tagged w/ landscaping
-
-
-
Don't burn them. Use them as mulch to improve the fertility of your soil.
Excerpt:
Remember the smell of burning fall leaves wafting through the air? Good memories, indeed, but best that they remain just memories. Burning leaves is bad news.
This practice is now illegal — or at least highly discouraged — in most areas. Burning leaves releases airborne particulates like dust and soot, mold, and other allergens that were tamped down with rain and decomposition. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): "the total health, financial, and environmental costs of leaf-burning can be quite high. These costs include higher incidences of health problems and increased heath care costs; forest fires and property loss and need for increased fire protection; and the clean-up costs associated with soiling of personal property.": So basically, burning leaves is an environmental no-no.
Leaf blowers, especially gas powered ones, are also a bad idea, at least if you care at all about the environment, your pocketbook or your neighbors’ sanity. Nearly 2.5 million of those gas-guzzling gadgets will be sold this year, according to U.S News, and in a single year they will emit as much pollution as 80 cars. Speaking of pollution, the noise pollution created by leaf-blowers has caused many communities to ban them with noise levels exceeding 70 decibels. Leaf-blowers can be as bad for your health as they are for the environment. They circulate mold, allergens and particulate matter that irritate the lungs — especially for those who suffer from asthma.
A better solution is the rake and mulcher. By turning your leaves into mulch and spreading them over your lawn and garden you can improve the soil quality, fertilize your lawn and protect your garden from the upcoming frigid winter weather. There are a variety of green mulchers to choose from as well. Mulching fallen leaves is the greenest and healthiest way to get rid of fall foliage while you rake in the benefits of your new organic mulch.
Article continues:
http://www.sierraclubgreenhome.com/go-green/landscaping-and-outdoors/burning-leaves-is-bad-news/Don't burn them. Use them as mulch to improve the fertility of your soil.... more
-
-
Holy smokes -- have you heard about that crazy-cool thing called "living walls?" People are starting to grow all sorts of wild plants along the facades of buildings -- no really, it's like the latest coolest greenest thing to do! Huh? Of course it's new. It's never been done before. Whaa?? Since when? You're trying to tell me that this is yet another one of those things that everyone else in the world has done for, like EVER, and we're just starting to catch on NOWWwwww? How is this possible?Holy smokes -- have you heard about that crazy-cool thing called "living... more
-
-
They are the vestiges of our consumer culture -- big metal guts belching forth discarded remnants of unwanted possessions. Practical people have long braved soggy banana skins and scavenging rodents to rescue perfectly usable items from dumpsters, but now they are repurposing the dumpsters themselves into truly remarkable creations.They are the vestiges of our consumer culture -- big metal guts belching forth... more
-
-
Hydro Seeding works great for lawns, roadsides, erosion control projects and more. It offers faster germination, eliminates the use of messy straw and has a nice green appearance.
There are reasons hydro seeding works so well. The seed is suspended in a nutrient rich slurry. The contact of the seed with the water in machine triggers the germination cycle. The mulch layer seals in the moisture, and holds the soil in place. The seed is at an ideal depth for good results. The conditions are right to produce a lush green lawn in very short time.
Hydro seeding is a fast, cost effective way to have a new lawn that will turn your neighbors green with envy.
Hydro seeding costs only a little more than old fashioned methods using dry seeding techniques combined with a messy straw mulch.
The cost to have your new lawn hydro seeded is less than 1/4 the cost of using sod, and in a few weeks you will have a better appearing lawn with no need to worry if the sod will take.
The protective mulch covering has an attractive green appearance. A special blend of seeds will be used that will be chosen for the conditions and requirements you have. The factors that may go into the choice may be the amount of sun, shade, the terrain, the type of soil and if you have children or pets.
Your lawn will be hydro seeded with a tested, high quality, certified turf mix. Germination time will depend on the weather, the time of year, the amount of water, the area you live in and other factors. Usually grass will be visible in 5-7 days, a few days slower in cold weather or the hottest part of summer.
