17 Mar

Lawn Mowers: Gas Versus Electric

Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, Tips

Yesterday, I talked about the types of lawn mowers available, and today I want to talk about what powers them. This is totally speaking about walk-behind mowers, since riding mowers are always gas-powered.

I once had a neighbor who refused to use a gas lawn mower. She said it was because she hated the fumes from the motor, and she was doing her part for the environment. I would see her get out her extension cord and carry it along with her. A few years later, she gave it up for a gas powered mower and braved the fumes. Deciding between the two designs is always a personal choice based on many factors, including the following:

Noise: Electric mowers definitely have the advantage here. Gas involves combustion, and with that comes high noise levels. Electric mowers are still noisy, but not incredibly loud like their gas counterparts.

Pollution: Once again, electric wins out. Gas mowers have no catalytic converter to remove the many pollutants that spew from a working motor.

Power: Gas wins this one. Motors come in different sizes, but there is only so much current coming through the wall socket. For this reason, electric mowers run less efficiently and often less effectively as a result.

Ease: I never could figure out how my neighbor never ran over the cord with the lawn mower. It looked so uncomfortable to use, and you are limited in how your extension cord runs. Gas belches out fumes that can be a little nauseating, but at least you have the comfort of going anywhere you want without worrying about getting the cord wrapped around something.

Cost: Electric wins over gas here as well. You can buy many types of electric mowers for between $100 and $200, but gas mower can range from the $150 for a small one to several hundred for larger, more powerful version.

Ultimately, the decision on the specific type of lawn mower is yours. Figure out which characteristics are most important to you and then choose accordingly. You can always change your mind later on, just like my neighbor did.

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/tbuser/3620840202

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10 Jan

The Battle of the Garage: Choosing What to Keep Snow-Free

Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, Tips

My entire life, I never had a garage, and in a state where winter seems to last 10 out of 12 months, that meant I had years of scraping off snow and ice from my car. When I moved into my current home, I was thrilled to finally have a garage.

I had dreams of walking into the garage after 8 inches of snow and not seeing any frost on the windows and not worrying if the bitter cold had drained the battery to the point that it wouldn’t start. For the first few years, I lived in a state of bliss.

Having a garage was everything I dreamed of, but then it started to get complicated. It was a one-car garage, and there was barely enough room for my car, let alone anything else that we may have wanted to store in there.

Unlike the attic or the basement, there are certain things that just belong in the garage, such as the lawn mower, tools, garden and yard implements, etc. Why? Because no one wants to lug a lawn mower up or down stairs once a week, sometimes twice a week, during the spring.

Slowly but surely, the garage began to become cluttered. A wheel barrel for my garden needs, a stepladder for when I need to get on the roof and take care of those pesky gutters, a few crates of oil for when I do the oil change, garden hoses and nozzles.

When I put the car in the garage, I began having a hard time getting the car door open, and eventually, the car was barely fitting into it all. The final straw was the garden tiller I bought, at which point my car moved back to the driveway.

Fast forward about three years, and once again I am scrapping frost off the windows while my lawn mower and tools sit all toasty in the garage. So far, the cold hasn’t gotten to the point that the battery had become drained, but that day will come. Every year, I promise myself that I will reclaim my garage for its true purpose, but when I go into it I have no idea where to put anything.

My friends have suggested building a tool shed in the garage, and I am sure that eventually I will get around to it, but for now, I’ll keep my scraper handy. One day the garage will be mine again, but that’s going to have to wait until spring.

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/pauldineen/2096545904/

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05 Oct

Weed control tips

Author: admin // Category: Home Gardening, Tips

Weed control tips

Simple ideas to keep weeds away from your lawn or garden

Keeping weeds under control doesn’t have to be a huge chore. Whether you’re suffering from weed problems in your front lawn or in your flower or vegetable garden, removing them quickly and keeping them from returning is a fairly simple matter. The trick is planning your attack.

Removing weeds
If you’ve already got mature weeds, you’ll need to remove them before they do any more damage to your desired plants. These tips will help.

Stop the weed. If possible, get to the weeds before they flower. In most cases, this means just removing the weed as quickly as possible. White heads on dandelions or rows of ball-shaped seeds on pigweed mean that the plant is already in germination stage, and it may be spreading. If you don’t have time to dig up the plant, chop off its head with a lawn mower or scissors. This will control the weed until you can come back later and fully remove it.

Remove the entire weed. A common mistake made by many gardeners is to simply pull up the garden or lawn weeds. Most weeds have a very long taproot, or a large clutch of roots, and pulling them up will simply tear the roots and leave some in the ground. For successful weed removal, get out a spade and dig the entire root base from the ground.

