TestDIYOrganic

I just noticed that the Reconditioned version of the Black & Decker Edger LE750 (LE750R) Edge Hog Landscape Edger is on sale at a big discount and wanted to share that information.



This is my first season with the Edge Hog Electric Lawn Edger and I have been very happy with it. I purchased mine reconditioned as well. You can read my Black & Decker LE750 Edge Hog Review which I posted back in July.



It is currently on sale for $59.99. The item new sells for $109.99 and the normal refurbished price is $89.99. Shipping charges are very low.



Click on the following link or picture for more details. Hurry, this offer seems to be on current stock so get it while you can! You will love it if you're used to just using a string trimmer for edging. Especially if you're using a cordless string trimmer.



I use the Black and Decker Edge Hog as well as a Cordless Black and Decker String trimmer and I couldn't recommend the combination more. I was considering the Worx GT Trimmer/Edger but having a steel blade cutting edges goes so much faster and makes a cleaner edge.

Black & Decker BDKRLE750R Factory-Reconditioned EDGEHOG 2-in-1 Landscape Edger	Black & Decker BDKNCST1100 12V Cordless 9-in Trimmer Edger

 



For comparison, you may check out the prices on Amazon below (CPO also sells through Amazon).

For a long time, there was no manufacturer selling an organic starter fertilizer product and to be honest, not many people cared. The only benefit of having something marketted as an organic starter fertilizer is to help those that are transitioning from synthetic fertilizers that are accustomed to grabbing something with that label when it's time to seed. In this post I'll discuss the one new product that's labelled as an organic starter fertilizer and the role of starter fertilizers in organic lawn care.

What is a Starter Fertilizer

In the synthetic fertilizer world, anything labeled starter fertilizer has one unique characteristic. It contains a higher proportion of phosphorous than the other fertilizers. Phosphorous is the middle number in the NPK guaranteed analysis on the bag of fertilizer. A starter fertilizer might have a guaranteed analysis of 11-23-10 where another fertilizer from the same like would have an analysis of 26-1-12.

Why is Phosphorous Important When Seeding Lawns?

Phosphorous is an important nutrient for your lawn. Phosphorous is important for plant cell division and aids in root development. When soil is low in phosphorous the grass will not grow roots as deep as it would if there phosphorous levels were adequate.



Getting your new seedlings to grow and establish strong roots is exactly what you want which is why there is such an emphasis on starter fertilizers high in phosphorous.



An individual grass seed actually contains all the nutrients it needs to get started. Other than water, it doesn't need anything to go from seed to plant. The nutrients stored in the seed get depleted quickly and by the time the roots are forming it will need to get nurtrients, including phosphorous from the soil. If it doesn't find enough it will slow or halt it's development.

Why Are There No Organic Starter Fertilizers?

So if starter fertilizers seem to be so important in the synthetic fertilizer world, why has there been little development in the organic lawn care industry or demand from consumers until recently?



It's pretty simple actually. Organic lawn care isn't just about buying something that's not synthetic. It's also about maintaining a healthy soil. Once you have a healthy soil, you'll have a healthy lawn and adding phosphorous may not be necessary.



Phosphorous isn't used up as quickly as something like nitrogen. It also binds to the soil and doesn't leach out as much as nitrogen does so a little phosphorous can go a long way. Excess phosphorous serves no purpose, unlike excess nitrogen that will darken the grass and cause it to grow faster.



If your soil already contains an adequate amount of phosphorous, there is absolutely no reason to add any. The best way to find out what nutrients your soil needs is to send a soil sample to your local university cooperative extension office for analysis. Many people will find that they have adequate or even excess phosphorous levels in their soil. Unless your soil test indicates that you need to add phosphorous then adding it may not do anything.



Many organic lawn fertilizers are also already high in phosphorous compared to synthetic fertilizers. For example, Ringer Lawn Restore, which is a popular organic lawn fertilizer, has a guaranteed analysis of 10-2-6. Compared to the synthetic fertilizer mentioned above, that's more than 5x the amount of phosphorous by weight in relation to nitrogen. If you've been following an organic lawn fertilizer program chances are you don't have a phosphorous deficient soil.



There are also some environmental concerns regarding phosphorous, especially if you live near any body of water. Your local municipality may have also banned or restricted the use of phosphorous containing fertilizers. From what I've read, phosphorous doesn't seem to be so bad if used properly. Once it's applied and watered in it doesn't leach out much unless there is a large excess in the soil.

Organic Phosphorous Soil Ammendments

Not every soil is perfect and many people do need to add phosphorous to their soil after consulting their soil test results. There are very few organic soil amendments that are high in phosphorous. The most readily available high phosphorous organic soil ammendment is bone meal. It's one of the more expensive soil amendments but as stated previously, it's not necessary to apply as often. Espoma Bone Meal (pictured right has a guaranteed analysis of 4-12-0 which means it's 4% nitrogen by weight, 12% phosphorous and contains no potassium. If your soil test indicates you need to add 1 lb of phosphourous per 1,000 sq ft to your lawn, you would need to apply about 9lbs of Espoma Bone Meal per 1,000 sq ft to reach the achieve the appropriate level of phosphorous.

