February 14, 2012 - Establishing a New Organic Lawn

When you move in to a new property you may find that you have inherited a garden that is little more than a builder’s site. Many new home builders are careless about the amount of topsoil they leave for new owners, and can take shortcuts by leaving building rubble not far beneath the surface of the lawn, which in turn leaves precious little goodness in the soil, or potential for root growth. If your lawn is not thriving, and you feel you may want to returf, there are some simple measures you can take to ensure that your newly laid lawn survives for years to come.

Organic Turf

Whilst most poorly maintained and patchy lawns can be repaired, if you have chosen to re-turf and want to take an organic route you may have to do some hunting around to find a supplier of organic turf. With more and more gardeners choosing to work organically however, you should not have to look too far afield. Whilst you may have financial drains, such as holiday home insurance and mortgage payments to worry about, don’t stint on the choice of turf supplier. Always buy your turf from a reputable and well-established grower, or you will be storing up problems for later. Cheap, low quality turf that is full of weeds will be harder to maintain organically in the future.
The most important element of any type of gardening is soil, and lawns are no different in this regard. Lawns are need lots of nutrients and micro-organism in the soil to thrive and grow a strong root system. Your job as an organic gardener is to make sure the soil on which your new turf is laid is full of food and organic matter for the lawn roots to grow into and feed from. Have a reputable supplier deliver your top soil and add protein fertiliser to it to give it an extra boost. Protein fertilisers are much more plant friendly than chemical fertilisers, which provide a big boost of nitrogen feed to plant, without providing the necessary extras to build a strong, healthy and long living organism. Chemical fertilisers are the ‘fast food’ of the natural world, providing an instant hit, but providing little long-term gain.

Microbes, in a well maintained and organically rich soil, will naturally aid your lawn with what it needs, without the need for a chemical nitrogen boost. The combine nitrogen with carbon, which in turn prevents the leeching of nutrients away from plants. Microbes can defend against attack from disease and pests, help develop the soil structure and help balance the pH level in the soil. A good organic gardener simply understands the importance of animal life and micro-organism to plant health, and nurtures them. Organic fertilisers feed the microbes in the soil, which boosts their action.

Turfing Preparation

The quickest and easiest way to prepare for laying an organic lawn is to combine pre-prepared compost into the topsoil on which you propose to turf. You can buy bags of organic compost from a garden centre, or have it delivered in bulk. Plan to combine a 50/50 mix of compost to topsoil in the first 4-5 inches of the area to be turfed. This provides a perfect start for your lawn. You will then need to follow standard turf-laying procedures of compacting the soil by walking on it, and levelling out any bumps and hollows. Wait for a few day and see if any major weeds spring up and dig them out immediately, rather than waiting for them to benefit from the nice rich environment you have provided for them!

Ongoing Organic Lawn Maintenance

Once you have your lawn established don’t neglect to fertilise it in the main growing periods. Organic lawn fertilisers are widely available, or you can use a lawn care company to help keep you on track with year round care. The advantage of organic fertiliser is that you cannot overfeed the lawn easily, nor do you have to wait for specific weather conditions before applying it. You should see the benefit of the fertiliser in roughly 2-3 weeks. Not instant greening, such as with a chemical compound, but a far more natural and long lasting benefit. It takes this long for the soil microbes to consume the protein that is contained in organic fertilisers, and convert it into nitrogen. You are working with nature, not trying to force its hand.

Don’t neglect other lawn maintenance processes if you want to help your microbes thrive. Water, and air are two other essentials, and some aeration will do wonders for root growth. You can use a fork and do this in smaller areas, or you may wish to hire a machine to help you with the task over larger areas. If your soil becomes compacted – perhaps by children playing football or running around – this task is particularly important. Soil needs light, air, water and food. Regard your soil as a living thing, alive with life-giving microbes, which you need to nurture. You will soon find that organic lawn maintenance is just as simple as non-organic methods and far more cost-effective.

June 26, 2011 - Recycle your rain water

Install a Rain Barrel and Recycle Your Water

If you’ve wondered if there was a simple way for you to contribute to using water responsibly, then you should consider installing a rain barrel. All of the water that runs off your roof and down through your down spouts, is essentially wasted water. Unless of course you have your downspout drain into one of these elegant water barrels like the one featured above. It is an urn-style rain barrel with planter, and includes a drain hose with shut-off valve, and even gives you a small area at the top to plant some flowers. You can use this water to water your gardens or even wash your car. It makes for a great addition to your garden and we can install one for you on your next service.

June 15, 2011 - What’s the correct mowing height?

We always get asked, “how long should I wait before cutting my lawn?” According to the Cornell University Cooperative Extension, cutting the lawn with a lawnmower set at a proper mowing height can save you from having to bag your grass clippings, even if you don’t own a mulching mower. The rule of thumb suggested by the Cornell Extension is, “Mow when your grass is dry and 3 to 3-1/2 inches tall. Never cut it shorter then 2 to 2-1/2 inches or remove more than one third of the leaf surface at any one mowing.”

The idea behind this mowing tip is that the valuable nutrients in the grass clippings can do your lawn some good, left right where they lie after cutting — as long as their bulk is kept at a minimum. By following this rule of thumb and cutting only about an inch off the top of your lawn at any one time, the bulk of the grass clippings is kept low and your lawn will love you for it.

