We’ve partnered with FireBelly Organic Lawn Care to sponsor their mower raffle!
FireBelly is raffling off one of our new NaturCut Classic HD mowers at the end of the month (yeah, that’s really soon!). Everyone who places their email address on FireBelly’s newsletter via facebook as well as everyone who buys into their organic lawn care program will be automatically entered into the raffle. Click here –>
FireBelly Mower Raffle
Click here –> to visit the FireBelly Fan Page and enter to win this mower.
We stock the new line of NaturCut Classic HD reel mowers and consider this mower to be a fantastic all-around mower. It is perfect for the mower give-a-way because it will cut just about all grass types from Maine to Florida to California. The cutting height ranges from 1.5″ to 3.5″ and is made of all metal. Its great for “country yards” and even well manicured lawns when cut at 1.5″. It is very comparable to the Scotts Classic mower but is light weight, has a wide cutting height range, and uses a contact-free cutting system which never requires sharpening – saving you money!
NaturCut Classic
It is easy to enter:
#1 Go to www.Facebook.com/FirebellyOrganicLawnCare
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.
We have the new Fiskars Momentum reel mowers stocked in our warehouse – available for same day shipping!
Need your new Fiskars mower shipped to Canada? We can do that too :)
Fiskars Momentum EcoMowers Warehouse
Our warehouse in Traverse City, MI is just a stones throw away from the Fiskars distribution center is Sauk City WI (not really, there’s a small pond in between). So on Monday, we sent our driver out to pickup our new Fiskars inventory and bring it back to our warehouse. Fisakrs has done an excellent job with their packaging, all the pallets were perfectly wrapped, boxes stacked neatly, and even the pallets were brand new (not that we need any more pallets – but hey, quality is important…).
Why should you care about this?
Well for one, you can order your Momentum mower with confidence, knowing that it will ship ASAP and that we can account for its where-abouts every step of the way.
Secondly, we are invested in this product. We are so invested that we placed a nice spring stocking order! We think this reel mower is that great!
Mobile commerce is here! or just around the corner…
EcoMowers Mobile Commerce
EcoMowers.com has been selected to be a participant in the Volusion mCommerce beta test period. This means anyone with a smartphone can purchase their new eco friendly reel mower ANYWHERE, ANYTIME. The optimized mCommerce web store is currently running on a separate web server (not yet at ecomowers.com) – stay tuned for the “official” mCommerce store launch coming soon to an iPhone near you!
Andy Humphrey of EcoMowers.com: “Thanks to Volusion mCommerce, my customers will be able to buy as soon as they have a need for a product. This is a huge advantage for my company since it removes all obstacles to purchasing and expands potential sales opportunities to anywhere, anytime.”
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.
A recent article featured in Popular Mechanics discusses various lawn diseases and methods of both treatment and prevention.
The article stresses that harmful grass pathogens are constantly present in every lawn and only awaiting the opportunity to become active. Combine a grass variety susceptible to a pathogen with the wrong weather conditions, and presto! Your lawn may soon blossom with harmful microorganisms.
The authors also point out that there are good fungi and bad fungi, how to spot each and how to foster the right kind. When a bad fungi becomes active, it may be spread by weather, grass clippings and even your lawn mower.
The best preventive measures against lawn diseases are:
1. Choosing the proper grass cultivar for your soil and weather conditions.
2. Maintaining a lawn which is well-aerated, has good drainage, and gets plenty of circulated air.
3. Diligent care in your methods of watering, fertilizing, and mowing.
The use of organic composts can help in the prevention of lawn diseases and the authors explain the best methods.
Spring, Summer, and Fall-specific lawn diseases are covered in great detail and well worth the read, as well as conditions such as Fairy Rings, Stripe Smut, Necrotic Ring Spots, and Dollar Spot.
You may read the entire article at Popular Mechanics, and this page features tips on diagnoses with accompanying photographs.
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.
Environmental Elements, LLC 8525 S. Lakeview Ridge Trail, Traverse City, MI 49684 - 1-888-326-6693 Monday - Thursday 9am to 4pm (eastern standard time)