Finally An Organic Starter Fertilizer

I recently noticed that the Espoma Company has 2 organic starter fertilizers, Pro Granular Bio-Tone Starter and Pro Granular Bio-Tone Starter Plus. They are essentially the same except the Plus version contains endo and ecto mycorrhizae fungi, which I'll discuss further down.



The NPK of Bio-Tone Starter is 4-3-3. While not as high a concentration of phosphorous, it has a higher percentage of phosphorous than most other organic lawn foods. The full guaranteed analysis lists:



0.6% Water Soluble Nitrogen (N)

3.4% Water Insoluble Nitrogen

3.0% Available phosphate (P2O5)

3.0% Soluble Potash (K2O)

4.0% Calcium (Ca)

1.0% Total Magnesium (Mg)

0.6% Water soluble Magnesium (Mg)

2.0% Sulfer



These nutrients are derived from feather meal, dehydrated manure, bone meal, alfalfa meal, greensand, humates, crab meal, cocoa meal, and sulfate of potash magnesia.



In addition, they contain the following 15 strains of bacteria which are beneficial to your soil and plants:

Bacillus subtilis

fights fungus and is the main component of Seranade Garden Disease Control, an organic garden disease spray. According to Serenade it controls bacterial spot, powdery mildew, rust, gray mold, leaf blight, scab and more.

Paenibacillus polymyxa

is a bacteria that colonizes in the root zone and promotes plant growth and helps fix nitrogen.

Bacillus licheniformis

Another fungus fighting bacteria and helps cycle nutrients in the soil.

Pseudomonas alcaligenes

A bacteria used in bioremediation because it can degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon which is found in fossil fuels.

Bacillus megaterium

Used in bioremediation of soil.

Pseudomonas chlororaphis

An anti fungal bacteria.

Bacillus marinus

I believe it helps break down organic matter into nutrients plants can use.

Pseudomonas putida

Used to degrade organic matter and in bioremediation.

Bacillus coagulans

Secretes acids which helps make phosphorous soluble and more readily availible to plants.

Acidovorax facilis

I think helps fix nitrogen.

Bacillus thuringiensis

A bacterial pesticide.

Arthrobacter agilis

This one's neat it can biodegrade a number of common herbicides such as glyphosate (RoundUP) and 2,4-D. (source)

Bacillus pumilis

Helps decompose organic matter.

Rhodococcus rhodochorus

I think is used in bioremediation.

Bacillus lentimorbus

Similar to Bacillus popilliae which is used in Milky Spore Disease type products which help control grubs.

I'm not a microbiologist but I have been looking into some of these bacteria that are found in some of the Organica products I use regularly



Bio-Tone Starter Plus also contains endo and ecto mycorrhizae. These are fungi which attach to the roots of plants which helps increase the root mass. They help the plant get water and nutrients from the soil.



Even though I decided to get Bio-Tone Starter Plus instead of the regular Bio-Tone Starter fertilizer, I'm not completely sold on the benefits of mycorrizae especially in the context of this organic starter fertilizer.



From what I read, when the plant needs the help of mycorrizae it secretes carbohydrates from its roots. These carbohydrates attract and feed the mycorrizae. If the plant is growing in a soil that already has adequate phosphorous levels, it will grow large, deep roots on its own and not need the help of the mycorrizae. Since the starter fertilizer is already high in phosphorous.



These microorganisms should already be in your soil and some people feel adding them is a waste of money. I think that they are beneficial, especially when it comes to soil that has been previously treated with synthetic fertilizers. I have personally seen good results with microbial containing products such as Organica Plant Growth Activator Plus which I now apply regularly to help prevent lawn disease.



Bio-Tone Starter Fertilizer seems like a good product to use when you're laying down new sod or seed. It can also be used for transplants and other areas of your garden. This is an interesting account of Jesse Eldrid that used Bio-Tone Starter to help boost his Amaranth plant's growth so he can acheive the world record height.



The smell isn't too bad, it smells a lot like ORGANICA BIO-MATRIX which is my favorite organic liquid fertilizer. The smell goes away in a couple of days.



There are no spreader settings on the bag or on Espoma's website. I just did what I usually do. I know the approximate square footage of each area of my lawn so I just determine how many lbs I need to apply to each area, set my spreader to a medium setting and make multiple passes until it's done. After the first pass I see how much is left in the hopper and adjust the spreader up or down accordingly. With organic fertilizers you don't have to worry about burning the lawn. Making multiple passes also helps insure even coverage. I start going north to south, then east to west. The bag has a couple of holes that act as a handle which I found convenient. Other big bags of Espoma products have the same built in handle. After spreading the fertilizer it's important to water it in.



