Gardening and green living

[ladyjanelly]

So. Bought four 30-gallon garbage cans in Navy blue for my composting needs.

Best 44 bucks I've ever spent. So.

Advantage 1: Easy to turn. I just leverage one of them up on the patio (about 12" high). I don't even have to lift. Lay it on its side and scrape it out into the four lids and then dump it back in. Quick, easy, happy.

Advantage 2: They use solar power--the heat of the sun on the dark sides of them warm up the contents. No snow on those babies. Speeds the decomposition of plant matter.

Advantage 3: The unexpected joy of the cans is that if they're on the patio I can turn the lids upside down and use them as dirt-mixing trays or whatever and they're a perfect elbow-height working surface. Awesome.

Also bought a wheelbarrow even though I won't use it much in such a small yard. For the things I need it for I really do NEED it. So. Got a cheap one, should last near forever.

Picked up two different mechanical edgers to keep the grass in line.

And the big purchase and serious commitment to the whole green thing was an oldfashioned rotary lawn mower. No gas. No emissions. Not even electricity. Its byproduct is a stronger me. I thought an $90 risk wasn't too bad. It's like 2.5 times having the lawn guy out. So if I use it 3 times we're ahead in every way. Hopefully I'll get to play with it next week. Too cold this one.

EDIT:
The rotary mower is the coolest thing that ever was green(in use, I dunno about mfrg). It's about as hard to push through grass as a loaded cart through wal-mart. It chopped a 30 gallon pile of yard scraps into tiny bits in about 20 passes (maybe 3 minutes). I am sooo pleased. :)

Comments

[guard-the-cards.livejournal.com]

rotery lawn mowers are great! I used to have to do our lawn every week and it was great to not have to panic over the blades as much, and if it gets stuck you don't have to worry about loosing your hand getting it unstuck with a pebble!

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

In the first five minutes of using it, I agree 100%. It's quiet, it feels safe, it's about as hard to push through grass as a full cart through wal-mart. I loves it.

[ex-meek386.livejournal.com]

I am proud of you! :)

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :) I love my mower.

[ixchel55.livejournal.com]

Woot! Green power!

I never got into composting although I kept wanting to. Too lazy I guess. Anyway, I made a deal with one of the other store managers who has a huge backyard, garden and compost pile. I supply her with plants that I nurture from seeds for various tomatoes, peppers, cukes, squash and herbs (she doesn't have the patience to baby them from seeds *G*) and she supplies me with all the good, rich compost I need!

When I had a house, there was actually a very small amount of grass to mow and I bought one of the rotary push mowers. I liked using it. Without the raucous noise of the engine and the nasty fumes, it was very Zen.

Good luck with the composting.

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

I never did much composting in a heap or in a cage, but the garbage cans work like a dream.

Also, I've been putting every earthworm I find into the most-composted one.

[beckaandzac.livejournal.com]

My mom has always stood by rotary mowers, but her experience has been that buying them at yard sales works so much better than buying them new. She suspects they're making the blades out of something that dulls more easily these days, since the new one she bought a few years back mostly just pulled up grass rather than cutting through. Though if yours works, that would be something (literally, for me) to write home about. Where'd you get it? What brand is it? Does it seem to actually cut things?

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

I've never ever seen one in person before I bought this one. Maybe it's a Texas thing. Definitely never saw one at a yard sale.

This is sharp so far. The cut grass seemed cleanly cut. It makes a sharp-scizzors noise. :)It plowed through the pile of weeds and leaves that we had for it. It won't cut sticks, but I feel a lot safer pulling sticks out of the blades than I would messing with a gas mower.

It's the 16" model by Task Force. Model #26143. I bought it at Lowes.

Here, http://www.cleanairgardening.com/ you can buy ones made in Europe and some other awesome toys.

[beckaandzac.livejournal.com]

I remember my mom getting funny looks with her rotary mower when I was little (in Pennsylvania), but then we got funny looks for most everything we did in that neighborhood. They were never common. There was only one place in the county that would repair ours, and when they closed we eventually found a really old one at a yard sale. The big advantage over a gas mower at my parents' current house is that the front yard is a steep slope, so having something lighter weight and easier to maneuver is really helpful. Plus, not being scared of lopping your fingers off is nice.

I can't believe I'm waxing poetic about lawnmowers. ;)

So glad yours is working for you.

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

I'm fully expecting funny looks. The guy at Lowes kept asking "You're sure? REally sure you want to buy this?" which is kind of sad from a green perspective.

I'd much rather push this than a big gas one.

Also, I can't figure out a way that I could injure myself with this. The blades don't go in reverse. They don't turn without the wheels turning. It stops when I stop. It just seems really safe.

[beckaandzac.livejournal.com]

That is sad. People are so silly about their big lawnmowers.

They're really neat things from a mechanical point of view because they're so simple and intuitive. You push, the thing turns, the grass is cut by the tunring thing, and then you sit on your porch with lemonade contemplating your lawn. :)

[tabaqui]

I love the idea of rotary lawn mowers, and actually am going to purchase one when we move. So cool!
* and i can have all kinds of Dandelion Wine moments using it*
:)

Did you get it at a Lowes type place, or are they more 'special' than that?

Sorry about the double comment.
*kicks lj*

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

so far I couldn't be happier with my purchase. It's a 16" cutting width that I bought at Lowes. Cost $90 plus tax. Took 15 minutes to put the 6 pieces of it together.

