Emissions Free Lawn Care

[arachadillo]

I performed an honest review of http://greennature.com/article112.html">Cordless String Trimmers: Black & Decker versus Ryobi

"The latest models of cordless string trimmers make emissions free lawn care a more practical and affordable choice for almost everyone.

A handful of models currently selling in the one hundred dollar range offer different combinations of trimming power and assorted extras such as automatic line feed.

This article reviews two popular models, the Black & Decker 18-Volt Cordless Grass Hog Trimmer and the Ryobi 18 Volt String Trimmer."

Don't know how many DUers use them. The big difference between the brands is battery type, B&D uses mostly Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) batteries and the Ryobi uses a Lithium Ion (Li-ion) battery.

Even at 18V, both offer sufficient power for small week wacking chores. When the next generation of 24V and 36V hit the market, they will be even better weed wackers.

In long term thinking, these types of products would be great gifts for developing areas of the world provided that someone could invent solar chargers for them.

[Newest Reality]

1. Great news ...

but, I have a major problem with the concept of lawns and their care considering the value versus the cost and very resources and chemicals required for the neat look.

Granted, grass does prevent soil erosion, but it is not the only means to do so. The neat, well-manicured American lawn is now becoming a travesty when it comes to the amount of energy invested in contrast to the results.

In the near future, the value of a lawn with be that of a luxury versus practicality. Only cheap oil and abundant energy could make gigantic lawns and golf courses feasible and meaningful when ou consider the result. It will become a sing of both opulence and waste just down the road.

[shraby]

2. I agree..we have a huge back yard which we have tilled up

a good portion of and made ourselves a garden and another much larger one for 4 families to split and grow crops in. Much better use of the space.

[Newest Reality]

3. Congratulations!

You are on the right track and pioneering to boot.

Enjoy your delicious, fresh veggies. Nothing like them! I know from experience.

Thanks for sharing that.

[shraby]

5. Not exactly pioneering, I've had my own garden for

years and canned out of it, but last year we put in the larger space for the other families and did the same this year.
We also do something which I got flak from a couple of du'ers last year. I throw all my veggie waste into a large compost as well as raked leaves, grass clippings, etc. and leftover food, we put way out back on the ground for seagulls and crows. We've found they will eat anything except for leftover bean soup..any ham in it is gone, but they won't eat the beans..don't throw that out to them anymore. I don't always have leftovers for them, but they will come and sit on the tops of the telephone poles and yell at me if there's nothing there for them. The gulls must check every day because I don't get back in the house before 2-3 are on the ground gobbling like there will be no tomorrow.
We feed all the smaller birds also with a tray of peanuts on the back porch that gets the cardinals, jays, grackles, chickadees, and a couple of other kinds, and 3 feeders hung on side of the shed for small birds, and also throw birdseed all over the ground in that area for the doves and larger birds.
The rain trough on the other side of the shed is kept full of water (doesn't drain properly anyway) and we've had as many as 7 birds taking baths or getting a drink all at one time.

[Newest Reality]

6. You have some nature going!

Good for you.

One thing I must note is that I have had eggs. There are the store bought, mass-produced kind and then, there are the ones that a neighbor shares with you or that you harvest from your own brood.

There is a huge difference. Not even those lauded "brown" colored eggs at the store can compete with the color and flavor of fresh-picked cackle fruit from nearby chickens.

The flavor is so rich that salt and pepper are unnecessary or, at least, optional. The shells are strong and hard and require an real effort in order to crack them for the frying pan. The color is amazingly bright. You can compare the yolk to the orange brightness of a sunrise.

There are some great surprises in store for those who rediscover a more natural way of living and eating, even at the start. The benefits can even outweigh, or at least mitigate, the unfamiliarity and initial inconvenience.

[shraby]

7. As a kid at home, we had a flock of chickens, some ducks,

rabbits and cows as did my grandparents. Never had store-bought eggs and milk. Only when we didn't have the cows anymore did I get milk from the store. Store eggs are anemic looking things aren't they? Mom always canned the chicken, venison in season and rabbits for winter use. She usually put up 500 quarts of various and sundries for the winter. I tend to can applesauce, strawberry jam and tomatoes...mostly because the newer pressure cookers are too small to use quart jars...the newer canners are almost too small also to be able to cover the jars with enough water.

[Newest Reality]

9. Canning!

Yes, another almost lost art. I have done it and it is a great thing to know how to do. It is not rocket science, but you need your basics and all is good. One must put up those stores for Winter and in a world where there is only a three day supply of food available the store when no shipments come in, that is good sense.

Thank you so much for your in-depth stories and support from experience. I appreciate them and hope that they will be an inspiration for those who may be incredulous about this old technologies and ways of life, but may find themselves depending on them and living them at some point to come.

[shraby]

10. Used to make my own bread for a while..we had a

forced air furnace then and I could mix up a huge pan full, cover it and set it by the register to raise, punch it down a couple of times and make loaves, cinnamon buns and fried bread..great stuff. Now I buy the frozen loaves to make the goodies.

[Newest Reality]

11. I know ...

though there is effort and time involved, the smell and taste of fresh-baked breads is a very sensuous and visceral experience that is almost unparalleled for those who are not yet insensate from modern culture.

That's why grocery stores usually place their bakeries and delis at the beginning of your shopping trip to invoke the senses and stimulate your hunger with what is naturally compelling. You might buy more along the way from there ;)

[shraby]

12. They also pipe the smells outside so it gets the taste buds

working before you even get into the store.

[Newest Reality]

13. LOL!

I can see you are on to it!

Social engineering at its finest, ey? I always wonder how many people are even aware of how the layout of their local supermarket leaves nothing to chance. Need milk? Well, yeah, but you have to cross the whole store to get it and ... well, what else might you need or want by impulse on your way there? Extra sales add-up, don't they?

And now, we can pay the SAME price for smaller packages and less weight. Nice tactic. Watch those peanut butter jars shrink and the boxes get a little smaller each time. Tool up for less! But look, same low prices! WOW!

It is both funny and insulting at the same time, depending on your mood and how you look at it.

[shraby]

14. I don't use conventional wisdom..it says don't go to the

store but once a week or so. I go often because many sales are limited to 1 or 2 of each. When coffee is on sale, I go every day until the sale is over..get lots of coffee for the cheaper price and it lasts until the next good sale on it. I do that with a lot of stuff, plus there are things put on sale for a day or two only that I manage to grab because I'm there. I particularly like the coffee sales cause my husband drinks a lot of it.

[Kolesar]

15. Our yard is sixty feet wide. We still have to mow it.

We get 36 inches of precipitation per year. I don't have time to do a grad student project to find the perfect rock garden/xeriscape/whatever to replace the grass on my foundation backfill. Besides, our yard NEEDS grass to remove water from near the foundation via transpiration so that it does not end up in the basement.

[OutNow]

4. Emissions Free Lawn Care

I made a decision last year to go emissions free for my lawn care. I bought a hand mower. No gas. No oil. No batteries. Plus, I can use the exercise.

And for the developing world - the places I've been already have a tool for weed wacking. It's called a machete. I'm hoping the poster just forgot to add the "just kidding" emoticon. ??

[PJPhreak]

8. I Want one of these...

[Kolesar]

16. Our Toro trimmer with a lead acid battery was truly inadequate

I hated that thing. I bought a plug in trimmer at Sears. Perfect