Ok – everyone enjoys a lush, well kept, perfectly green lawn – at least most everyone….but, did you know that Dandelions are considered a valuable herb with many culinary and medicinal uses?
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is a rich source of vitamins A, B complex, C, and D, as well as minerals such as iron, potassium, and zinc. Its leaves are often used to add flavor to salads, sandwiches, and teas. The roots can be found in some coffee substitutes, and the flowers are used to make certain wines. The article goes on the say that dandelion roots are mainly used today as an appetite stimulant, digestive aid, and for liver and gallbladder function. Dandelion leaves are even used as a diuretic to stimulate the excretion of urine.
Take a few minutes are learn more about the important nutritional value of Dandelions!
Learn more about the medicinal value of Dandelions:
Oh, this is good…a recent Google search revealed that Ace Hardware has picked up the line of Brill Razorbut reel mowers – yes, Razorbut mowers. We’ve added a screen shot for your viewing pleasures. April fools day has past and this is clearly a simple type-o, however, the ‘c’ and ‘b’ keys are not even next to one another on the keyboard…
For the web savvy out there, we also point out that this error is not simply a product name type-o. The misspelling also appears in the Meta Title, Meta Description, and Meta Keywords. Obviously and automated error – but how funny!
Get a reel mower! I have a Reel Mower! These mowers Reely work! Reel men push mow!
The list is long for these clever and popular puns. Huh? What is a “reel” mower anyway? For many green industry “professionals”, namely landscape contractors, golf course superintendents, turfgrass managers, etc., the term “reel mower” is common. But your average everyday American has absolutely no idea.
Let me explain (in brief):
Reel Mower Concept
Reel mowers have curved blades that produce a cutting action alongside a stationary steel plate (like a can of Pringles chips rolling across a table). The blades form a spiral around the reel axis, and as they spin, the spiral of blades forces grass past the stationary plate. Reel mowers leave behind clean-cut grass, as if the grass had been cut with sharp scissors.
New reel mower technology has advanced since the days of Grandpa’s old clunker. Unlike the cutting action of scissors, it is not necessary for the blades of the spinning reel to contact the stationary plate. A clean cut is possible if the gap between the blades and the plate is less than the thickness of the grass. This modern reel mower technology is referred to as “contact-free”, “non-contact”, “silent-cut”, and many other terms. The benefit is a mower that is easier to push, and a mower that does not require sharpening. What, no sharpening? Nope. Think about it, there is no metal-on-metal contact to cause the reel blades to become dull. The blades only come in contact with grass, wood, and the occasional pebble or two – non of which will cause the blades to lose its edge.
There is a ton to talk about so feel free search around our learning center and read more more about reel mower technology, and how your lawn may benefit by using a reel mower.
Ok, we know how fun it is when you get a new toy – especially a new lawn and garden tool like a cordless electric string trimmer. Because we are now on the verge of spring we are reminded to use such tools with caution and care. Eye protection, ear plugs, blah, blah, blah you’ve heard this a million times right? What about the safety of your trees and shrubs?
It is important to be cautious with your plant material and not get carried away in the sunshine of a new spring day. Caution should be used when trimming around the base of plants – string trimmers can girdle young trees without you even realizing the damage because the grass and weeds returns upright after being cut and hides the damage to the bark. Use a trimmer guard or protective sleeve around the trunk to reduce this type of injury.
Earthwise Cordless Electic String Trimmer
Scientifically speaking (okay I’m a geek and I have horticulture degree) the cambium layer is active in the spring and early summer and impact to the bark can cause slipping and the bark can loosen or be torn off.
So get out your electric string trimmer and tear up those weeds and edges – but don’t touch those trees!
We recently read in a SafeLawns.org blog post about the 2010 launch of Firebelly Organics. Tom Kelly of Milford, N.H., a former pesticide applicator has much of New England buzzing over his revolutionary, easy-to-use lawn care program made from 100 percent organic ingredients.
After a few phone and email conversations with both Tom Kelly and his wife Debra (Sales & Marketing), we are impressed and excited to share their company and their story with the ecomowers.com community. Signing up for their monthly lawn care program might just be the perfect complement with your ecomower.
About Firebelly Organics:
Fire Belly Organic Lawn Care honestly believes we can make the world a much better place by simply changing the way we treat our lawns. When we eliminate the overuse of dangerous pesticides and chemical fertilizers we are taking a step towards saving the environment and creating a healthier world for our children, pets and families.
Located in New Hampshire, Fire Belly provides a seasonal, do it yourself, six step organic lawn care program to customers all over The United States and Canada. We are also a leading provider of organic lawn care products to the organic lawn care applicator industry. By simplifying process in which you can treat your lawn organically Fire Belly leads the way in converting turf care programs from a dangerous chemical process to a safe natural approach.
