will make light work of most leaf-collecting tasks.
Draper 2200w 230v Garden Vacuum-blower-mulcher: this machine features a powerful 2200W motor, incorporating a variable air flow setting (up to 260km per hour), controlled by a handy 'vacuum to blow' lever. The vacuum-blower tube has a support wheel for easy manoeuvrability, an adjustable front support handle and a huge 45 litre collection bag.

For large amounts of leaves, most people prefer to use the machine in 'blower' mode to guide the leaves into a pile, which can be dealt with later. If you use the machine in 'vacuum' mode, you may have to empty the bag frequently, even though the mulch function will reduce the volume of debris to one tenth of the original.

Once you have a large pile of leaves, the easiest way to deal with it is to put it into large plastic bags, or the council wheelie bin, for disposal. However, gardeners will see this as an opportunity to make quality compost. Therefore the best time to collect leaves is after it has been raining, when the leaves are damp. Alternatively, you can soak the leaves with a hosepipe, before putting them into the bags or adding them to your compost heap. Not only will the leaves then be easier to gather up, the fact that they are wet means that they will decompose more quickly. If you make a few air holes in the bin bag and store them away until the following summer, they can then be used as an ideal conditioner for your soil and can be immediately added to plant and flower beds.

You can treat leaves that you have collected via the vacuum and shredder in much the same way. Empty the shredded leaves into plastic bags and wet them, if you want them to decompose into compost. Some leaves decompose more quickly than others, so it is better to shred and mix the different types of leaves to speed up the decomposition rate. Whether you use the machine in blower or vacuum mode it is good practice to wear eye protection, in case fragments of debris are blown into the air. Also, the machines tend to be rather noisy, so ear defenders might be appropriate if you are using a machine for a prolonged period of time.

Gathering leaves in the autumn gives positive results all round. In addition to making good compost, it keeps your garden looking tidy and avoids any issues surrounding the leaves blowing onto your neighbour's property. However, if you gather leaves up into a large pile, you should try not to leave them lying there for too long.

Animals, for example hedgehogs, find a pile of leaves the ideal place to bed down in for a while and the hedgehogs could end up as compost too if you wait a while before collecting them into bags. Children also need to be careful. They can't be certain what's been thrown into the pile or what's fallen into or, indeed, what's crawled into a pile of leaves so they should be discouraged from playing near the pile. Dead leaves can also give off certain spores which can cause allergies with sufferers of asthma being affected the most, so it's recommended that, to avoid any risks, you gather up the leaves and immediately store them safely away.