tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33753183899277371412024-03-13T13:39:03.186-04:00Organic Lawn DIYInformation for those looking for an easy and affordable way to maintain
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a safe, healthy, thick lawn without using synthetic chemicals and pesticides.Organichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16339174947154776300noreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-73004792492036076932017-06-12T20:40:00.000-04:002017-06-12T20:40:56.412-04:00How To Replace Spark Plug on Ryobi 4-Cycle Trimmer Head
Replacing the spark plug and oil on my Ryobi 4-Cycle is something I do every year to help keep my trimmer running well throughout the season.
I've had my Ryobi C430Trimmer for about 4 years now and in addition to the curved shaft string trimmer I have attachments that let me use it as an edger and even a garden tiller. It gets a lot of use and has been very reliable.
I made this quick video DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-59183318009656727332015-07-24T13:48:00.000-04:002015-07-24T14:34:01.747-04:00Melnor WiFi AquaTimer Review
This year Melnor came out with a multi zone hose connected watering timer, the Melnor 15043-RSC WiFi AquaTimer, that connects to an outside faucet and can be controlled from any internet connected computer, tablet or phone. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on one to review and have been running it for a couple of months. I've been really pleased with the versatility, ease of use and the DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-52238066892111774432015-06-12T01:33:00.000-04:002017-03-29T16:56:10.438-04:00How many sprinklers can a garden hose run?What are the best hose connected sprinklers and how many can you connect together? If you don't have an irrigation system for your lawn you'll probably be setting up hose connected sprinklers at certain times like when you've spread grass seed or some fertilizers that need to be watered in or kept moist or if you want to keep it looking green and lush during the hot, dry summer.
There DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-21309801409615131622015-04-27T08:34:00.001-04:002015-04-27T08:35:02.972-04:00Can you use LED lights to start Vegetables?
I've been replacing many of the frequently used light bulbs in my home with LED bulbs and wanted to see if I could also use LED light bulbs in my seed starting table to successfully start my vegetable garden seeds this year.
Prices have come down and a lot of new types of LED bulbs have been released in the past couple of years and I wanted to see if this would be a good spot where I could DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-73520260685576127072015-04-03T13:00:00.002-04:002015-04-03T13:00:39.700-04:00Ryobi 4-Cycle Gas Trimmer Maintenance
Normal change interval is 25 hours or every season. Changing it every year just makes life simple because I don't have to remember if I changed it the year before or not. The RY34426 uses a Champion RY4C spark plug gapped at 0.025 inches.
Disconnecting the spark plug wire is an important safety measure before starting to work on small engines. It's usually one of the first things I do when DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-45467058129950468162015-03-23T17:10:00.000-04:002015-03-23T17:10:57.926-04:00Cheap Seed Starting Table Plans
Free woodworking plans to build a small seed starting bench with lights or that can be placed in front of a south facing window.
Starting seeds indoors is fun and can save a lot of money. You also will have greater options on varieties that may not be available as plants locally.
This seed starting bench can be built for about $25 not including lights and is very sturdy. It can hold 2 1020 DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-12335043748442403212015-03-17T16:28:00.000-04:002015-03-22T14:48:33.670-04:00DIY Printed Plant Labels
Learn how to print your own pot stick style plant labels and give the plants you grow from seed a neater appearance.
I've been looking for a good, affordable solution to print my own pot sticks at home for the vegetable plants I start from seeds. Partly because I like how neat good pot sticks look and partly because I'm going to be starting a few more plants than usual this year. (Okay, reallyDIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-6489782665072362622015-03-15T17:34:00.000-04:002015-03-16T20:06:59.320-04:00Cost Effective Air Cleaning Plants
House plants can help purify the air by removing toxic chemicals as well as kill mold spores and bacteria in the air by producing negative ions. Here's a look at the most cost effective plants from the NASA Clean Air Study.
I recently ordered about a dozen houseplants online in a mix
of sizes from 2" to 6" pots. After I received them I set them all up in
a warm room where they got a DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-72845524333663610502015-02-28T22:28:00.003-05:002015-02-28T22:30:02.278-05:00Narrow Seed Starting Shelves
These woodworking plans are to build narrow seed starting shelves that will hold 8 trays but conserve space. They'll even fit on the side wall of most standard sized single car garages without getting in the way.
