# Attachment for JD 430 to Remove Stubborn Leaves?



## Suburban Plowboy (Jul 17, 2017)

I have a John Deere 430 garden tractor. It has no 3-point hitch.

I have a horrible problem with live oak leaves. I moved to a big property last year, and I didn't know how to deal with the yard. I have tried lots of ways to get rid of the leaves, but it looks like there are still a lot of them plastered to the ground, and it appears that they have killed a lot of grass. They don't rise when I use a mulching kit. They stick to the ground like postage stamps.

I have used a lawn sweeper and an acreage rake. The lawn sweeper works to some degree, but it's a pain. It picks up Spanish moss which wraps around the axle and has to be yanked off with pliers several times per session. The acreage rake got clogged up with moss very quickly.

Is there some attachment I can put on this thing to get rid of stubborn leaves and moss? I was thinking about a landscape rake, but they seem kind of harsh. I am wondering if a chain harrow would do the job.


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

John Deere makes a dethatcher that will probably fit your tractor. Mounts on the front. Don't know how it might work on plastered down leaves? There is a video demonstrating how it works on lawn thatch. Do an internet search for HOW TO DETHATCH YOUR LAWN JOHN DEERE DE THATCHER RAKE FOR GRASS. You will probably have to set the spring tines very close to the ground to pick up the matted leaves.

I have a lot of water oak and live oak trees in my yard and along the road to contend with. Leaves fall from November through March. Water oaks first and then live oaks. I mulch the leaves as they fall, every week or two, all winter and through the spring, so they don't have a chance to mat down. They eventually are ground into very small pieces and disappear.


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## RC Wells (Dec 26, 2008)

The only tool I have ever had really good results with is a DR Power leaf vacuum and high lift blades on the mower. Still requires a reasonably dry day. Also requires a place to store the thing, they claim they fold and store easily, but that is in fantasy land!


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