He3x said:
Please, please, please...
Can anybody recommend good websites or books about basic gardening? We just moved into our home and finding ourselves clueless
We don't know how to pick-up the dead leaves (by hand???), what kind of grass we have (they already turned yellow on some parts), how often to mow, what kind of lawn mower needed (is it really needed? how about rotary type? can trimmer replace mower for only 100-120 sq ft grass?), etc... Oh my... :34:
We're on a tight budget, so any advice that save cost will help. Thanks...
Well I dont know much about gardening, but I do know some about lawn care since my wife and I bought a house about 1 1/2 years ago.
Go to Walmart and get a metal rake, I don't know the correct term, but it's the one w/ the long flexable fingers. This is the best for raking em.
I only know of three types of grass, the type w/ the long wide blades of grass is
Saint Augustine. Another type is
Bermuda , this type has thin blades and isn't real soft when you walk on it w/ your bare feet. The 3rd type is weeds, LOL... Our yard has Saint Augustine and weeds.
As for a mower it depends on your budget and what features you want. I personal have a 7HP self propelled
snapper mower. It will bag, mulch, or blow the grass out the side. Most of the time I just mulch the grass. This is the best way since it puts the clipping back into the yard to decompost and you don't have to mess w/ bags of grass that add to landfill waste. Snapper are expensive though, I paid around $500 for mine, but they will last forever. My dad has a snapper that's at least 20 years old and still going strong. If that's out of your budget then I would look at your local home centers and compare the prices and features of the mowers. Find one that's in your budget that includes the features you want. As for actully mowing the grass, in the summer I mow around once every two weeks or so. If both of your neighbors have mowed and your yard is looking tall, well it's time to mow LOL.
You will also need a weed wacker. Gata trim around the tree's, house, fence, and along the street. I normaly wouldn't recommend power anything from Walmart, but they carry the Weed Eater line of trimmers. You can pickup a basic trimmer for about $100 and it does the job. I use mine to trim around the house, the trees, the fence, and a I also use it to edge the side walks. Just turn it up on it's side and go to town. It's cheaper than buying a dedicated edger and hey it works.
Now that you have made a nice mess you are gonna have to clean it up. Invest in a good broom or if you want to go the power route a blower to clean up the grass. Along the side walks if there isn't to much grass you can use the mower as a sorta blower.
As for watering I'm not real sure. I havn't had to water my grass yet since we have moved in, but I live in S. Texas and we get a fair amount of rain. Depending on your area you may have to water every week or once a month or never
.
Hope this helps.
Kage_