Materials
(4) 8' 2x4's
(4) 10' 2x4's
(1) 8' 2x3
(1) 4x8' sheet of 1/2" OSB or Plywood
(4) 4' shop lights (see Seed Starting Grow Lights for recommendations.)
Draw Layout Lines on DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-17820907701445879312014-06-21T08:23:00.000-04:002014-06-21T08:23:00.376-04:00Time To Change Your Mower Blade
With the heat of summer approaching, now is a good time to change or sharpen your lawn mower blades.
Your lawn is under enough stress this time of year. Help it out with a fresh cut. I mentioned in my previous article on watering your lawn that lawns cut with a dull blade require more water than lawns cut with a sharp blade.
Dull blades tear and shred the tops of grass blades, especiallyDIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-28291715377998458382014-06-15T16:19:00.004-04:002014-06-15T16:19:22.091-04:00Organic Dollar Spot Control
This morning Ruth emailed me the following question about how to deal with dollar spot fungus in a Northeastern lawn. Specifically she'd like to know about using corn meal to treat dollar spot.
Ruth asks:
I live in the Northeast and have noticed that after a week of rain I now have brown spots/dollar spots. I am trying to go organic this year. I was wondering if you are still using cornmeal DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-3211822027575504082014-05-25T12:45:00.001-04:002014-05-29T11:41:48.262-04:00Easy Store Cold Frame Plans
Wish you had a cold frame for starting seeds or extending your growing season but you don't have the room for them? Here are step-by-step plans to make some DIY cold frames that can be taken apart to save storage space when not in use.
The cold frames are about 4' x 4' and can hold up to 8 standard 1020 trays. When you're not using the cold frames that can be taken apart and only take up aboutDIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-75886794300527198692014-05-24T22:02:00.001-04:002014-05-24T22:02:21.752-04:00Time To Start Treating For Lawn DiseaseWith all the rain we've been getting in the Northeast lately, and the warm weather that's coming in next week, conditions are prime for lawn fungus and other diseases to thrive. Before the damage is done it's a good idea to start treating your lawn and plants because it's easier to prevent lawn disease than it is to cure it. You may already be seeing mushrooms in your lawn.
There are a number ofDIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-11639290373138911192014-05-11T08:41:00.000-04:002014-05-11T12:14:38.102-04:00Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Review In Ryobi 4-Cycle String Trimmer
This year I decided to switch to synthetic motor oil for my outdoor power equipment. After reading a ton of great reviews I decided to go with Royal Purple Synthetic oils. This morning my Ryobi 4-cycle string trimmer head (RY34426) did something it's never done before. My C430 started on the first pull after filling it up with Royal Purple HPS 10W-30 Synthetic Oil!
I've had the 4-Cycle DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-34261053354325447122014-05-05T22:46:00.000-04:002014-05-26T23:38:25.878-04:00Growing Giant Sunflowers From SeedsThis spring I was given a bunch of giant sunflower seeds from a relative. They may be mammoth? I really don't know. All I now is they're taller than me and the flowers and seed heads are bigger than my head. Until I learn otherwise I'm just going to call them the Big-A** Sunflowers!
He told me a lot of the harvested seeds won't germinate so I should try to germinate a few and then plant DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-9393365410449502922014-05-04T10:16:00.000-04:002015-04-03T19:25:23.092-04:00Seed Starting Grow Lights: Build Or Buy?
If you want a plant light for starting seeds indoors you can buy one or build your own. I'll compare the pros and cons of buying vs building a plant light system. Included are plans to build a 4' DIY fluorescent plant light stand using PVC pipe.
Whether you're growing your seedlings in a windowless basement or you want to supplement the natural light from your windows a grow light system can DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-38061514056476163782014-04-18T18:36:00.000-04:002014-04-18T18:36:02.517-04:00Spring Organic Lawn Clean-Up ChecklistThis past winter was brutal with all the snow we got in the Northeast. April has started out cold as well and when it seemed like the weather finally broke there was another week of cold and even more snow! After this weekend though, we should be in the clear.
