Garden Fitness

Choosing the Right Fence for your Garden

Or how to make buying a fence, a better experience. You can do more expensive improvements on your home other than a fence installation, to be sure. In addition to that, somebody has to install it, so you then have to go about finding an installer that knows what he’s doing. Since a lot of people are not so motivated to begin with, you may find your self having to get your self going with this. There are so many possible problems that can be caused by not being prepared. The current article will cover 3 recommendations for you to give you direction about how best to prepare for your fence installation.

So many factors come into play when you are trying to sell your home, and that makes the fence decision have even more weight. There is curb attraction, first impressions, and even more which may include the effect your fence will have on future buyers, so you have to be sure you make the right choices. When you are selling, you have to market your home and this will be a lot easier when everything appears to be an asset rather than the opposite. Some people buy a fence outright and other finance it because some fences are just more expensive than others. Avoid despair if you cannot buy the beautiful fence you have your heart set on, there are creative options as well as other ways to find a fence that is priced affordable.

A lot of things you really need to get some answers for are related to the installer who should be the fencing contractor. Talk to them before hiring them and ask all the questions such as what can go wrong during the installation and how will it be addressed. You will be a bit lucky if your property is completely flat, although that is not a deal killer if it is not. You really do want to be sure you have thought about everything as much as you can, and this is preventive medicine. You should know that you never hand over any down payments until the air is cleared and you have all the documents you need.

You can save a fair amount of money buy actually ordering your own fence and then just arrange to have it installed.

But if you want to hire someone for this, then you may want to avoid having a retail chain because they do not have real fence installers. After an initial consultation with any contractor, just hold off on hiring them until you perform some background checks on them. Lastly, don’t be afraid to go with your intuition about anything because many times it is accurate and can be trusted.

Be careful when you are researching fence installation related searches on the net because some content is not exactly trustworthy. So do keep in mind that a lot of what happens can be under your control, but like anything else you have to earn it a little bit. And you want to think about this pretty hard so you are happy with what you get.

Qualcast Panther 30 Hand Mower

A green carpeted look in your yard gives splendor in the exterior of your house. It adds value to your landscaping. It refreshes your eyes as well. It is good that there are lawn mowers like Qualcast Panther 30 Hand Mower. It saves you both time and energy because it cuts with vigor and efficiency. It is light to handle and similarly to have around in your lawn. If you are at all concerned with the environment then using a manual lawnmower is a great way to reduce your energy consumption. These mowers have been developed for years and they are amongst the simplest and best lawnmowers you can buy.

There is of course the matter of fitness, how many times have you seen people using labor saving devices, things like driving to the gym down the road. Simply using a bit of ‘You’ energy to perform everyday tasks makes much more sense. Why not skip the odd work out and mow your lawn instead, it can be as vigorous as you want to make it, slowly pushing the Panther 30 Hand mower uses a little bit
Further, its solid rotating action slashes even the strong grass and weeds with a little bit of effort. It can cut through with its 30 cm width cutting edge. It contains 4 bladed cylinders that produce a clean cutting output.

Further, the side wheels can be easily pushed so you will not have any problem mowing your lawn from one side to the other side of your yard. It also has a spacious grass collection bin. Therefore, it could accommodate large quantities of grass and weeds.

There should be no problem moving your Panther 30 from one location to another because it is surprisingly light. Furthermore, light as it is, it is sturdy. Therefore, your Panther 30 comes in handy for difficult mowing. The Panther 30 Hand mower is not ideal for big lawn. It can accommodate smaller areas. It is of course much more economical compared to other lawn mowers. More so, it gives you a rudimentary stripe form for its finishing touches.

Unfortunately, there are occasions when the grass from the bin falls off. This is one issue that you will be dealing with the product. However, overall, it is a good value if you have a smaller area to mown.

Hydroseeding your Lawns

Hydroseeding is a modern and easy way of planting grass on your lawn. In hydroplanting, grass seeds, water, fertilizer, fiber mulch, and lime (optional) are blended together and applied to a prepared lawn area through a spraying hose. The wet fiber, which acts as the planting medium, easily bonds with the soil, creating a water-retaining blanket that will provide the seeds protection from the elements, as well as the nutrients they need, while being established. As the seeds germinate, the growing medium gradually decomposes and adds nutrients to the soil.