October 25, 2010 - Electric riding mower ahead of its time

Here’s a product that was slightly ahead of its time–The Electric Ox electric riding tractor. Manufactured right here in Burlington Ontario, it was a truly multi-purpose vehicle built before the green movement became so dominant. The Electric Ox – MP was capable of pushing, mowing, towing, grading a path and throwing snow, even a Mennonite would be proud. It had incredible amounts of torque, capable of pulling 7,000lbs! The patented Quick-Attach system meant you could change attachments not machines to do the next chore. In less than ONE MINUTE, you were off to the next task. Another very cool option was the ability to add an AC Inverter that supplied 3 AC power outlets for cord-bound electric tools that could be used in the remotest areas. Very cool!
The Electric Ox – MP’s unique drive system was the key to its power and long battery life. Using a motor for each drive wheel and an electronic differential, the operator received smooth torque on demand with little energy loss. This allowed the Electric Ox to work all day long without a charge in most towing applications and run up to five continuous hours when mowing.
Unfortunately the company went prematurely bankrupt last year, right before the push for commercial grade electric equipment had become so important to the lawn care industry. There is good news however, we spoke to the former president of the company in the summer, and it looks as though they will be back in 2011 with new funding and an all new Electric Ox! The company will be moving manufacturing to the US, which is a little disappointing, but they will be using Canadian engineering none the less. We had a chance to share some of the challenges that we faced this past summer using consumer grade equipment, and expressed our hopes for their next electric riding mower. If we had our druthers we would like the next Electric Ox to have the following features:

• We definitely need a system with swappable batteries. That way, we can charge a second or third set of batteries and simply change them over without having to wait for them to recharge.
• We want a mower with a 60″ cutting path and suggest a reel mower setup as opposed to a rotary blade. We believe this would extend the life of the batteries.
• We also want a snow thrower attachment so that we can extend our zero emissions service to our snow removal customers.

We look forward to seeing what the industry develops over the winter months. Having commercial grade electric and/or battery powered equipment is a must. Let’s hope the industry is listening.

October 4, 2010 - Using The GrassCutters saves the environment…

Throw away your stinky, noisy, fuel sucking lawn mowers.

The GrassCutters zero emissions lawn care service are proud to announce that we saved 4500lbs of greenhouse gases (CO2) from entering the atmosphere this summer. Using the energy produced by our portable solar generator, we were able to charge all of our electric equipment without the need for a single ounce of fossil fuel. Pretty impressive!

Using the Environmental Protection Agency’s Non-Road Emissions Model, a gas mower used for 25 hours will emit the following each year:

• 87 pounds of CO 2 — the greenhouse gas Carbon Dioxide
• 48 pounds of CO — the poison Carbon Monoxide
• 5.6 pounds of VOC — Volatile Organic Compounds
• 0.25 pounds of NO x — Nitrogen Oxides
• 0.02 pounds of SO 2 — Sulfur Dioxide
• 0.02 pounds of PM — particulate matter linked to heart disease and lung cancer

Something to think about the next time you start the mower and cut your lawn.

September 13, 2010 - Book your fall Clean up now!

The GrassCutters are now booking for fall clean ups. Don’t break your back this fall raking leaves, let us look after this for you. Have your leaves raked and bagged for as little as $7 per bag. Book now for late October and November time slots. Space is limited, don’t miss out.

August 10, 2010 - Another lawn repair in East York

The GrassCutters team answers another call for greener lawns. Here we are repairing a small backyard in East York. Smoothing out the lawn with the roller, then adding a fresh layer of triple mix soil and then rolling out fresh new sod. Then soaking it thoroughly with water for 14 days. It will be a green patch of heaven when it’s done.

August 3, 2010 - Greener lawn repair

Our service continues to become greener as our services expand. We found this elegant electric tiller at the Home Depot that plugs into our portable solar power generator which produces clean renewable energy to tear up this customers dried, cinch bug infested lawn. Brian is shown here at the beginning of this 900 sq.ft. lawn repair. Once he’s finished tearing up the old grass, we will dispose of the old lawn, put down a layer of fresh triple mix soil, then lay fresh sod and soak it right through with water. Of course, it is important for the customer to continue watering for 14 days in order for the new sod to take.

June 29, 2010 - Dead grass? Try our lawn repair service.

Lawn repair for as little as $1.55 per/sqft.

The GrassCutters provide a fast, friendly lawn repair (sodding service) for as little as $1.55 per/sqft. We clear your existing dead grass, add and level a fresh layer of triple mix soil, then we lay down brand new sod. If you have a damaged lawn from insect infestation, water damage, or poor soil conditions, this is the best way to correct the problem.

Once the sod is installed, the most important part begins – the watering.

It is absolutely crucial to keep the lawn constantly moist for the first 14 days. That means watering it at least 2 times a day, and if possible – even more! The extensive watering schedule must be maintained during the first weeks after Sodding is done, until the roots take deeper into the ground, and are able to draw moisture deeper below the surface. Get the lawn you deserve now!

June 18, 2010 - Live Green Toronto Festival

The GrassCutters are proud to be an exhibitor at the Live Green Toronto Festival happening August 28 & 29, 2010 at Yonge-Dundas Square. Last year’s event had about 40,000 people in attendance. It’s a great opportunity for local businesses to promote green living and feature their green products and services. Please join us on Yonge Street Saturday August 28, from 11 am to 8 pm. We’ll be demonstrating our portable solar generator and giving away free organic lemonade and some tasty organic ShaSha cookies. We’ll also be drawing 3 FREE residential grass cutting service packages for the 2011 season. So, get your keister down there to say hello.