The best time to apply Bio-Tone Starter Fertilizer is 2 weeks prior to seeding or sodding because organic fertilizers need to be broken down by the soil microorganisms before their nutrients are readily available to plants.



Before deciding to use Espoma Bio-Tone Starter I would recommend you do a soil test and see if you need that much phosphorous. If you don't, but you still need to add nitrogen and would like to add the bacteria found in Bio-Tone Starter you can use Espoma 30LB 7-2-2 Lawn Food which contains less phosphorous and all the microbials in Bio-Tone Starter, except for the mycorrizae in Bio-Tone Start Plus.

This is the tough part. I've completed my fall lawn overseeding project and have been watering it regularly. Now it's a waiting game to see if I did enough things right to have a great looking lawn.



It is agonizing. When I used to wake up in the morning and look outside my bedroom window I would smile because I had the nicest lawn I could see from that vantage but now it's the worst. Dethatching, pulling weeds and mowing the lawn very low in preperation for overseeding has really left the lawn looking terrible. My lawn has never looked as good as it did this past seson and now there's this sinking feeling that I might have been better off leaving things the way they were.



I have a couple of things going against me. I started later than I wanted. Because of other circumstances I overseeded a few weeks later than I would have liked. The primary areas were overseeded with Jonathan Green Sod Maker Kentucky Blue Grass Seed Mix which takes about 6 weeks to germinate. The weather has been quite unusual this year and I was expecting the warmer days to continue for a while, unfortunately that's not the case. These past few days, and for the next few, the temperature is going to be quite low.



Luckily it's going to warm up again for a bit and hopefully stay that way until the seeds have germinated. Soil temperature also tends to be warmer than air temperature so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.



I was also planning on topdressing with compost but time and cost became a factor. It really sucks when you don't need enough to have it trucked in and buying that many bags of compost is expensive and would require multiple trips or renting a truck.



I shouldn't expect to see results so soon but until I start to see small new shoots of grass sprouting up I'm going to be anxious. In a short while I should start seeing little green hairs popping up in the shady areas where I used a shade mix that germinates faster and then a while after that start seeing the same in the areas that were overseeded with KBG. Worse case, a good portion of the seeds survive the winter and start to germinate in the spring if they don't germinate now. I didn't completely kill the existing lawn and it will start to recover from the very low mowing soon too.



Maintaining a healthy lawn is very difficult these days where we point, click and expect to see instant results. I had similar fears last spring when I aerated and overseeded and things turned out fine. That should be the case again but waiting for grass to grow is frustrating.

One of the nice things about using organic lawn fertilizers is that their safe and natural. Many of the ingredients are used in animal feed. If you're storing your organic fertilizer in your garage or shed you might be concerned about your pets or the local wildlife (mice, rats, squirels, racoons, skunks, deer, bears) sniffing it out and breaking through the bag. It is also important to keep the organic fertilizer dry so that it doesn't spoil.



The best and most affordable items I've found for storing dry organic fertilizers are the Iris Pet Food Containers. It makes sense since these fertilizers are essentially pet food. The Iris pet food storage containers are durable and airtight. They'll keep the fertilizer fresh and prevent any animals from smelling the "food" and getting in to it. Use the link above to order from Amazon which has the best prices I've seen and free shipping on most of the sizes you would need. It also looks like Iris products are made in the USA.





They also makes storing the products easier and neater. You can stack them and unstack them quickly. You should label the containers so next application you know what's inside or you can just throw the whole bag inside the container which will make it obvious what the contents are.



If you're like me and you buy fertilizer for the entire season all at once, or sometimes have products that will last more than one season and need to be stored you will appreciate having the Iris pet food containers. The only difficult decision is which size you'll need. Organic fertilizer and ammendments are sold in lbs and these containers are sized in quarts.



What I have discovered that 1 lb of organic fertilizer is roughly 3 cups. It's not exact but it's close enough for most organic soil ammendments that with a little room for error should help us make the right size decision. The container doesn't need to be filled to the top to keep the fertilizer from spoiling.



For your convenience, below is a table listing Iris pet food containers and the amoung of organic fertilzer or soil ammendments they should be able to hold.

Container	Size (qts)	Holds (lbs)	Comments
	8 qts	9 lbs	Good for storing one or two bags of the Espoma Organic Tones small bags
	12 qts	14 lbs	Good for storing left over fertilizer or amendments from larger bags or 3-4 of the Espoma Organic Tones small bags
	15 qts	17 lbs	Good for left over fertilizer for large bags or mixing multiple small 4-5 lb bags.
	21 qts	25 lbs	Good size for holding common 25 lb bags of organic fertilizer or ammendments. Not quite easy to just throw an entire unoppened bag in it but you can empty out the bag in this container.
	28 qts	32 lbs	Has wheels to make it easy to move around. You can throw an entire 25 lb bag in this, bag and all or half of a 50 or 60lb bag.
	30 qts	35 lbs	Also good for storing whole 25lb bags or 30 lb bags as well as left over fertilizer from larger bags.
	46 qts	51 lbs	Good for storing 2 25 lb bags or one 50lb bag emptied.
	55 qts	62 lbs	Good for storing large 50-60lb bags of organic fertilizer or amendments or 2 25lb bags.
	60 qts	68 lbs	Good for storing large 50-60lb bags of organic fertilizer or amendments or 2 25lb bags.
	67 qts	76 lbs	This is the largest size they have, good for storing large bags of fertilizer or a couple of smaller bags.

