Lawn Labor Savers

Lawn care can require a lot of the average home owner’s time. There are two ways to reduce the amount of time spent on a lawn: (1) reduce lawn area by replanting with a ground cover or by paving part of it for a patio or similar structural development, or (2) use labor saving equipment. Solution number #2 is the subject of this article.

Many new products enter the market every year to help reduce the time and effort spent on lawns. Progress has been made, too, in improving the lawn’s appearance. For example, better watering devices, new fertilizer formulations and better grass varieties and strains are now available.

Lawn Mowers

The first necessity is a lawn mower. Motor driven lawn mowers replaced the old hand push type mower decades ago…. although you still see a few around. The most expensive mowers allow the operator to ride! The two commonest types are the reel and the rotary. These may be obtained either hand pushed or self-propelled.

Reel mowers have been around for a long time and are very satisfactory… reel type are used to groom golf courses. A reel mower kept in proper working order, with blades kept sharp is ideal for close mowing on fairly level surfaces. Should the ground be uneven, a rotary blade mower is a little more satisfactory. Close mowing however is not always as satisfactory with a rotary as with a reel mower. The rotary is excellent where close clipping is not necessary. As with the reel type mower, it is always important to keep the blades sharp. Dull blades bruise the grass and may pull out some of it.

One must choose between two types of power: the diesel and the gasoline engine. Gasoline engine mowers are the most popular. A well constructed one will stand up for years. The engine requires attention in the way of lubrication and oil changes.

A useful companion tool for the lawnmower use to be the lawn edger and had been pretty much replaced with the weed-eater. These are available chiefly as hand operated tools and are generally of the reel type. They certainly are time savers compared with the old chore of clipping grass edges with the lawn shears!

Sometimes a sickle-bar mower comes in handy where the grass is allowed to grow fairly tall and is cut only occasionally. This type of mower is useful also in cutting down weeds and brush. Some multi-purpose equipment is on the market that serves the job of lawn mowing, garden plowing and cultivating, snow removal and other jobs. Such equipment may do one of these jobs much more satisfactorily than others, so you should evaluate both the machine and your needs carefully before buying. If it will not do your most important job well, it is best not to buy it.

Aeration of lawns has proved to be a beneficial practice. Groundskeepers use such equipment on golf courses, in parks and playgrounds, in cemeteries, and many other public places. The aerator seems to be an important tool for lawns developed on soils that compact quickly, or where there is much travel over the lawn surface. Aerators consist of small fork-like tines that go into the soil about two inches and make holes at 2 to 3-inch intervals. Small plugs of soil are brought to the surface by the aerator tines. Aeration improves water penetration also. Aerators vary from small hand operated, fork-like tools to elaborate motor driven machines for use on large lawn tracts. Lawns are often aerated once or twice a season.

Seeders

Lawn seeding equipment has not changed much. This is a useful tool for those starting a new lawn. Seeders work efficiently and give a more uniform spread of seed than can be accomplished by hand. After the seeding is done, the seeder still will be useful as a tool for applying fertilizers. It provides a uniform spread so important in lawn fertilizing. Lawn fertilizing according to a set time schedule is an important part of lawn maintenance, so an efficient fertilizer spreader is almost indispensable.

Sprinklers

New trends in lawn watering and irrigation are evident. Thanks to the advent of better plastics, fairly inexpensive, automatic and semi-automatic watering systems can be installed by the home owner or the local irrigation professional.

Manufacturers produce irrigation components made of plastic that will last for years. Automatic systems with sprinkler heads installed roughly at ground level. Another type has a head that pops up by the water pressure. The two main factors in the installation of these systems is that they have some method of drainage in the fall to remove water from the lines before freeze-up.

Many portable “sprinkler” and lawn irrigation systems are on the market. The gardener should choose the kind that suits their conditions best. Choose one that will deliver water evenly over the area to be covered. The sprinkler should operate under various pressures. Not all sprinklers are alike in performance, so you should do a little shopping and inquiring before choosing any equipment. Weeping hoses, plastic hose, rotary sprinklers, stationary sprinklers and drip irrigation are a few of the kinds available.

Sweepers

There has always been much controversy about whether grass clippings should be removed or left on the lawn. If, for various reasons, they must be removed there are several devices to aid in the task, Some of this equipment is also very useful for removal of dead grass in early spring and for removal of fallen leaves in the fall. The garden rake is still a handy piece of equipment for this job and comes in various styles. Grass catchers attached to the back of the lawnmower provide some help. Mechanical lawn sweepers do an efficient job.

Shredders

It is a hope that these lawn sweepings don’t go into the landfill but be properly composted and go back on the lawn as organic matter. To aid in this job, there are grass and leaf shredders on the market that reduce this organic material to a small size so that decomposition is more rapid.

Forms of Nitrogen

Lawns are heavy users of nitrogen. It has long been recognized that commercial fertilizers containing nitrogen provide a quick source of this plant nutrient and may have an effect lasting for a minimum of a month… longer term “time release” fertilizers have been developed extending the feeding time to several months. This means periodic feeding of the lawn with nitrogen fertilizer is necessary. It has also been recognized that feeding with such fertilizers should never be too heavy or burning may result.

For these reasons. organic forms of nitrogen have been important sources of this nutrient. Chief objections to using organics is their high cost, low analysis and great bulk. Urea forms of nitrogen have shown great promise. They have the desirable characteristics of both chemical and organic kinds of fertilizers: high analysis of nitrogen, non-burning, and slow availability, and comparatively low cost per unit of nitrogen.

In some western regions, many plants suffer from unavailability of iron in the soil. Soil scientists tell us that many of the soils contain an abundance of iron but because of large amounts of calcium (lime) in the soil the iron is in a form not readily used by the plant. In many regions where iron chlorosis is a problem with ornamental plants it has been found that lawns, too, respond to feedings of iron. Over the years, the iron chelates or sequestrenes have been introduced. Adding small amounts of iron chelate to the other fertilizers aids in supplying this element. If you live in the west, be sure to use a form of iron chelate that responds best on alkaline soils. It is possible to secure complete fertilizer formulations that contain small amounts of iron chelates.

Liquid Fertilizers

Application of fertilizer in liquid form is another trend. Dissolving the fertilizer in water used for irrigation is the usual method. This makes the fertilizer immediately available to the plants and by virtue of being in solution form it reaches the root levels of the plant quickly. Devices are now marketed providing for the concentrated fertilizer in liquid form to be connected at the water outlet. Then the hose line is attached. The liquid fertilizer is pulled into the water stream by suction. This can be a very effective method if the application rate can be controlled. Be careful to use a sprinkler that delivers a fairly even spread of water.