#193 - The Reel Deal

Mowing the Lawn with a Reel Mower

I know some of you are still in "snow shovel" mode, but down here in sunny Virginia, we're gearing up for Spring and things are starting to blossom! The daffodils are up, the trees are budding and the grass is starting to grow. Quickly.

So before hubby could even fill up the tank on the gas-powered pushmower, I trucked myself on down to Home Depot and picked up a good old fashioned reel mower. (I tried to find one on freecycle or craigslist first, but had no luck.)

Anyhow, we used to have one of those people-powered puppies at my grandmother's camp and I remember it did a fine job of keeping her 12' x 40' patch o' green looking neat. The question is -- would it work on our slightly larger and much more inclined yard? The second question, of course, would be -- is hubby going to poo-poo the idea as another wacky green scheme that is destined to fail?

Turns out the answers are 'yes' and 'no'. To both questions.

Yes, the mower did work on our lawn. It was no more difficult to push than the gas mower, in fact, I thought it was much easier to maneuver. It sure as hell was easier to start! It makes no noise and I'm able to use it in the front yard while the kids pick up pinecones, play on the steps or dig for worms.

The downside is that sometimes it's just as likely to bend the grass over as it is to cut it and a small twig or piece of mulch caught in the blades brings the machine to an abrupt stop. Personally, I thought it did a good enough job to satisfy the neighbors, but would definitely not pass muster as a par 3 golf course. The good news is, our yard isn't listed on the tour, so I think the reel mower will do just fine.

Hubby grumbled a bit at first, saying that he didn't think it would do the job. I think he thought I wasn't being reelistic. Then he tried it and was actually impressed at the ease of use. He didn't heartily endorse it, but didn't say it was crap either. He thought it would be great to use for a once-a-week cut, but feels certain the yard will still need a "thorough mowing" every now and again.

I'm betting that once the heat of summer hits full force, he'll be happy to have my slap-dash REEL mowing (performed by me in the cool mornings), rather than his 'wait-until-he-gets-home-after-work-when-it's-a-hundred-degrees-out' REAL mowing. We'll see. In the meantime, let's see what this little change means for the environment.

According to the EPA, more fuel is spilt each year filling up garden equipment (e.g. lawnmowers, string trimmers, chipper/shredders, etc.) than was lost in the entire Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. - Yikes. Also, mowing an average 1/4 acre lawn produces more air pollution than driving a new (i.e. 1995) pickup truck round-trip to NY from Washington D.C. - Double Yikes.

So from here on out, I'm going to be sticking with the reel deal, my friends.

Savings:

I couldn't find good estimate online for how much gas we use when we mow the lawn. So I asked hubby and he estimates it takes about a half gallon of gas per mow. We try to maintain a quasi-presentable lawn, so we mow it every week. Here in Richmond, we start mowing around mid-March and stop in October. At a half gallon per mow, that's roughly 16 gallons of gas we will (hopefully) be skipping this year. And, at $3.15 a gallon, that amounts to over $50 in dollar savings. One more season and the reel mower will have paid for itself!

Difficutly Level: 1 out of 5

Personally, I prefer the reel mower to the gas machine. Let's face it, the gas mower is a mother-thumpin' bitch to start, it's noisy as hell, hard to push and you simply cannot use it when the kids are outside, for fear that they'll get hurt. The reel mower, on the other hand, is light, simple to operate, quiet as a mouse, and can be used around the kids. Although it should NEVER be used on the kids. It gives a very sloppy hairut.

Just kidding. In all seriousness, though, the kids shouldn't be allowed to touch it -- after all, those are big friggin' blades and they're sharp!

We'll see if I'm still still in love with the reel deal come June, when the lawn is thicker! Be sure to ask me then.... but in the meantime, remember: Reel men don't use gas mowers.

#190 - IT BURNS! IT BURNS!

Using Hot Pasta Water to Kill Weeds

Imagine, if you will, a quiet suburban street. An eco-dork housewife is busily preparing a homecooked meal of spaghetti with red sauce. As she drains the pasta, she laments the fact that she is pouring perfectly good hot water down the sink.

In another dimension, in a house just like the first, another 'green' woman is wondering what sort of eco-friendly solution she could find that would eliminate those pesky driveway weeds that keep popping up between the cracks.

Coincidence? Perhaps. Or perhaps there's more to this story.

Perhaps both these ladies have access to a fifth dimension called - the interwebbies. Where they both discover that...

BOILING WATER KILLS WEEDS!

So when you see me out in my driveway pouring my dinner on dandelions, you'll know what I'm doing. Now if you wouldn't mind explaining it to the neighbors so they don't think they're in a bad episode of the Twilight Zone, I'd appreciate it.

Savings:

Give or take 1 gallon of hot water per week.

Difficulty Level: 3 out of 5

Most of my changes can't really be seen by others, so this does take me a little out of my comfort zone. But since they're going to be seeing me growing a veggie garden in the flower beds and herbs in the window boxes this summer, they might as well start getting used to my Serling-esque ways.