They have different lid colors and you can choose to get them all to match or use the different colors to help identifiy different organic ammendments. There is a price difference between colors so I just went with the cheapest ones.




Iris also makes a 2 cup scoop to help empty the containers into your spreader. It also has free shipping from amazon so if you order a container add the scoop for 2 bucks more, it will be well worth it.




If you want to be super neat and organized, Brother makes and affordable label maker that will help you identify what you have in each container.



Hope you found this information useful and that it makes it easier for you to use organic products on your lawn. One of the difficulties in using organic fertilizers and ammendments is you can't always find what you want locally. So you either order it online or have to drive quite a ways. To save money on gas and shipping I tend to buy more than I need. I also don't have a huge lawn so in some cases one 50lb bag might be good for 3 or more applications and I need to be able to safely store what was left over.

Over the past few years I've been overseeding my lawn with better quality grass seed to improve the appearance and disease resistance of my lawn. Along with proper mowing, watering and a good organic lawn fertilizer program I have seen big improvements in my home lawn. I just completed overseeding my lawn for the fall and hopefully it will be the last time I need to do so for a while.



I got off to a late start but the soil temperature is still above 65 degrees which is very important. Normally I would have liked to start around early to middle September.




I've found a couple of seeds that I'm very happy with and decided to stick with, both are from Jonathan Green & Sons, Inc. They also contain no weed seeds or at least less than similar mixes from Scotts and have good germination rates in my lawn. I have one small area that receives very little direct sunlight which I have been using Jonathan Green's Dense Shade mix with good results. It contains the following varieties of seeds

• 39.25% Eugene Creeping Red Fescue


• 14.75% Hood Chewings Fescue


• 14.75% Carmen Chewings Fescue


• 9.83% Frontier Perennial Ryegrass


• 9.82% Darkstar Perennial Ryegrass


• 9.82% Blue Sapphire Kentucky Bluegrass


• 1.71% Inert Matter


• 0.04% Other Crop Seed


• 0.03% Weed Seed

For the sunny areas I used Jonathan Green's Sod Maker Kentucky Bluegrass mixture. This is their highest quality bluegrass mix and from searching around it appears that a number of sod farmers use it. It was a toss up between Sod Maker and Galaxy Kentucky Bluegrass Blend 10lb Sack but since I got a late start this fall I decided to go with Sod Maker because I've used it in the past with good results and it was available at my local garden center. Pound for pound the Galaxy blend is a little cheaper. The Sod Maker label lists the following grass seed cultivars:

• 39.40% Deepblue Kentucky Bluegrass


• 29.55% Blue Sapphire Kentucky Bluegrass


• 19.70% Blue-Tastic Kentucky Bluegrass


• 9.83% Midnight Kentucky Bluegrass


• 1.52% Inert Matter


• 0.00% Other Crop Seed


• 0.00% Weed Seed

Preperation

Before spreading the seed there was a bit of work to get the lawn ready. After edging with my Black and Decker Edge Hog I dropped the deck of my mower down to the second lowest setting possible and mowed the lawn collecting the grass clippings. This was a drastic reduction in height. The reason was to give the new grass plenty of light once they start to germinate. Cutting the grass so much would also stunt the existing grass' growth which would give the slow growing Kentucky bluegrass seed some time to establish without having to compete with the existing grass as much.



After mowing the lawn I used my thatch rake. I didn't have a lot of thatch build up but it is important to have good seed to soil contact and dethatching helps in that matter. There were also some areas where I had to use the thatch rake to remove ground ivy and clover. The thatch rake took care of it quickly and easily. The thatch rake is adjustable and I tilted the head back to make deeper cuts in the soil. Not only was I dethatching and removing ground ivy and dutch white clover but I was loosening and cultivating the soil which would help the seeds germinate.



The thatch rake also makes it easier to spot some weeds such as crabgrass that you might other wise miss. As I went along with the thatch rake, I kept my Weed Hound handy to pull out any weeds I found. Sometimes I could just pull them out by hand since the thatch rake had loosened the soil so much. I also pulled out some of the tall fescue that has grown in one portion of the lawn but I don't think I got it all.

