Oct 16, 2009

Reconditioned Black & Decker Edger LE750R On Sale

Black & Decker LE750R Factory-Reconditioned EDGEHOG™ 2-in-1 Landscape Edger
I just noticed that the Reconditioned version of the Black & Decker Edger LE750 (LE750R) Edge Hog Landscape Edger is on sale at a big discount and wanted to share that information.

This is my first season with the Edge Hog Electric Lawn Edger and I have been very happy with it. I purchased mine reconditioned as well. You can read my Black & Decker LE750 Edge Hog Review which I posted back in July.

It is currently on sale for $59.99. The item new sells for $109.99 and the normal refurbished price is $89.99. Shipping charges are very low.

Oct 15, 2009

Organic Starter Fertilizer

For a long time, there was no manufacturer selling an organic starter fertilizer product and to be honest, not many people cared. The only benefit of having something marketed as an organic starter fertilizer is to help those that are transitioning from synthetic fertilizers that are accustomed to grabbing something with that label when it's time to seed. In this post I'll discuss the one new product that's labelled as an organic starter fertilizer and the role of starter fertilizers in organic lawn care.

What is a Starter Fertilizer

In the synthetic fertilizer world, anything labeled starter fertilizer has one unique characteristic. It contains a higher proportion of phosphorous than the other fertilizers. Phosphorous is the middle number in the NPK guaranteed analysis on the bag of fertilizer. A starter fertilizer might have a guaranteed analysis of 11-23-10 where another fertilizer from the same like would have an analysis of 26-1-12.

Oct 14, 2009

Waiting for Grass To Grow

This is the tough part. I've completed my fall lawn overseeding project and have been watering it regularly. Now it's a waiting game to see if I did enough things right to have a great looking lawn.

It is agonizing. When I used to wake up in the morning and look outside my bedroom window I would smile because I had the nicest lawn I could see from that vantage but now it's the worst. Dethatching, pulling weeds and mowing the lawn very low in preparation for overseeding has really left the lawn looking terrible. My lawn has never looked as good as it did this past season and now there's this sinking feeling that I might have been better off leaving things the way they were.

I have a couple of things going against me. I started later than I wanted. Because of other circumstances I overseeded a few weeks later than I would have liked. The primary areas were overseeded with Jonathan Green Sod Maker Kentucky Blue Grass Seed Mix which takes about 6 weeks to germinate. The weather has been quite unusual this year and I was expecting the warmer days to continue for a while, unfortunately that's not the case. These past few days, and for the next few, the temperature is going to be quite low.

Luckily it's going to warm up again for a bit and hopefully stay that way until the seeds have germinated. Soil temperature also tends to be warmer than air temperature so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I was also planning on topdressing with compost but time and cost became a factor. It really sucks when you don't need enough to have it trucked in and buying that many bags of compost is expensive and would require multiple trips or renting a truck.

I shouldn't expect to see results so soon but until I start to see small new shoots of grass sprouting up I'm going to be anxious. In a short while I should start seeing little green hairs popping up in the shady areas where I used a shade mix that germinates faster and then a while after that start seeing the same in the areas that were overseeded with KBG. Worse case, a good portion of the seeds survive the winter and start to germinate in the spring if they don't germinate now. I didn't completely kill the existing lawn and it will start to recover from the very low mowing soon too.

Maintaining a healthy lawn is very difficult these days where we point, click and expect to see instant results. I had similar fears last spring when I aerated and overseeded and things turned out fine. That should be the case again but waiting for grass to grow is frustrating.

Oct 13, 2009

How To Store Organic Fertilizer

One of the nice things about using organic lawn fertilizers is that their safe and natural. Many of the ingredients are used in animal feed. If you're storing your organic fertilizer in your garage or shed you might be concerned about your pets or the local wildlife (mice, rats, squirels, racoons, skunks, deer, bears) sniffing it out and breaking through the bag. It is also important to keep the organic fertilizer dry so that it doesn't spoil.

The best and most affordable items I've found for storing dry organic fertilizers are the Iris Pet Food Containers. It makes sense since these fertilizers are essentially pet food. The Iris pet food storage containers are durable and airtight. They'll keep the fertilizer fresh and prevent any animals from smelling the "food" and getting in to it. Use the link above to order from Amazon which has the best prices I've seen and free shipping on most of the sizes you would need. It also looks like Iris products are made in the USA.

Oct 6, 2009

Fall Lawn Overseeding

Over the past few years I've been overseeding my lawn with better quality grass seed to improve the appearance and disease resistance of my lawn. Along with proper mowing, watering and a good organic lawn fertilizer program I have seen big improvements in my home lawn. I just completed overseeding my lawn for the fall and hopefully it will be the last time I need to do so for a while.

I got off to a late start but the soil temperature is still above 65 degrees which is very important. Normally I would have liked to start around early to middle September.

I've found a couple of seeds that I'm very happy with and decided to stick with, both are from Jonathan Green & Sons, Inc. They also contain no weed seeds or at least less than similar mixes from Scotts and have good germination rates in my lawn. I have one small area that receives very little direct sunlight which I have been using Jonathan Green's Dense Shade mix with good results. It contains the following varieties of seeds
  • 39.25% Eugene Creeping Red Fescue
  • 14.75% Hood Chewings Fescue
  • 14.75% Carmen Chewings Fescue
  • 9.83% Frontier Perennial Ryegrass
  • 9.82% Darkstar Perennial Ryegrass
  • 9.82% Blue Sapphire Kentucky Bluegrass
  • 1.71% Inert Matter
  • 0.04% Other Crop Seed
  • 0.03% Weed Seed

The New Weed Hound Elite Size Does Matter

I prefer to use manual lawn and garden tools whenever I can. Especially when it's a tool that doesn't get used frequently. Not worrying about oiling, gassing, tuning, the amount of space it takes up and how much it costs are some of the benefits.

One drawback however is that I'm fairly tall and a lot of tools seem to be designed for people shorter than me. While I actually enjoy the exercise I get, sometimes my back tires out before the rest of my body. That little bit of extra bending I might have to do can really slow me down.

Ames True Temper, who recently bought Hound Dog Products, have released a new version of the popular Weed Hound called the Weed Hound Elite. One of the big differences is the new Weed Hound Elite is now 3" taller. Those extra 3 inches make it more comfortable to use by reducing the amount I have to bend over when using the Weed Hound Elite.