Firebelly Organics
Fire Belly is dedicated to providing effective environmentally responsible products that address soil biology. Our horticultural products feed the soil through the introduction of select beneficial microbial species allowing them to facilitate the natural processes inherent to healthy plant growth. We blend a diverse array of beneficial soil microorganisms with natural plant extracts and organic nutrients to create microbial systems. These natural systems simultaneously feed the soil and the plant, which allows plants to grow to their full genetic potential
We not only want to provide you with the proper products to treat your lawn but we also want to help you with any and all concerns when it comes to the care of turf. When you sign up for the Fire Belly program you are getting many years of agronomic experience that we hope you will put to use by constantly asking questions. When outstanding products come together with outstanding education and information you can have an outstanding lawn…naturally.
The new Fiskars Momentum reel mowers are now ready for your purchasing pleasure. We are gearing up for the summer 2010 mowing season, which means our stocking supply of momentum mowers will be here in just few weeks. We have partnered with Fiskars to make online ordering easy – you can even order your mower before our supply arrives!
The new Momentum mower has similar characteristics to the Scotts, Brill, Sunlawn, and EASUN mowers – however, it aims to target these reel mower ‘pain’ points, mainly bogging down in tall grass and clogging on small twigs. The Momentum® Reel Mower combines patent-pending technologies and Fiskars expertise in ergonomics to dramatically improve ease-of-use and cutting performance.
These new technologies include:
InertiaDrive™ Technology: A large diameter cutting reel and heavy blades store energy much like a flywheel, so the Momentum® delivers twice the power to cut through small twigs, weeds or dense grass that clog other reel mowers. The mower also requires 30 percent less push force than standard reel mowers when cutting long grass.
StaySharp™ Cutting System: Precision engineering allows grass to be cut without the blades touching – greatly reducing friction & blade wear. By eliminating the steel-on-steel contact that dulls standard reel mowers, peak performance can be maintained without annual sharpening.
VersaCut™ Design: The Momentum® delivers the greatest cut range of any reel mower with cut height settings ranging from 1 to 4 inches. In addition, it edges three times closer than other reel mowers, and never leaves uncut strips under the wheels.
Fiskars Ergonomics: The Momentum® incorporates a number of best in class convenience features to enhance the mowing experience – including an ergonomic height adjustable handle with a padded grip, a quick and easy one-touch cut height adjustment system, and a grass discharge chute that directs messy clippings forward, away from the user’s feet.
The Momentum® comes with a 4-year warranty – the longest available warranty for any reel mower on the market. Why not put this new reel mower to the test today!
Did you overseed your lawn this fall? How does your grass look now? Did you fill all those bare spots your dog Lizzy so nicely caused this summer? If you planned ahead, purchased choice seeds, and followed a rigid planting strategy your grass probably looks fantastic. However, if you bought cheap seed, tossed it on the ground, and watered it a bit you probably have clumpy & patchy results. Researchers at Kansas State report that fall overseeding is a very common practice and that many may or may not succeed.
K-31 is known to be the most common seed on the market which also makes it the least expensive. One of the disadvantages to K-31 is that it grows fast and you’ll need to mow it a few times after planting. Under stress conditions, K-31 becomes clumpy and patchy and results can be poor.
Kansas State recommends planting at a rate of 50% the recommended rate for new establishment. You should measure the area to wish to plant and accurately calculate the amount of seed you need.
A recent article posted at TulsaWorld features a review of “Route 66″ — a new blend of top-performing Fescue grass cultivars for cool seasons. The name comes from the fact that Fescue grasses were introduced along many Interstate Highways as an important deterrent to roadside erosion. This article reminds us that such grasses are also valuable for the homeowner as well as the highway department. Impressive statistics are cited to demonstrate the powerful air conditioning and air cleaning properties of a healthy lawn. There’s vital energy in that grass!
Fall is the right time for seeding with these varieties, so right about now is when you should be selecting your grass seed.
Many of our customers have discovered that cutting the lawn with a Brill Reel Mower is a great way to relax and relieve stress. They like to put on an old pair of shorts, their favorite hat, and get a good bit of exercise while soaking up the sun.
Well, as it turns out, those feelings of calm and satisfaction they get from a freshly cut lawn aren’t all in their heads.
Scientists have recently discovered that a feeling of relaxation and contentment comes from a chemical released from freshly cut grass. The stress-relieving effect of this chemical is so powerful that researchers have decided to bottle it, incorporating it into a perfume they are calling Serenascent.
As of press time, we don’t know how much a bottle of Serenscent will sell for, but we do know that everytime you cut, you’ll be saving on perfume.
Rob Anthony, a nationally recognized and respected Horticulturalist and Turfgrass Manager recently joined our team to assist us with content writing! Rob currently serves on the reader advisory board for Turfgrass Trends Magazine, Athletic Turf and Technology Magazine and contributes regularly for the latter as well as the highly respected international publication, Stadia Magazine. His professional experience includes Head Groundskeeper for the Green Bay Packers, and Athletic Turfgrass Development Manager with two nationally ranked Division I Universities.
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