Taking Care of Grass

Planting your lawn by hydroseeding has advantages and disadvantages, which are discussed below.
Advantages. Hydroseeding allows for a big lawn area to planted at a relatively shorter period of time. The spraying process covers a wider planting area much more quickly than seeding or sodding. This method also makes it possible to efficiently seed contours and slopes. Because the wet fiber actually adheres to the soil, it creates a surface that prevents soil erosion. Hydroseeding can actually reduce erosion. Hydroseeding costs less than planting with sod, but more than regular seeding. The technology costs more, as well as the actual application which can only be done by trained professionals.

Hydroseeding has been found to result in higher seed germination rates as compared to regular seeding. Because it creates lush growth, mowing and lawn maintenance can actually start at less than a month after the date of application. The fiber in the mulch maintains moisture around the seeds, thus increasing seed germination rate.
Disadvantages. Hydroseeding companies offer limited grass varieties to choose from. Usually, these are sturdy grass varieties that lend themselves well to the procedures.
As in conventional seeding, hydroseeding cannot be done at just about any time of the year, or whenever the lawn owner wants hydroseeding to be done. In order to get the best results, hydroseeding should be done immediately prior to the prime growing season of the specific grass variety. It is seed and season-specific.
Hydroseeding also is a costly process, and one that is best done by professional hydroseeding companies. The technology does not lend itself to “do-it-yourself” gardener. Not only is the hydroseeding sprayer costly; operating it properly requires training and skill.

Nonetheless, in order to make the hydroseeding effort a success, here are some preliminary procedures that have to be undertaken.
Follow their instructions the company will give you on soil preparation. If none are given, you can do this task by going over your soil bed with a lawn roller that is filled with water to 1/2 or 1/4 level.
Get cost estimates from hydroseeding companies in your area. Do not settle for one company, but get comparative costs based on the types of services they offer, types of planting materials or hydroseeding blends they have, and other costs that the planting procedure will entail.
The hydroseed mixture is green in color and the area where it is applied will acquire a green color. This makes it easier to spot missed areas, or areas that need reapplication. The seeds will germinate in about a week. Maintenance can begin at 3 to 4 weeks after the date of application. The hydroseeding company teaches the technique of watering a hydroseeded lawn. Should there be areas of the lawn that show sparse growth or no growth at all, the hydroseeding company can be asked to remedy to the situation.

We hope you found this article useful brought to you by the http://www.bestelectriclawnmower.co.uk team !

Staying Fit by Gardening

Gardening can be a great way of keeping active. Staying fit by gardening means that you keep at it, doing it quite often. The first step in creating a garden is, you must determine what size you wish your garden to be.

In our case, we used to make more than one garden. In the back yard was a garden that was 15 feet long x 15 feet wide. On the East side of the property we had a squash/pumpkin garden that was about 20 feet long by ten feet wide; and in the front of the house, beneath the windows, were flower gardens.

Realize, though, that the bigger your gardens are, the more upkeep you’ll have to do on them. That’s where ‘Staying Fit by Gardening’ comes in. Don’t think that, just because a garden looks simple that it’s an easy thing to accomplish.

Mulch is a good start. Begin by dumping all your organic material in one place. Composting is a great way of creating good fertilizer. The main thing with composting is to know what you should compost, what you should never compost, and how to compost. First, buy a composting bin. They will make things really easy for you, as they’ll keep it from spreading, make it look nice, and give you a neat way of storing it. Black compost bins will radiate the heat to the compost, keep the heat inside and intensify the action. You can also build your own bin by looking on the internet for plans, or even have a bin-less compost ‘heap’. Bin-less systems oftentimes don’t work because you start throwing things on the pile which have a depth to them. Things won’t compost properly if they’re getting lots of air throughout them because someone put branches on there. Staying fit by gardening means that you do many different things, not just stand there and wait for crops to grow. First, unless you put some effort into it, your crops will wither and die, instead of grow.

Grass and lawn clippings make good compost, hay, kitchen wastes such as peels/rinds, coffee grounds, eggshells etc. They should be soft and moist. You can also bury your compost about 8” deep. This will keep the neighborhood pets out of it. Don’t put things like scraps of meat in it or fatty foods. Leaves are good and straw or grass that has gone to seed; wood sawdust and chips are good.