Seeding and Spreader Settings

I use a Scott's Accugreen Drop Spreader. Jonathan Green has appropriate spreader settings for Scotts Rotary and Drop Spreaders on their website. They have rates for overseeding and for seeding a new lawn. Since I exposed a lot of bare area with the thatch rake and low mowing I decided to use the new lawn setting, in fact I went even heavier with the grass seed. Birds will wind up eating some and some won't germinate so I didn't mind adding a little extra seed just in case.



I set my spreder to a little more than half the new seeding rate for the seed I was using then made two passes over the lawn, one north to south, the other east to west. After that I went over some of the bare spots a few more times. This ensured I got even coverage at a rate slightly higher than the normal seeding rate.

After Seeding

Once the seed was down I used the back of a regular leaf rake to help work the seeds into the soil. Then it was time for a good watering to soak the seeds and soil. After which I mixed up a batch of Organica Plant Growth Activator Plus
in my Orth Dial-N-Spray hose end sprayer and applied it to the newly seeded lawn. Organica's Plant Growth Activator contains a number of beneficial microbes as well as other ingredients that I found seem to help when seeding. It's something I apply every month throughout my garden on everything.




It's a good idea to apply a fertilizer at the same time and lime if you need to adjust your soil's pH. My soil pH is finally in a good range but I just ordered some Espoma Bio-Tone Start Plus to apply to the lawn. In addition to being a 4-3-3 organic fertilizer it contains many important microorganisms including mycorrhizae which are fungi that colonize on plant roots which help them absorb water and nutrients. It is applied at 25lbs per 1,000 sq ft of lawn.

Top Dressing

The next step would be to add a 1/4" layer of a good, screend compost over the lawn. That's about 1 cubic yard per 1,000 sq ft. This will help cover the seeds, keep them moist and provide nutrients. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be doing it this year because of time and cost considerations. I don't have a large enough property that I can get bulk compost delivered cheap and buying bags of compost would be expensive. I might change my mind if I can get some extra time and set aside the extra money.

Watering

Keeping the seeds moist is crucial. If the seeds dry out they won't germinate even if you water them the next day. Up until the seeds begin to germinate, the first 4 weeks or so, I will be watering for 10 minutes 3 times a day at 9:30 AM, 12:30 PM and 4:30 PM. After the first 4 weeks I'll cut back to 2 times a day at 9:30 AM and 3:30 PM and slowly work my way back down to a normal lawn watering schedule. This time of year in this area there should be quite a bit of rain and in between I'll be using my hose end sprinklers and timers.

Fertilizing

In addition to the starter fertilizer, I'll be applying an organic fertilizer once the lawn has established to provide it with food that it can store up over the winter so that come spring time, the lawn is thick and healthy.

I preffer to use manual lawn and garden tools whenever I can. Especially when it's a tool that doesn't get used frequently. Not worrying about oiling, gassing, tuning, the amount of space it takes up and how much it costs are some of the benefits.



One drawback however is that I'm fairly tall and a lot of tools seem to be designed for people shorter than me. While I actually enjoy the exersize I get, sometimes my back tires out before the rest of my body. That little bit of extra bending I might have to do can really slow me down.



Ames True Temper, who recently bought Hound Dog Products, have released a new version of the popular Weed Hound called the Weed Hound Elite. One of the big differences is the new Weed Hound Elite is now 3" taller. Those extra 3 inches make it more comfortable to use by reducing the amount I have to bend over when using the Weed Hound Elite.

Another new and noticable feature is the lack of a plunger on the top. To release the weed after pulling it with the new Weed Hound Elite, you use the slide handle on the shaft. This gives you a little better control of the Weed Hound if you're trying to eject the weed in a small pail or bag but I feel the old plunger was easier to use, especially if you really needed to apply a lot of force to eject the weed.



Other new features include a non skid rubber cover on the step plate and a foam rubber grip on the handle. Both of which make the new Weed Hound Elite easier and more comfortable to use.



The new Weed Hound Elite works in a similar way to the old Weed Hound. Just position the prongs centered over the weed, step down on the foot step to drive it into the soil, twist and pull.



The new Weed Hound Elite also features a twisting action in the prongs. This reduces the size of the divot when pulling weeds. This is great for weeds with a tap root such as dandelions but may leave some of the root behind for weeds that have a fiborous root system such as crabgrass and tall fescue.



For that reason you may want to stick with the older model Weed Hound if the extra height isn't as important to you, it's also $5 cheaper. In local stores you're likely to only find the newer Weed Hound Elite but you can still get the older Weed Hound from Amazon and it includes free super saver shipping.

If you read this in time, this edger is on Sale reconditioned. Click the following link for more info on the reconditioned Black & Decker LE750R Edge Hog Electric Landscape Edger.



I previously discussed the differences between string trimmers vs edgers and some of the various options I was considering in terms of lawn edgers. In the past I was able to borrow an edger a few times a year but now I needed to get my own edger.



I finally decided on the Black & Decker LE750 Edge Hog 2-1/4 HP Electric Landscape Edger because I didn't want to deal with gas and I have less than 200' of edging to do.




