On 01 Jun 2003 21:32:05 GMT, ojunk
(GoldDustRhiannon) wrote:

~Thank you John - You've saved me a hundred quid )
~
~I would use a rake but the area is very large and its backbreaking work.
~
~Anyone else had an experience with a garden vac - good or bad?
~
My experience is good. I test drove one for free last year after a friend
went to the US and didn't need it any more. My house is overlooked by
several mature sycamores, which cover half the front garden and make
gardening a challenge due to the amount of water their roots take up. And
then there's the leaves...
Every year I've spent backbreaking weeks picking the things out of the
rockery so as not to rot my alpines, and at times have waded through ankle
deep wet leaves to get to the front door.

The vac was a blessing. Despite the fact it's a bulky pain to store, the
ease of keeping the path clean was more than a payment. More so, it reduced
the leafmould bulk to a fraction of the 8-9 binliners previously collected,
and it should take less time for them to rot, too (and sycamores take
years). Vacuuming the leaves also vacuumed the seeds, which usually slipped
through when hand-collecting. And if you've ever had hundreds of
germinating sycamores to pull up you'll know how quickly they put down a
massive taproot and put up a fight!

When the brushes burned out on the motor and the thing died halfway through
December, I *had* to get a replacement. I'm glad I got to try it for free
though!

Whether you would reap any benefit depends: you say you want to hoover
grass, in which case I'd say it's better to get a rake as grass is already
shredded. If you would also be using it for leaves, you'd pass in my
opinion into the use where they are worth it. But just grass? Probably not.


--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

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