H & K Landscaping
Brett Huizenga
Hydroseeding, Hudsonville
http://hklandscaping.comHydro Seeding works great for lawns, roadsides, erosion control projects and more. It... more
-
-
H & K Landscaping Lawncare Tips
WATERING
Do not water until the hydro-seed application has completely dried. This allows the tack to set which helps hold the mulch, seed and soil together.
For optimum seed germination, the soil surface should be kept moist for a period of 6 to 8 weeks.
To prevent washouts, it is recommended that you avoid watering when heavy rains are predicted.
To prevent fungus, it is recommended that you water thoroughly every other day when temperatures are 85 degrees or higher.
MOWING
The lawn should be mowed after the grass has reached a height of 3 1/2 to 4.
The cutting height of the mower should be set no lower than 3.
No more than 25% of the grass should be cut off in one cutting.
The mower blade should be sharp to prevent tearing.
The clippings should only be picked up to prevent clumping of cut grass.
The lawn should be cut with the lawn mower set on 1/2 throttle to reduce the amount of suction generated by the mower blade.
The above procedures should be followed for the first 3 or 4 cuttings.
There are three very important conditions to obtain optimum seed germination and plant growth.
First you need a good soil. If your seed bed contains too much clay, your ground becomes too dense and hard making it very difficult to establish good root growth. If your seed bed contains too much sand, then it will be extremely hard for your seed bed to retain a sufficient amount of moisture to support plant growth. We suggest that if you have a clay base area to be seeded that you should add a minimum of 2" sandy base topsoil. If you are dealing with a sandy base area to be seeded, such as yellow sand or coarse sand, then we would recommend 3 to 4 inches of a clay based topsoil.
The next important thing is water. Your seeds must be kept moist, but not saturated. Kept moist could mean, not watering at all today because it had rained enough to keep the ground moist all day or it could mean that you need to water as many as 8 times a day because it is a very sunny, warm and breezy day resulting in quicker evaporation, which in turn will dry out the surface of the Hydro Seeding. It is likely that the germination process will be extended if you are watering only one or twice per day during time when there is little or no rainfall. Insufficient watering will more than likely have an effect on the germination and growth rate. It will usually extend the time it takes for the seed to germinate. For example, if your seed blend contains perennial turf type rye, it will take 7 to 10 days to germinate under optimum conditions. If the seed is not watered sufficiently, then it might take 15 to 20 days for the seeds to germinate.
H & K Landscaping
Hudsonville, MI
http://hklandscaping.comH & K Landscaping Lawncare Tips
WATERING
Do not water until the hydro-seed... more
-
-
Garden centres in countries affected by drought, like Spain for example, are promoting Xeriscaping (or Xeroscaping) in order to motivate people to help save water. This technique of water conserving landscaping doesn’t refer to cactus gardens or those that are all tiled up and plantless. The possibilities of Xeriscaping are plentiful, resulting in lush and flowery garden designs. This concept of gardening has been around since the 80ies in the US. As climate patterns shift, xeriscaping is catching on in other areas and has been very popular here in Spain for the last few years. The term itself derives from the Greek word ‘xeros’, meaning dry, and the word ‘landscape’.
The idea behind Xeriscapes is to create gardens with a rational water use, to avoid any waste of water, especially in Mediterranean and warm temperate climates. Saving water however is not the only objective of Xeriscaping. It also intends to eliminate the amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides as well as petrol-driven machinery to keep the garden in shape. Plus is saves you money and maintenance.
How does it work? When designing the landscape, plants whose natural requirements are appropriate to the local climate should be chosen. They don’t necessary have to be all local plants, but they should originate from the same climate. Furthermore, water loss through evaporation and run-off should be avoided.
Examples for common plants used in Western xeriscaping are agave, cactus, lavender, juniper, sedum and thyme, according to Wikipedia. Important factors are how to group plats together when planting, according to their water need and the shelter they give/take from other plants. Instead of the typical lawn that needs a lot of water and maintenance (hence more negative impacts due to the machinery), there are special drought-tolerant turf grasses that can be combined with other, less water needing plants to reduce the lawn area. The most efficient watering system is drip irrigation because no water is lost through evaporation. Garden centres in countries affected by drought, like Spain for example, are promoting... more
-