If you put your hand into the compost, it should be extremely hot. If they’re not getting hot, they need more moisture.

My father used to ask the farmer across the street if he could have a wheelbarrow of manure to put on his gardens. Each of these things will keep you fit. Buy a wheelbarrow, and use it to transport mulch, compost or manure (if handy). Nothing beats manure as fertilizer.

Next, you should determine the pH of your soil. If it’s too acidic or too alkaline it would behoove you to purchase topsoil from your local store. You should have, at least, four inches of good topsoil that isn’t either too acidic or too alkaline. Tomatoes will grow well in acidic soil, but carrots will be thin and spindly. So, you might determine the plants that do well in acidic soil, and plant those there. Then, put the topsoil in the areas which are more temperamental. Staying fit by gardening is a good way to have fun, as well. Enjoy your garden.

Looking after your Lawn

Everybody knows that a lawn can make or break a house. That large expanse of pure beautiful grass is what you had in mind when you bought the place. Wow, did it look good. Now, however, it’s turning brown, it has some bare spots where the kids put their pool over the summer and it died, it’s peppered with dandelion weeds, poison ivy vines have started growing in the back yard, and the neighbor’s dog is doing it all over the back yard.

What can you do, if your lawn isn’t what you had imagined it should be when you look out the picture window? Well, remember that tending the lawn can be a Zen-like art. You might use that time to enjoy the smell of fresh-cut grass, hear the kids playing next door in the pool and enjoy the rays of sun as they hit your face in the cool breeze. The secret to life is, you have to enjoy it. Instead of thinking that it’s a miserable chore that you have to do, make it enjoyable. Since looking after your lawn is important to you, have it be an enjoyable experience for you.

First is cutting your lawn. One of the main things which will make your lawn look shabby is if you let it grow too long. Are your neighbors eying your lawn as they drive by? Well, most likely it’s because they’re thinking, “If they don’t mow their lawn, soon, all those weeds are going to germinate and those seeds will be peppering my own lawn with yellow dots, too.”

Unfortunately, the freedom of America isn’t truly complete freedom; because freedom for one person might mean extra work for another; and that’s not fair. And, you know that. You are a caring person, and although you might even like a lawn that’s gone to seed because it feels more natural and wild, it is being brought back to its more natural wonderful form. Yeah, that’s what you’ll tell yourself so you won’t have to go out and mow it. You like upholding a neat front. So, when looking after your lawn, enjoy that feeling of satisfaction after the lawn has been mowed.

Some of the problems you’ll run into are… leaves. If you live in the North, in particular, you will have to rake leaves in the fall. Raking leaves can get to be a pain. After it has rained, oak leaves start to rot and get heavy. If you mow the lawn and there are oak leaves on the lawn, they’ll get chopped up, but they’ll also stick to the inside of your mower. Rake the leaves, and you’ll have those nice big homey stacks of leaves. However, have you ever raked a lawn before? Yes, a rake is cheap to buy; however a lawn mower leaf attachment can greatly speed things up. If you have a ride-on lawnmower and you have two acres of land, and you’d like mulch for your garden… a leaf attachment is the way to go.

Leaf blowers are a good way of looking after your lawn. With a leaf blower, you can have the kids blow your leaves into the other guy’s yard (heh heh). “No, really… they were there before they used the leaf blower” you can say.

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A Vacuum for your Leaves

In certain parts of the country the leaves look beautiful when they change color in the fall. However, they are not such a welcome sight when they fall onto your front yard. In the past, a good rake and a little muscle was the only way to get rid of these leaves. Today, we have the leaf vacuum. Leaf vacuums are becoming more and more popular and there are a wide variety of them on the market. There are many things to consider before purchasing a leaf vacuum.

First, the amount of leaves and the size of the job is an important consideration. For those homeowners that have a significant amount of land and a serious amount of leaves, then they may consider the higher-end leaf vacuums. For example, there are push vacuums, ride-on vacuums, and vacuums that can be hauled behind a tractor. Most of these vacuums conveniently pick up the leaves and mulch them. However, these products can be expensive.