The Hound Dog Steppin' Edger #HDP6-4 was a close second. I have other Hound Dog products that I'm happy with and I like to use manual tools whenever I can. They're cordless, very quiet and using them burns a few calories. I ultimately decided on a powered lawn edger to speed things up.



Since my last post I also found the Factory-Reconditioned Homelite 12 Amp Lawn Edger ZR45100 which is the only other electric grass edger I have seen besides the Electric Mantis Tiller/Cultivator with Border Edger. I like factory reconditioned tools, sometimes I even prefer them because I know they've been individually tested, something about the reconditioned Homelite edger didn't sit well with me. After seeing info on the product I looked on the Homelite website and couldn't find info on the product. It appears to be discontinued. I couldn't find any place selling it new either.



Buying reconditioned for a popular product is one thing, a reconditioned tool that has been discontinued turns me off because I think they had so many problems they wound up dropping it and are now trying to make some money selling off what they have left.



The Black and Decker Edge Hog also looks like it has more adjustments for depth than the Homelite which will make it better for trenching. Homelite products in general don't seem to get good reviews either.



I really wanted the Electric Mantis Tiller with Edger but didn't want to spend that much and don't plan on using the tiller often enough to justify the cost. To be honest, I also think I'll be too lazy to pull out a larger too like that frequently.



So I went with the Black and Decker Electric Edger. To save some money I purchased a refurbished Black and Decker Edge Hog from CPO.com's Black and Decker refurbished store. I've been waiting to use it and share my experiences but with all the rain the soil has been too moist to edge. It's really been driving me crazy because it's hard not using a new toy and my lawn had an overgrown edge since it's been a while that I had access to an edger. In some places the lawn was growing a good 3-4" onto the concrete.

Don't Use An Edger On Wet Soil

I've finally used it 2 1/2 times so far. The first 1/2 time was when I first bought it. It had been raining constantly but when the first break in the weather came I rolled it out. While a gas powered edger might have been able to go through the overgrown edge and damp soil, the Edge Hog had problems. It was very slow going and pulling up the cut edge was difficult so I gave up. The moist clay soil also wound up clogging the blade which made it difficult to clean up.



Cleaning it was very easy because the blade cavity opens up. Just turn the red plastic knob on the side of the edger, towards the front, and the door opens to give you access to scrape out mud or replace the blade.



After 4 sunny days without rain I had a much easier time. The Edge Hog cut through the lawn and soil without any issues and the cut edge pulled up easily in nice long strips.  The LE750 even handled curved walkways without a a hitch.

LE750 First Use

Since the lawn hadn't been edged in a long time, some spots were difficult to edge. I found that going slow and using a short back and forth motion to slowly cut through the edge got the job done.



The edger has a decent amount of power but it's not a monster and you can't just force it through. You need to take it slow when it's bogging down so you don't burn out the electric motor or wear down the motor brushes. You'll hear it when the motor is working too hard and you should slow down. Remember, this edger is supposed to make things easier, don't try and force it through.

Curb Guard Protects Your Walkways

The Black and Decker Edge Hog has a retractable curb guard, a piece of metal that rides along the edge of the hard surface to make sure you're following the hardscape to get a clean edge while preventing the blade from hitting the concrete.



I still wound up seeing sparks (which indicates the blade was hitting the concrete) but this only happened when I was first inserting the blade or when I made it to a corner. It's important to try and keep the blade from hitting a hard surface. Hitting concrete will wear the blade down faster, hitting asphalt could tear up the driveway.



After using the Edge Hog a few times I was able to better judge how close I could get to the corner and I found that if I didn't try and force the edger through thick overgrowth that I was less likely to angle the edger in a way that would make it hit the walk.



The edge guard pulls up completely into the body of the edger. When you want to edge along a flower bed or use the edger to make a shallow trench to run low voltage cables or or drip irrigation you can use the edger with the curb guard in the up position to do so.

Along with the curb guard, the wheeled base makes the edger very easy to use. The LE750 isn't very heavy but having solid contact and smooth rolling over the ground helps keep the edges straight.



The Edge Hog left a clean edge except in the first bit I tried. That was mostly my fault because I missed the edge by an inch where there was so much overgrowth that I couldn't see where the concrete ended. After a couple of weeks the grass filled in and it looks fine now.



Blade depth is up to 1.5" deep and the adjustment is very easy to make without any tools. A cord holder prevents the plug from accidentally being pulled out and with a little care it's easy to make sure the cord isn't in the path of the edger.




This not quiet but it's not loud either. Definitely quieter than a gas powered edger. It is also very light and easy to handle.

LE750 Second Use

The next time I used it went a lot smoother. The electric lawn edger rode along quickly and there was no bending over to pull out the cut edge. It didn't bog down at all. It does blow out a bit of dirt and you should be careful not to have anyone stand in front of it in case it hits a pebble or some other hard object that might get kicked up. Safety glasses should be worn to guard against any flying debris.