While the blistering cold should now be behind us it's still not shorts and t-shirt weather but it is warm enough to work outside DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-278303919212377622014-04-18T13:44:00.001-04:002014-04-18T13:46:20.166-04:00Spring Outdoor Power Tool Tune Up
Changing Of the 'owers
After a long, cold winter with a ton of snow Spring is finally here. It got off to a slow start but temperatures have finally gotten high enough to work outside without freezing my tail off. It's the perfect time for the changing of the 'owers. Time to tune up and prepare my outdoor power equipment before the green really starts growing and to get my snow blower ready DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-4956072410728790792013-12-02T19:00:00.000-05:002013-12-02T19:00:10.373-05:00Ideas For Keeping USFG Raised Bed Warm In Winter
I'm growing my first winter garden after building a Ultimate Square Foot Garden Raised Bed. To hold the greenhouse fabric in place I tried some stainless steel tablecloth clips that are meant to be used on picnic tables but they're not working out.
The slide off and leave the plastic flapping around allowing cold air to come in.
There was a quick solution to that problem which creates a DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-58596340203625639892013-10-24T13:32:00.001-04:002013-10-24T13:32:59.368-04:00Winter Square Foot Garden 2013
I was so excited to have built my first Square Foot Garden based on my raised bed plans that I wanted to put it to use right away by trying to grow a winter vegetable garden.
For the soil I went the easy route and purchased bags of Mel's Mix from Home Depot. It seemed pretty good. The soil is light and friable. Just handling the bag you can tell it's good because it's loose and not DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-74167585589798678382013-10-03T11:53:00.001-04:002013-10-09T20:22:16.500-04:00Ryobi 24v Li-Ion Cordless Edger Review
I started using the Ryobi 24-Volt Cordless Stick Edger (model RY24310) this year and I've been completely blown away by how well it works and decided it's about time I posted my review here. I've used it practically every time I've mowed and it has become one of my favorite lawn power tools.
This came as a big surprise to me as I really expected it to be horrible. With only a 24V battery I DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-13262201914251767592013-10-02T18:25:00.000-04:002013-10-03T15:19:52.027-04:00How To Turn Compost In A Geobin
There are a couple of different ways I aerate the compost in the Geobin Composter. One is more labor intensive and I only do it once a year. The other is easier and I do it more regularly throughout the year. I'll go over both methods.
I could probably compost a little better. I'm not sure if what I'm doing is right but this is what I do and this is the method that works for me. It's a DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-35503019639722269852013-09-29T20:01:00.002-04:002013-09-29T20:03:05.201-04:00Compost: The Silver Bullet
When I first started learning about organic lawn care and gardening much of what I read advocated the use of compost to help solve almost any lawn and garden problem. At first I was a bit skeptical but after reading more I started to believe and a few years ago I started composting. If there ever was a product you could use that would solve a multitude of problems it would be compost. Best of DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-49665980396622477052013-09-12T12:12:00.000-04:002013-10-02T18:35:10.619-04:00Thoughts on Garden of Eden SWAT Raid in Arlington, TX
I read a story earlier today on Huffington Post about Garden of Eden, described as a small organic farm, being raided by the Arlington, TX SWAT team. The original story was reported on WFAA.
At the same time, code enforcement officials executed a warrant to remedy code violations that included blight conditions. They wound up removing 20,420 pounds of materials which they deemed to DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3375318389927737141.post-52612414266324738902013-09-04T08:55:00.000-04:002013-09-12T09:52:01.676-04:00Watering Grass Seed With A Pump Spayer
For patching small areas of lawn you can use a pump sprayer as a sprinkler to help keep the seed moist to aid germination.
One of the major issues people have planting grass seed is keeping the grass seed moist. If the seed dries out it will germinate slowly or even die so it's important to lightly water the newly seeded area multiple times a day. On hot, sunny days it can be as much as 4 or DIY Organic Lawn Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07823873941471899880noreply@blogger.com2