"zxcvbob" wrote in message
...
Ron Hardin wrote:
What tool do I need to load a pile of grass clippings (left by scything
the lawn ; you get a pile maybe a foot high and a couple feet wide
running down the left side of a 10' swath you cut across the lawn) onto
a makeshift hay wagon, for carting into the back woods, where a
pile of lawn clippings is growing (how big will it get?)?

I've been using a garden rake, gathering into a huge pile and
then picking up a large armful with rake and remaining hand. But
it takes as long to cart away the grass clippings as it does to scythe
the swath in the first place, using this procedure.

Maybe there's a pitchfork that will work with grass clippings?
(The clippings are typically longer than a lawnmower leaves, but
certainly not hay-length.)



I have a cottonseed fork (wide pitchfork, 10 or 12 tines, short "D"
handle) that works great for compost, grass clippings, etc. I think they
are also called silage forks. They are kind of heavy.

You could also use a manure fork. They have closer tines than a hay fork.

Have you tried using a regular 4-time hay fork? A lot will probably fall
though, but depending on how tightly the clippings are packed you should
get most of it very quickly and then you can rake it again.

Bob
I recommend a 5 or 6 tine long-handle fork. Don't get one that's too heavy.
_________________
John Henry Wheeler
Washington, DC
USDA Zone 7