After edging, mowing and trimming, a pass with the blower cleaned up all the grass clippings and dirt from the edge, leaving a nice, clean, deep line.



Now that the edge has been established, I plan to only use the edger once or twice a month, every 2-4 mowings, if that much. (Update, I use the edger about once a month and that works best for me.) In between I'll use my Black & Decker NST2018 18-Volt Cordless Electric 12-Inch Grass Hog String Trimmer to maintain the edge. The two make a very good combo in my opinion.



The string trimmer isn't very powerful but works well to touch up an edge. Being battery operated makes it less of a chore to use than a corded electric trimmer.



Overall I'm very happy with the Black and Decker Edge Hog. It works better than I thought it would and heavy duty replacement blades are affordable and only need to be changed every couple of years. It doesn't have the same performance as a gas powered edger but taking it slow when the edging is thick is a reasonable compromise for the amount of money saved.

Raised bed gardens don't exactly have much to do with lawn care but one thing that can help your lawn look better is to have it be part of a nice landscape plan.



This post isn't an instruction on how to build a particular type of raised garden bed. It is the information you need to know to be able to build any size or type of raised garden to suit your needs.

Why Build a Raised Bed Garden?

A raised garden looks nicer and makes your landscape look a little more organized and can take up less space, leaving more room to grow grass. If you don't mulch your beds weeds can grow and then spread into your lawn. Vegetable gardens in particular don't always get mulched and can become a great place for weeds to take root.



If you have a hard time growing certain plants or vegetables, a raised bed allows you to add any type of growing soil you'd like avoiding the hard work of trying to remove or improve the existing soil.



A good book on growing vegetables and other edibles in raised beds that is great for small backyards is the All New Square Foot Gardening.

Why Build When You Can Buy?

Most people use raised beds for their vegetable gardens. Besides being able to grow your own organic vegetables, one of the big benefits of vegetable gardening is saving money. Unfortunately, even simple raised beds are quite expensive, costing $150-$200 or more including shipping.



With a few simple tools and some lumber you can buy locally, you can make your own for a lot less. A raised bed is just a 4 sided box and very easy to construct. A little time, a drill, some screws and a saw is basically all you need. You can even do without the saw if your lumber yard will cut the pieces to the size you need. Helps it fit in the car too.




Maybe you don't want to build your own. You don't have the tools or the time I did manage to find an affordable raised garden bed. The Suncast RB448 Raised Garden Kit is only $50 and includes Free Shipping from Amazon. The bed is made of plastic and easy to assemble. It is 4' x 4' and 6" high. You can stack them to make a higher bed and even arrange multiple kits into different shapes. You can still make your own cheaper out of wood but the Suncast Raised Garden Kit is made out of steel corners and plastic sides which will not rot or be attacked by insects. If you want to reduce the size you can cut down the side pieces.

What To Build Your Raised Beds With?

You can use many different things to build your raised beds, bricks, pavers, concrete blocks, poured concrete, plastic or wood.



Bricks, pavers, concrete blocks and poured concrete are more expensive and labor intensive. If you have access to free material it may be worth it but I'm focusing this post on dimensional lumber since it's what most people will choose to use.



When it comes to lumber, there are a few options. You can use regular construction lumber (spruce, douglas fir, pine), cedar, composite or plastic lumber. Do not use pressure treated lumber. The old chemicals they used to use in pressure treated lumber help it resist rot and insects so that it would last longer outdoors but the substances could leach out into the soil. The new pressure treated lumber is safer but there are still concerns. You also don't want to use PVC boards as the chemicals in that may leach out over time.

Spruce, douglas fir, pine are not resistant to rot and insects but are the most affordable option. They may only last 2 years or so before they start to decay. Treating them with a safe, non-toxic sealer such as boiled linseed oil will help them last a little longer.



Cedar is the best natural wood choice for raised beds because it weathers well and is naturally resistant to rot and insects. A cedar raised bed could last 10-20 years. More if treated with llinseed oil. It weathers to a nice gray color but you can also paint or stain the outside to get a different effect. Some think cedar is too expensive to use in a raised garden and prefer to use cheaper lumber. That isn't the case. Cedar, like most wood, comes in different grades. High grade cedar used for furniture is expensive but there is lower grade cedar (knotty or construction grade) that is a very affordable option and will save you from having to rebuild your beds every couple of years or so. You might need to go to a good lumber yard to find it but it is available in many parts of the country. Lumber yards that provide fencing material should have it.



Composite lumber is wood particles mixed with a plastic resin. They last a very long time but are going to be more than cedar. Composite boards don't need to be sealed, are made from a lot of waste material and can be found at any of the big home improvement stores such as Home Depot and Lowes.



Plastic lumber is often made from HDPE (high density polyethylene. Recycled HDPE is made from recycled milk jugs. It is a safe material to use, a bit expensive but will last a long time. The problem is that it's not as easy to find and since it's heavy, shipping is not cheap. Stick with products made from polyethylene (HDPE) and not polystyrene or PVC as polyethylene is safer.