Heh. Everytime I pull dandelions out of the yard, I want to make them into a salad. :)

[tabaqui]

Awesome! I will be getting one for sure.
:)

I want to make dandelion wine! Or at least taste some some day, as i don't really want to *make* wine.
*is lazy*

[lapillus]

And the other lovely thing about rotary mowers -they're QUIET! So not only no air pollution, but less noise pollution, too.

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

It was so awesome to have a conversation while mowing the lawn.

I honestly don't see why more people don't have these. I'm hoping I get my neighbors interested. Their yard is so small it seems a waste to get that big mower out every time.

Gas mowers are so ugly and smelly and high-maintenance and scary.

[lapdogdesign.livejournal.com]

Go you and your green campaign! We had one of those rotary mowers when I was growing up. My mom was always afraid of those fast power mower blades and me or my brother losing a hand or foot in them. In fact, when R and I were first dating, we went back to my family home one weekend (an hour away) and R used the rotary mower to mow our lawn. Mom's reaction was, "I like this boy -- can we put him on ice til you're old enough to get married?" Considering we've been together 17 years now, that old rotary mower (and Mom) proved a good judge of character. :)

I have to tell you how jealous I am that you live somewhere that you can mow the grass in early March. We're currently under a blizzard advisory where I live, so the smell of freshly cut grass is still at least a month away for us.

Where did you learn about the 4-trash-can compost method? Do you have any links to share about that? I like the idea of that (and cringe every time I throw away banana peels or apple cores.)

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

I really feel so much safer using the rotary mower. It jams when it picks up sticks and I just flip it over, grab the stick and pull it out. No stress.

That's awesome that your relationship was confirmed by a rotary mower. Heh.

I played with the mower, and my hubby cut up the mulch for me. It snowed last night here but it was light-jacket weather in the afternoon sun. Texas has really crazy hot/cold snaps this tme of year. But yeah. No blizzard winters for me.

I sort of made up the compost method. Everything I read said you're looking for warm, dark, and moist. I tried using a smaller container but it didn't work. A few places say you need air holes but others say if you flip it often (whenever it's not producing heat anymore) it doesnt need holes. It's not exactly the best weather for making rot right now, but it looks like my stuff is breaking down nice already.

Clean Air gardening was one of the best places for info that I found. OMG expensive, but they have cool toys. The cans work great for me though.

http://www.cleanairgardening.com/

[(Anonymous)]

If the lids seal well and your compost bins are round, you can actually tip them on their sides and roll them around to mix them, but you'll need to leave some room so the compost will actually mix rather than filling them to the top. Hope your garden's as green as mine was last year;)

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm. I'll have to test my lids then.

Thanks for the tip. And the well-wishes. :)

[wendy.livejournal.com]

I just ran across your entry on friends-friends and you have a push mower (which is so awesome) AND you live in Dallas. How do I not already have you friended?

ETA: Wow, that sounded stalker-ey, even for me. I'm sorry, I'm having a rough day. What I MEAN is...I thought I knew all the SPN girls in Dallas! So. HI!

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

Not sure, really. You like RPS and rollerderby and I wrote J2 Rollerball fic. It's inconcievable that you have yet to friend me. :)

But seriously.

I friended you. If nothing else we can bitch about the weather at each other. It'll be awesome. :)

[wendy.livejournal.com]

SERIOUSLY. Stupid snow. Hee!

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

Can you believe it was like light-jacket weather around 1 and it's freezing now? Craziness, I tell you.

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

Heh. It's all good. I was like "Uh, would it be wrong to ask if she wants to go to Burger Island or something" because I know no SPN girls in Dallas. (okay, technically Richardson, but anyway)

[wendy.livejournal.com]

I worked in that area for about seven years, I'm very familiar!

I know for certain that wrenlet and I are going to try and get all the local people together for dinner (which I have thus far FAILED at doing) in April. So def then, for sure!

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

Excellent. Thanks.

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

Yay rotary mower! I hope yours is good and durable. We bought ours in July 2005 from Lowe's as well and it still seems to be in very good condition. Our yard is very small so a bigger mower would have been a nightmare! Also, good luck with your composting! (we kind of just have a pit, and it's a bit slow but no work at all... I think we might move our tech level up a bit so I'll be interested in how your works out!)

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to the grass growing so I can use it. :) It's so awesome quiet. Our yard is like three seperate tiny yards and just the thought of pulling a huge mower over the patio to get it out the side gate is enough to make me pay someone to do it. The rotary mower is light and easy and I'm very pleased.

I'll put updates on the composting. It's a little cold otu there for it to be too effective though right now. I'm hoping for a 3 week turn-around in the summer, with pre-chopping with the rotary mower and turning it every 3 days or so.

[moogielion.livejournal.com]

Phred and i have a rotary mower. We had to buy a power mower last year because we had a lot of weeds, and the rotary mower doesn't really do weeds.

I'm hoping this year we can keep the weeds down enough to use the rotary mower more often. i love that it's quiet, and i can talk to Phred while we're working in the yard.

The rotary mower is actually better for your grass, because it cuts the blades cleanly rather than leaving a jagged edge that causes the grass to lose more moisture.

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

I've heard it's a better cut. I've been pulling weeds like crazy (even mowed, they block out sun and take water and nutrients from the grass). I feel very zen, working out in the garden.

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

I saw a book in Borders this morning about making your cleaning more green and thought of you. Can't remember the exact title-heck, maybe it *was* "Make Your Cleaning More Green". I meant to write it down. But I got distracted by my efforts to not buy every damn thing that caught my eye and forgot, whoops.

If I see it again, I'll try to get the name and pass it along.