For Lawn Care
A Systematic Approach!
When I first developed this list, I came up with the ten tools that I thought would be the most useful for maintaining your lawn. Then I though of a few more that would really come in handy. And a few more...
I had a real problem deciding which ones I should keep on the list and which I should eliminate - until I realized that the tools fell naturally into categories according to function. It was these individual lawn care functions that I needed to address.
The solution was to select a system, consisting of one or more tools and/or devices, that would perform each of these functions and keep with our basic principles of value and simplicity.
Ten Most Useful Tools
For Lawn Care, 6-10
- Weeding
One definition of a weed is any plant growing someplace that we don't want it to be. There are several ways to get rid of weeds. There's the chemical method of spraying a liquid weed killer using the hose-end sprayer (see Watering), or spreading a dry weed killer with a spreader (see Spreading below). You can even torch weeds growing in the cracks of concrete. Many weeds can be pulled out by their roots. Stubborn weeds will require a hand weed digger or a stand-up, automatic weed puller or popper.
- Cleanup
Grass clippings, leaves, pulled weeds, dead plants... how do you handle it all? First, grasscycling will eliminate the need to worry about grass clippings at all. Proper composting will be able to handle most of your other yard debris. Gather your yard debris with a good yard rake and elbow grease, or a leaf blower and ear protectors. Put it into your compost bin or heap using whatever composting method you prefer. Many cities will pick up branches, sticks, and twigs, either in the regular garbage pickup or a separate compostables pickup. If you need to move around a lot of yard debris, you might consider a wheelbarrow or yard cart.
- Spreading
If you own a yard, sooner or later you will want or need to distribute, or spread grass seed, fertilizer or weed killer. There are three types of spreaders that are suitable for most lawns. The smallest and most economical is the hand-held spreader. For larger amounts, you can use either a broadcast spreader or a drop spreader. Both of these have two wheels, a handle, and a hopper to hold the material to spread. I prefer the drop spreader because it gives you more control of the distribution pattern and it works in all but the smallest of spaces.
- Aerating
For optimum health, a lawn needs water and oxygen to penetrate to the root level. Over time, a lawn can build up a "helmet" of debris, mulch and hardened soil that can prevent water and oxygen from doing their job. Punching holes in this helmet can restore lawn health. For serious aeration, you can rent or buy a large rolling drum aerator that gets filled with water for weight. For less extreme situations, there are step-on aerators and even aerator soles that you can strap to your shoes so that you aerate while you are mowing.
- Sharpening
Every bladed tool works better with a sharp blade. Most of the blades on this list need to be sharpened at least once per year. Hardware stores charge $10-$20 to sharpen blades. It doesn't take long for a nice file, or a sharpening attachment for your rotary tool to pay for itself. Is it hard to sharpen a blade? Fortunately, you aren't trying to create a perfect razor edge. The average homeowner should be able to produce an edge that's good enough for yard work.