Use weed killer wisely. Weed killer can be a great solution, but keep in mind that these chemicals are designed to kill plants- period. They can’t distinguish between weeds and your tomato patch. If you use a chemical, spray it directly onto the weed, lifting up the leaves and spraying the base. If the weed killer needs to be sprayed onto the leaves of the plant, do so on a calm day so that the spray won’t blow onto your other plants.

Preventing future weeds
Removing all of the weeds from your lawn or garden is great, but chances are good that new ones will crop up–in some cases, almost immediately. Make your lawn or garden less enticing to weeds with a few simple hints.

Mulch helps. A thick layer of mulch over garden soil will help prevent weeds from digging in. Add mulch to the soil right after planting your new seedlings.

Consider landscape fabric. If weeds are a serious problem in your garden, consider covering the area with landscape fabric. You’ll have to poke holes in order to plant your seedlings. Water and light can get through the fabric, but weeds can’t. Cover the fabric with a layer of mulch to improve appearance.

Create a barrier on your lawn. Keeping weeds out of your lawn is tricky. You’ll need to create a solid surface of healthy grass in order to choke out the weeds. In some cases this may require new sod or grass seed. When you mow the lawn, leave the grass clippings where they fall to create a cover for the grass and help keep out weeds.

Try pre-emergent chemicals. If you’re interested in chemical weed control, consider pre-emergent weed killers that are designed for use after the soil is prepared but before anything begins to grow. These chemicals create a noxious barrier between any weed seedlings and the surface. They work well in preparing a weed-free area for your new garden planting.

The trick to weed control is to be persistent. Continue removing weeds by hand when you see them, and take a few days prior to a new planting to prepare the area by digging up roots and spraying chemicals. Ridding a garden or lawn completely of weeds may require a few years of diligence. With the right methods and some time and effort on your part, the desired plants will take over the area and be strong enough to keep the weeds from muscling in.

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18 Dec

how to use a snowblower properly

Author: admin // Category: Tips

That load of snow in your driveway may be getting to you, but before you put your snowblower into action, make sure you’re really using it properly and safely. You probably have a healthy respect for your lawn mower and weed-whacker, and their ability to do real harm. Don’t think that your snowblower is more innocuous just because it throws the fluffy stuff around instead of slicing plants
away from the earth.

First rule: Don’t drink alcohol and operate a snowblower. Any time you dull your reaction time and impair your judgment, the last thing you want to do is operate any kind of machinery that could severely injure you or someone else.

Second, be careful where you aim that thing. If the snow is shooting toward your house, you could be looking at damage to your siding and windows. If you aren’t exactly sure where Patches the Cat ran off to, get her into the house first, unless you want to risk stunning her and burying her under a bunch of snow. Remember, not all snow is light and fluffy. Also, if there are heavier objects in the snow, like rocks or ice chunks, they will be flung farther, and perhaps faster, than snow. So, thoroughly inspect the area before you get out the snowblower. In fact, if you can survey the area before the snow covers the ground, so much the better.

Third, watch your fingers and other important parts you might need later. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons reports that several thousand people are treated each year in emergency rooms thanks to incidents with snowblowers and snowthrowers. Two-thirds of snowblower injuries involve the fingers, and of all the various consumer home and yard products, snowblowers are one of the top causes of finger amputations. Most injuries occur when operators attempt to clear the auger or the discharge chute with their hands. Use a stick or broom handle to clear away debris in the machine. Remember that the impeller blades may still be rotating for a time even after the machine is turned off. You should wait AT LEAST five seconds after turning the machine off before trying to clear any jams, even though you’ll be using a stick. You don’t want spinning blades to grab onto something you’re holding tightly.

Fourth, make sure you leave all the safety devices, like shields, guards and switches, on the machine. Customize your car, not your snowblower. For that matter, protect your own body by wearing gloves, long pants, goggles and boots. For one thing, it’s cold out there. For another, you want to keep your body parts intact, remember?

Fifth, if you have a gas-powered snowblower, fuel it up before you start using it. Never add fuel while it’s running or still hot from recent use. If it’s an electrical snowblower, make sure the cord doesn’t get tangled or snagged in any moving parts; electrocution is dangerous, not invigorating. Don’t touch the engine cowling while it’s still hot.

Sixth, keep the kids away from the snowblower. Around the age of 15, it’s probably OK to start introducing them to safe use of a snowblower. And make sure you supervise them until you’re sure they know what they are doing.

Seventh, don’t leave the machine unattended without shutting it off first. You don’t want the snowblower going off on its own, and you don’t want kids or pets to get caught up in it when you’re out of sight or out of earshot.

Finally (and maybe this should have been rule number one, but it should be obvious), read the user’s manual for your snowblower before you use it. No one’s going to respect you more because you figured it out on your own, particularly if the result is a couple missing fingers and a family pet that’s still reeling from that hunk of ice you flung at it.

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