|
|
Mow & Edge, The Basics of Lawn Care
You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.Article by Jack StoneCopyright 2003 by ProGardenBizSpeed. Accuracy. Efficiency. For anyone who has a lot of lawns to mow these three things are very important.Speed. Getting the job done as quickly as possible. The faster you can do a job, the more jobs you have time to do.Accuracy. Doing the job right the first time you do it. Having to do part of a job over wastes time.Efficiency. Doing all parts of a job in a logical, convenient order, as well as using the right tool or a better tool.Lets apply these ideas to mowing and trimming a lawn. If you are like most gardeners the first thing you probably do when you arrive at a customers house is mow the lawn. Next, you edge and/or line trim it. Mow and edge, thats what its called isnt it? Yes, but the procedure is not efficient.The edger is the first tool you should use. Its used for trimming along hard edges such as sidewalks and driveways. Its more accurate and leaves fewer divots than a line trimmer. With a proper length blade and an established edge, the edger is also faster than a line trimmer.Next, use the line trimmer. Use this tool in such a way as to cause the trimmed grass to be thrown onto the lawn and not into beds, groundcover, and shrubbery. The line trimmer is the messiest of the grass cutting tools you use.Finally, mow. Not only will your lawn mower pick up grass from its own activity, but it will collect a good deal of the trimmings created by the edger and line trimmer. This saves you raking, sweeping, and blowing time.Some other ideas: Edge the entire perimeter of a lawn with the edger. Edge along hard edges as well as beds and tree wells. Since an edger cuts deeper into the soil than a line trimmer its more efficient at cutting stolons or runners on such grasses as Bermuda and Kikuyu. An edger can also create a clean crisp straight edge along beds. This is much more attractive than the typical wavy edge left by a line trimmer.Dont let grass grow up against fence boards, walls, or plants. By maintaining a narrow edge with your edger or line trimmeryou can prevent damage to these features as well as using less line.Dont run your edger blade right up against concrete. Nothing works faster than concrete to turn your edger blade into an edger stub. Create an edge thats at least a 1/2" wide. Such an edge reduces wear to a blade and makes edging faster.The line trimmer is the most dangerous of your lawn care tools. Line trimmers are notorious for the damage they cause to fence posts, sign posts, bender board, fence board, and stucco. Avoiding damage to these structures is easy. Its simply a matter of trimming carefully and slowly. If time is important then you should create edges, borders or wells around or along these structures. A combination of proper edging techniques, plant growth regulators, and herbicides should do the trick quite well. Plant growth regulators can cut your edging and line trimming time by as much as 75%. Instead of trimming once per week you may need to trim only once per month.The other landscape feature a line trimmer is dangerous around is trees. There is nothing more unsightly and amateurish than trees damaged by an inept line trimmer operator. This is the one aspect of line trimmer use that customers are concerned most about. Nothing can kill a tree faster than having its bark and vascular layers slashed by someone who doesnt know how to use a line trimmer properly. A damaged tree is susceptible to insects, fungi, and diseases. In some tree species, this can lead to a quick death. When using a line trimmer around trees and other plants be very, very careful. Its always advisable to create at least a small well around any plant thats located in a lawn.Remember, work smart. Dont work hard, work efficiently.__________________________________________About the Author:Jack Stone is a Contributing Editor for ProGardenBiz Magazine,an online magazine for professional gardeners and landscapecontractors. Visit ProGardenBiz to find out how you can get a free subscription, start-up guidance, business ideas andinspiration at http://www.progardenbiz.com. About the Author Jack Stone is a Contributing Editor for ProGardenBiz Magazine,an online magazine for professional gardeners and landscapecontractors. Visit ProGardenBiz to find out how you can get a free subscription, start-up guidance, business ideas andinspiration at http://www.progardenbiz.com. |
|
Home Improvement |
Most Popular Articles |
|
|
|
Random Article 1 |
Random Article 2 |
|
|
- Lawn Furniture
by: Bob Benson If you love being outdoors, you should pick that you love! It should be more than practical and functional. It should add to the very experience of being outside. There are so many options in , and you are sure to find something to fit within your budget. Does your
|
Random Article 3 |
Random Article 4 |
- Investing In or Owning Drug Lab Properties
by: John Michael As a property owner, you are responsible for 100 percent of the clean up! Cleanups of labs are extremely resource-intensive and costly. The average cost of a cleanup is about $5,000. This is if you are lucky! Clean Up (includes the insides and the outside of a bui
|
- Borrow on a Budget: Getting the Cheapest Home Improvement Loans
by: John Mussi Getting the cheapest home improvement loans isnt always easy. It can require going to several different lenders for quotes as well as several hours spent comparing the interest rates and terms of several possibilities. All of that work can pay off in the end, though, be
|
|
Category
Times Read
Date