Day 136 - Rakin' It In

Trading In the Leafblower for a Rake

I've talked about our itty-bitty yard before, but have I ever mentioned the WORLD'S LARGEST OAK tree that sits in the middle of it? This sucker's so old, it's gotta be pushin' 100 and it drops more nuts than a high-rise asylum caught in a 7.8 richter. In addition to the copious amounts of acorns, it also drops tons and tons and tons of leaves. I mean a WHOLE LOT of 'em.

Last year, being the good wife but bad environmentalist that I was, I bought hubby a nice, heavy-duty leaf blower. Because nothing motivates a man to do yardwork like a machine that requires ear protection.

Guess what is now taboo at our house. Yep. Guess who tabbood it. Yep. So now guess who's in charge of cleaning up the leaves. Yep. Sucks to be me.

Yesterday, I took the kids out front and attempted to rake the easy part of the yard. This is how it went down:

2:00 - Raking Commences

2:05 - Daphne has to go "boopie"

2:10 - Raking Re-commences

2:15 - Ethan wants his cup of water

2:20 - Raking Re-re-commences

2:25 - Yell at the kids to stay away from the road

2:30 - Tell Ethan to stop rubbing leaves on his face to see if they are poison ivy

2:35 - Tell Ethan to stop rubbing leaves on his sister to see if they are poison ivy

2:36 - Resist urge to tie children to tree while I rake

And so it continued ad nauseum until I smartened up and got them each their very own broom and told them to sweep the driveway. Which they kind of did. The three of us had the front yard raked in just under 90 minutes. Alone, it would have taken about 30.

But it got done. And you know what? Despite the mild case of toddler-induced frustration, I actually enjoyed it. The smell of the crisp, fall air, the crunchy noise of the leaves, the light workout and, of course, the fun of jumping with the kids into the leaf pile. The best part? No long-lasting effects of ear damage - unless you count the piercing squeals of delight from the kids.

Savings:

Let's say it takes me roughly four hours to do the whole yard with the electric leaf blower. That equates to roughly 5 kWh, not a huge amount, but keep in mind that I would probably have to do this three times per season, for a total of 15 kWh. I could walk down the road right now and point out at least ten leaf-blowin' neighbors. If we all just put down our noisy machines and picked up a rake, we could save 150 kWh. And an assload of noise pollution.

Difficulty Level: 2 out of 5

No doubt, it requires more physical energy to rake leaves than it does to blow them away. However, I could always just pay the kid down the street a few sheckles to rake the yard if I was unable to do the work myself. But let's face it, I could definitely use the extra workout. Besides, I can't wait to rake a huge pile out back, right at the bottom of the slide. WHEEEEEEEE!

Day Thirty-One - Psssst, Want Some Weed?

Stop Using Weed Killers on the Lawn

HaHaHa! Got your attention with that title, didn't I? The old' bait and switch.

Weed killers, not suprisingly, are full of all sorts of nasty chemicals. Chemicals that are designed to, well, kill stuff. Now get ready for the really shocking news - these chemicals are bad for the environment. Too sarcastic? Sorry, it's been one of those days.... Anyhow, back to the post.

I know, I know, a lot of you don't care if you're growing Kentucky blue, a nice fescue, or a clover patch, just so long as it's green. I know, because that's how I felt when I lived in the country with 5 acres to mow. In fact, I was generally happier if it didn't grow, as it cut down on the work. Now that I'm a true-blue suburbanite, though, I take my quarter acre of greenery pretty seriously, as do all my neighbors. No longer content to grow a mishmosh of crabgrass, plantain and poison ivy, I have resorted to "lethal measures" in an attempt to keep up with Lars, Bob and -- the envy of all neighbors' lawns -- Earl aka the YardMan.

Well consider me out of the race folks. That's right, I give. I have reached my breaking point and I can't go any further. I am simply not willing to pollute our soil and water supply, for the sake of Gillette Stadium quality turf. I do, however, have some tips on how to keep the weeds at bay, the natural way and I'll share them with you now.

1. Stop mowing your lawn. - Not entirely, but give it some time to "seed". If you wait long enough between mowings, you'll see little sprouty things that are grass seeds. Let's these puppies do their thing, or at least sprout seeds before you mow. More grass = less space for weeds.
2. Seed. Seed. Seed. - Same science involved in number one, but this requires more participation on your part. Head over to Lowe's and pick up a big bag of seed. Seed any bare areas or spots that are weedy.
3. Pluck 'em. - Remember the days of "weed pulling". They're back baby. Cuz if your lawn is small enough to care about the weeds, it's small enough to weed by hand. If you do this, though, put all the pulled weeds in a bag and relocate them to the compost pile or toss them in the woods. If you pull them and lay them on the lawn, guess what they'll do? That's right, they'll take root and grow more!

All of these suggestions will help. although in the end, you may just need to get over your vanity and take pride in a new kind of "Green Lawn". Maybe you'll start a new trend on your block. I'll let you know if I do.

