Next year I will be taking care of the lawn rather than using a local lawn services, I simply can't afford it any more. Besides my lawn mower, edge trimmer and leaf blower are there any other tools that I need in order to keep my lawn healthy? I leave in North Eastern, NJ.
Javier
Some good hand weeding tools. And, don't be one of those people who chases one leaf around the yard for 3 hours with the blower, thereby making your neighbors want to put a bullet in your head. You could replace the silly thing with a good quality push broom.
Thanks,
So basically ditch the blower idea and use a push broom to get the fall leaves to the curb so the town can pick them up?
Thanks,
Javier
Or, run over them with your mower, mulching blade is best, and return the nutrients to the soil like Nature does. Set the wheels high in front and low in back. If you have a side discharge mower, blow the leaves toward the center, then reverse when the distance of the discharge throws it toward the edge.
No. You use a rake for the leaves. I can move leaves twice as fast as my neighbor, who's got a leaf blower, and I ain't no spring chicken. Look in your phone book for a REAL garden center, and tell them you need a rake for leaves.
My electric blower makes little noise but while OK for driveway and walk, is not that great on the lawn.
But my suggestion is that she needs a fertilizer spreader.
I want a rake with fine thin metal teeth like my gardener has. But I haven't seen one anywhere around -- Home Despot, OSH, etc. Any sources not too far, LA Area?
Tx
Persephone
A real garden center would be the place to look. Open the yellow pages.
Or, here's a real stretch: Ask the gardener where he got his.
Guaranteed, you can't move leaves faster than a backpack blower, using only a rake.
That's not exactly correct in all cases.
My husband can rake the leaves in our yard, thoroughly & efficiently, much faster than he can clean the yard with the backpacker blower. Honestly, he rakes faster than anyone I've ever seen.
I guess it depends on who you are, and what you are used to.
A handcrank whirlybird spreader for a small lawn (
Nix the blower. Use a mulching mower. After edging, use the mower to mulch the contents and spew back into the yard. Use a push broom to sweep remainder, and dump in middle of the yard and mow again that spot. Be carbon gas aware.
Wheelbarrow, pointed shovel, flat end shovel, spading fork, flat end hoe, triangular pointed end hoe, axe, dethatcher, 3 tine dethatcher, leaf rake, bow rake, possibly a rock bar. You'll figure it out as you go along.
Maintenance of tools. Good set of files for sharpening the blades. Can of WD-40. Steel wool pot scrubbing pads. Brass spray nozzle for garden hose to clean tools with. A good gas can and neck nozzle dispenser with a separate air inlet. Garage organizer for hanging all the tools.
A chain saw to chase off nosy neighbors. A dog to keep you company when admiring the yard. Also something to cuss at when you step in something warm and sticky. A water hose works if caught right away. Both on your shoe and the mashed pile in the yard. Dave
Maybe a book or two?
The only one I've read cover-to-cover is Paul Tukey's Organic Lawn Care Manual (
Javier wrote:
If you were using a lawn service why did you invest in all those tools?
Actually without knowing the size, configuration, and composition of your lawn, and what level of appearance you consider acceptible, no one can offer you more than wild speculation... there are lawns and there are LAWNS. If what you have is like a typical 1/4 acre surburban lot and don't mind the unevenness and wheel marks left by a rotary push mower, and don't have much border to edge, and don't much care about weeds, and have 2-3 hours each week to spare then by all means do your own lawn. But you still won't save any money. The typical lawn service on Long Island, NY (where lawns are king) charges like $30/wk for the lawn I described... you can't purchase, maintain, and fuel the equipment for $30/wk. Fuel these days costs more than mere pennies. Even a dinky generic push mower runs like $300 and costs like $50 to maintain each season, and lucky if it lasts a season before it doesn't start so good and the wheels fall off. Edgers cost as much but when not abused last a long time, same with blowers and string trimmers, but still need maintenance and fuel. Blades need replacement, mufflers need replacement, oil needs changing, 2 cycle fuel needs mixing... and fuel can't be saved very long, and even string trimmer string costs. And all this equipment needs through and regular cleaning (more time), hasta take at least a half hour to clean under a push mower, gotta wait till it cools first too. And you need a place to store it all. And unless you have a half acre or two I'm not even gonna go into riding mowers and lawn tractors. And mulching mowers are fine, but you can't have a nice looking lawn if you mulch every cut... when you mulch you need to know the seeding habits of every plant composing your lawn including the weeds. I mulch all my cuts because I have what's known around here as a country lawn, whatever grows. But I mow ten acres of lawn every week, and my mulching mower cuts a 7 foot swarth, and still takes me all day just for the large areas. For the smaller areas and edges I have a smaller mower (54"), and I have a push mower for small spaces, and a string trimmer, and a blower, and all kinds of hand tools. Mowing large areas takes large blocks of time, and even larger blocks of cash to buy the large equipment. Anything over a half acre you really need a riding mower, and even the typical Home Depot type garden tractors fitted with a mower can handle no more than like 2-3 acres.... and those toy r us thingies will be lucky to last two seasons before they need replacement... those tiny gasolene air cooled engines just can't handle all those hours, not even if your ground is level and you don't weigh much... struggling up a slight grade with a 200 pounder on its back and trying to mow at the same time is beyond its ability. Those things you see lined up in front of the big box hardware emporiums are all toys.
It doesn't pay for me to maintain my equipment myself, but still I bet it costs me more for servicing than the average surburbanite pays their lawn service. I only wish I could find a lawn service, but no such thing exists around here for the size lawn I have.
Sheldon expounded:
Paragraphs of utter trip snipped
Anyone who spends $50 a year to maintain a lawnmower obviously bought the wrong mower. And anyone who thinks it makes economic sense to pay a lawn service to do something that is so easy obviously doesn't have much sense. Aall you need, a rake, a tarp, a push broom, maybe a spreader, and a mower. Hardly the onerous expense described by Shelly.
you forgot "willingness".......................lawn service sounds great to me!
The comments in the thread are interesting, particularly about the size of typical lawns. I'm in So. Cal, I timed my lawn mowing one time. From getting off the sofa to back on the sofa, five minutes. I didn't edge that time.
I use a battery mower, really like it, I have a personal problem with small gas engines, especially ones that don't start immediately. Just got a battery string trimmer that I can edge with.
Now I need a battery operated grass puller to get the grass out of the flower beds.
My best friend while growing up used that term for the resting furniture in the living room "sofa". My family still calls it a couch.
If it only takes 5 minutes to mow, I'd wonder why even bother having a lawn. Dave
"readandpostrosie" expounded:
Fine, as long as you're willing to pay. That's the point, Sheldon is claiming it's more economical to pay someone - around here that'd be $35 a week or so for lawn mowing, definitely not anything I would want to spend my money on when it takes me about 45 minutes to mow my whole yard.
It was there when I got here and is the standard decor for the neighborhood. I've thought about changing it, but haven't come up with any ideas that I felt would be better.
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