The most popular leaf vacuums for homeowners are the hand-held type. These hand-held products generally have blower, vacuum, and mulch functions. These devices can be found at many retail stores. One way to find the leaf vacuum that is best for you is to simply pick one up. If the vacuum feels heavy, then maybe it is not the right one for you. The lighter models are around seven pounds.

Some hand-held leaf vacuums are gas powered and some are electric. A disadvantage of the electric vacuums is that the cord only allows you to get so far away from an outlet. The electric vacuums are convenient for jobs that are on the patio or front walkway, but would require an extension cord for leaves further out on the backyard.

Hand-held leaf vacuums are also equipped with a bag to catch the leaves. You may want to consider the size of the bag when making a decision about the vacuum. If the bag is too small, you will need to empty it more frequently. However, if the bag is too big, the device may become too heavy and burdensome to use.

The horsepower of the leaf vacuum engine is also important when making a decision. An engine without the necessary horsepower may not adequately do the job that needs to be done. Wet leaves will especially be difficult for a low-powered vacuum to clean up and the vacuum would become easily clogged. Forcing a lower horsepower engine to do a big job may also burn out the engine.

Homeowners may also want to consider the noise factor when purchasing a leaf vacuum. Some machines can be louder than others. This would be especially important if your city has a noise ordinance or if you just don’t want to irritate your neighbor.

There are obviously many aspects to consider when choosing a leaf vacuum. Another option may be to rent a leaf vacuum or borrow a friend’s machine to help make the final decision. When it comes right down to it, the decision will most likely be based on your budget and how many leaves you actually have. Of course, if none of the vacuums seems to meet your specific needs, there is always a $5 rake.

Garden Your Way to Health and Fitness

You don’t need to drive to the gym to get a good workout. You can just step into your front yard and do a little landscaping. Machines have made life easier when it comes to landscaping but you can lead a healthier life if you give the machines a break occasionally. There are many ways that homeowners can shape up their yards and themselves at the same time, it’s not hard too

Activities to Garden your way to Health and Fitness.

Raking is one of the best exercises that a homeowner can do while taking care of his or her landscape. There are many devices on the market today that will blow, vacuum, and mulch leaves. These machines definitely make the tedious job of raking leaves a lot easier. However, if you want to get in shape, then you cannot take the easy path.

Raking is a good workout for your upper body and core muscles. As the arms are raking, the core muscles in the stomach and back are working to stabilize the body. It is estimated that a person can burn about 150 calories when raking leaves for 30 minutes.

Another great workout is mowing the lawn. Of course, sitting on your shiny, new riding lawn mower and doing laps around the yard is not going to give you much of a burn. However, pushing a mower can truly be a great form of exercise. Just don’t cheat and use the self-propelled variety.

Pushing a hand mower gives both your upper and lower body a workout. Both your arms and legs are working together to propel the mower forward. In fact, according to calories perhour.com, a 150-pound person can burn about 408 calories per hour pushing a hand mower. If you have a lot of uphill mowing, then it can be even more than that.

Trimming trees or shrubs can also give a homeowner a good workout. Using an electric trimmer can be fun but you can burn many more calories using a good pair of hand trimmers. Using hand trimmers is also good for building up muscle strength in the upper body.

Fitness Mower

Other ways to get some exercise in while landscaping include using a shovel, using a wheelbarrow, or simply bending over to pull some weeds. As with any workout, it is important for homeowners to do some stretching before beginning landscaping. Stretching can help prevent pulled muscles or muscle soreness the next day.

It is also very important for anyone who is performing landscaping duties to drink plenty of water. Raking leaves or pushing a lawn mower in the hot sun can easily cause a person to become dehydrated. Remember, grass and flowers are not the only things that need to be watered while landscaping.

Landscaping is something that has to be done anyway, so you might as well get some exercise in while doing it. Cutting grass and trimming trees can help you cut calories and trim your waistline. In addition, it can be a great way for the whole family to get outside and get a workout in together.

Yes we know it’s not an electric lawnmower but seriously there are some very good manual lawnmowers about nowadays. If time or money is a consideration on keeping fit, mowing your lawn frequently with a push mower makes so much sense. You’ll save lots of money on gym memberships, keep your garden looking good and what’s more it’s by far the most green method of mowing your lawn.