Savings:

Previously, I had the "lawn people" come once a month to treat the lawn. I have since switched from ChemLawn (the name kind of says it all, don't you think?) to Natural Lawn of America they use all natural products and minimal weed killers. If you ask them, they will skip use of ALL weed killers on your lawn. Good folks. Of course, every garage has at least one spray bottle of Round-Up or other toxic potion for killing weeds and ours is no exception. This week I will be taking it to the hazardous waste disposal unit in our county. And I vow to never buy it again. Even if I am about to be eaten alive by an out-of-control dandelion monster.

Difficulty Level - 1 out of 5

Like so many of my posts, this task isn't so much about DOING something good as it is about NOT DOING something bad. Day after day, we habitually pollute our environment, without a second thought as to how it affects our water supply, the air we breathe, the food we eat, the children we produce. However, if you do take just a moment to think before you act -- to look at how your actions, purchases, activities affect the environment -- you'll find it's usually pretty easy to do the right thing.

Keep on keepin on, friends.

Day Twenty-Eight - O Tannenbaum!

Plant a Tree

Ooooh, this is a fun one! I love planting stuff and now I have a great excuse to blow my paltry paycheck at the local nursery :-)

For any of you who failed science class (or passed with a solid C-, like I did), you should know that trees do amazing stuff. Here's the basics, all dumbed-down for us, courtesy of Borealforest.org

The quality of our environment - the air, soil and water - depends on the roles trees play. Trees help create rain as they expel moisture into the atmosphere: their roots draw it from the soil and their leaves return it to the air. Trees clean the air we breathe by taking in carbon dioxide through the leaves and then giving off oxygen we need to breathe. If trees didn't breathe, neither could we. Roots help hold soil in place to prevent erosion which not only saves soil, but also keeps our waterways cleaner. You may have observed that water is usually cleaner when there is an abundance of trees. Trees provide shade in the summer to help cool our homes. In the winter, they block wind to help warm our homes.

Simply put, they breathe in our nasty carbon dioxide and exhale the oxygen we need to survive. Very good stuff. According to the USDA Forest Service, a single mature tree can absorb carbon dioxide at a rate of 48 lbs. per year. If every American family planted just one tree, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would be reduced by one billion pounds annually. This is almost 5% of the amount that human activity pumps into the atmosphere each year.

The average American generates 20 tons of carbon dioxide every year. To offset this CO2, each and every American would need to be growing 833 trees. Fortunately for us, there are many protected forests in the US that help out. However, they're occasionally wiped out by wildfires, floods and politicians. So please help them out by planting one of your own.

Of course, if you live in an apartment or don't have the space for a tree, you can still have one planted. Buy a tree for a friend or relative for their next birthday and help them plant it in their yard. If you don't know people with space for trees, there are a lot of great organizations that will plant a tree in a forest for you. Some of my favorites are The National Arbor Day Foundation, American Forests, and The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation. Check them out, they're pretty cool!

Savings:

We planted a nice Japanese Maple out front. Picked it up at the local nursery this spring and planted it when we planted all our other stuff. Of course, we didn't know that FALL is actually the best time to plant a tree, but, hey, it's still alive.... and growing... and breathing. I counted the trees on our property today and we have 17 trees - including our little maple. Those trees are doing a great job removing 816 pounds of CO2 each year, but I think I want to do better. I'll be purchasing another tree this fall to plant out back.

Difficulty Level - 3 out of 5

You need the physical strength to wield a shovel (or a husband, friend or neighbor). Other than that, it's simple. If you need help deciding what kind of tree, talk to your local nursery folks. They can help you pick out a tree that will do well in your soil and the conditions of the location. They'll also tell you how deep to plant it, how much to water it, etc.

Day Eleven - The Grass is Always Greener

Turning off the Sprinklers

Yup, I'm a suburbanite through and through. I have an irrigation in my lawn and I turn it on faithfully every spring, in hopes of having the most enviable, lush green lawn on the block. I never succeed because I have weeds and I get lazy about mowing, but I keep the sprinklers on because they do at least keep it all looking green. Well not anymore my friends.

The system I have is attached to a scheduling computer which can be programmed to turn on and off on any day(s) of the week, for as long as I want. Normallly, I have it set up to water every other day for 20 minutes each morning. According to my most recent water bill, it would appear that that watering accounts for approximately 7 CCF per month. That's nearly double my normal use in non-watering seasons.

I have turned off the automatic watering system. Instead of letting it run every other day (regardless of whether or not we get rain), I'm only going to turn it on when the lawn starts turning brown. And even then, I'll get the most bang for my buck by turning it on when the kids can play in it.

You're right, if I were TRULY environmental, I'd shut it off, regardless of how barren my yard looks. But as I stated from the get-go, I'm going to make small changes that I think ANY American would feel just fine doing. So join me in lowering the standards for lawn care in Suburbia, USA!

SAVINGS:

I figure I'll only need to use 2 CCF per month to keep the tumbleweeds at bay. That means a monthly savings of 5 CCF! Considering I activate the sprinklers in March and deactivate in September, in one year, I'd save 45 CCF! That's 4,500 Cubic Feet of Water (not to mention about $100 :-)

DIFFICULTY LEVEL 1 out of 5

Easy enough to turn the control panel to "off". Now I'll just need to keep any eye on the dryness. The bonus to all this is that it should result in my having to mow less too!