Who cares if you have an eco lawn?
Actually, YOU care about an eco lawn if you do not want to be a player in global warming. Did you know that running your lawn mower for one hour gives off the same emissions of running 40 cars for that same hour. Lawn mowers are responsible for 5% of damaging greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. In addition, 13 million gallons of gas are spilled when people fill their mowers. To put this into perspective, this is more oil than the Exxon Valdez spill. Now that is scary. So what options do you have in order to achieve an eco friendly lawn? Man Power Your first eco lawn option is to use physical labor (or your spouse's physical labor) and use a push reel mower. These mowers are the ones that have no engine but instead cut grass with several horizontal blades mounted on wheels. Your first thought may be that these mowers are very difficult to use effectively. The reality is they can be very lightweight and easy to handle. They are quiet too which is a big plus in the case of early morning mowers or when you have sleeping children. I remember wanting to shoot my neighbors when they would fire up their mowers just as I had gotten my kids down for a nap. Being realistic though, these mowers are slower so it will take you more time to mow your lawn. Mowing "experts" (who knew there were such people) recommend that you use these mowers for lawns that are no bigger than 6,500 square feet. You also need to mow more frequently because reel mowers are not good with cutting tall grasses and weeds. They are also not good if you have a lot of rocks and sticks in your lawn. Sun Power Another eco lawn option is to harness the power of the sun. Free Power Systems sells a solar powered lawn mower. These eco mowers cost about $700. You will save 100% of your gas costs which is a nice way to off-set the cost of the mower. It takes three days to charge the solar panel fully. By making the panel detachable, you can store it in a sunny place and always be ready to go. If the panel is not charged, you can use electricity to charge the mower battery. Electric Mowers I an not really convinced that an electric mower is more eco friendly than a gas mower but it is an option. If your electricity comes from a wind or solar source then I could consider an electric mower an eco mower. There are two kinds of electric mowers - corded and cordless. If you are going to use a corded mower, then your lawn should be about the size of a postage stamp. Otherwise, a cordless mower is more appropriate. Brain Power An eco lawn is also possible by using plain old common sense. First off, mow less frequently. Let your grass grow a little longer in between mowings. It is better for the health of your lawn not to mention the environmental benefits. Also, use grass clippings as mulch to revitalize your lawn and prevent erosion. You can put clippings in a compost pile or around base of trees and allow the nutrients to soak into the soil. Don't use a sprinkler at all but if you do, turn it off during rainy periods. I can't tell you how angry I get when I see sprinklers going off in the pouring rain. What a waste! Finally, if you are going to plant a new lawn, plant slow growing grass. There is a family of grasses called fescue grasses which grow slowly and are very hardy. They grow long roots that helps them reach deeper water sources. This grass type can handle full sun to full shade so they don't need fertilizer or extra watering to stay healthy.
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