Lumber Dimensions

When you plan out your raised bed, you need to be familiar with the common types and sizes of lumber. It can be a bit confusing because the name does not tell you the exact size. For example, a 2x4 (two by four) is not 2" by 4" it's actually 1.5" x 3.5". It's important to know the sizes of the different types of lumber available because you don't want to make any lengthwise cuts. It is difficult unless you have a table saw. Restricting yourself to cutting for length will make things much easier.



If the lumber is labeled "rough sawn" it may be truer to size. It doesn't hurt to bring a tape measure to make sure you're getting what you think you are.

What Size Wood?

First, lets discuss thickness, the smaller number. 1x Lumber is only 3/4" of an inch thick and probably not the best choice, especially if you are planning a long or very deep raised garden. 5/4 lumber is 1" thick and should do well up to around 10" deep if the sections are 4' long or less. 2x lumber is the best choice because it will be stronger and even if it starts to rot it will last longer. 2x will be more expensive and I would recommend it if you're on a tight budget unless you're using composite lumber. 5/4 should be fine in composite and should be much cheaper than 2x composite lumber. 5/4x6 lumber is commonly used for deck boards and should be easy to find.



The next issue is the desired raised garden depth. If you want a 6" deep garden you can use 2x6 for the sides which will give you a 5 1/2" depth. You can also add a 1x3 or 1x4 laying on it's side like a picture frame around the top which will give you a total depth of 6 1/4". You can also stack two 2x4's which will give you 7" or a single 2x8 which will give you a depth of 7 1/4". If you want a 9" depth you can go for a 2x6 on top of a 2x4 or a 2x10.



For aesthetic reasons you might want to try and stick to the same size boards or come up with a pleasant combination. You also don't have to worry about getting it exactly the depth you want. You can have the soil come up level with the top of the bed or 3/4-1" below it.

How Deep Should a Raised Bed Be?

According to Mel Bartholomew, the author of Square Foot Gardens, 6" is enough for most plants if potted in a good growing medium. Plants only grow as much roots as they need. Mel recommends a mixture of 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 vermiculite. This combination will give you growing soil high in organic matter, full of nutrients and with good water retention. This will make it easier for the plants to get available nutrients and won't need to dig very deep roots to try and find what they need.



Some root vegetables will need deeper soil but you don't need to make all your beds the height to accommodate one or two crops. You can just create a section that's higher in a bigger bed as shown in the illustration. This way you'll not only save money on lumber but you'll also save on the material you use to fill the bed.



You can make these tiers any size you want and they don't have to be the entire width of the box.

How Big Should the Raised Bed Be?

That's going to be a matter of preference and how big your hard is. One good recommendation is to have one side not be longer than 4' if you can access it from both sides. That makes it easy for you to reach into the garden from either side without walking on it and compressing the soil. If you are placing the bed where you can only access it from one side, then keep it to 2' so you can get to everything for maintenance.



You can make it as long as you want but for vegetable gardens, it's nice to have multiple beds with 2-3' of space in between them to make it easy to access each bed from different sides. If you're following the Square Foot Gardening method outlined in the book, you will want to keep your beds in whole feet. So 2x2', 2x3', 3x3', 3x4', 4x4', 4x6', 4x8' etc would be good sizes but don't worry about deviating a little bit to fit your space properly.

Raised Garden Styles

What you want your raised garden bed to look like is a personal choice. Below are three basic styles you can choose from They are all relatively simple to build.

Plain Raised Garden Bed

The plain style raised bed is a simple 4 sided box. This is a very simple box to build consisting of only 4 pieces of wood that are screwed together.



If you want a square box, keep in mind that not all of the pieces are going to be the same size. The front and back will be larger than the two side pieces.



For example, if you wanted to build a 4x4' raised garden box out of 2x8 lumber, so that the interior of the box is 4' x 4', the front and back pieces would be 51" long and the side pieces would be 45". As you can see from the photos, we're just making butt joints which means to have a perfectly square box, we have to account for the thickness of the material.



If we were making the same sized box out of 1x6 lumber, we would need 2 49.5" pieces and 2 46.5" pieces. Basically double the thickness of the material and add it to the interior size you are looking for for the long pieces or subtract it for the shorter pieces.

Lipped Raised Garden Bed

The lipped raised garden bed is just a plain raised garden box with a frame around it. The frame is composted of a thinner stock of lumber that is mounted on it's side.

Cutting the corners on a 45 degree angle will give you a nicer look than putting the pieces together. To do this you can use a compound miter saw but for a few cuts, a miter box and saw will do fine. Click on the photo on the right for more details. Amazon has one for around $12 with free shipping. It will help you cut perfect 90 and 45 degree corners. The 90 degree setting will help you get nice clean cuts for your butt joints as well only fit 2x4 lumber or smaller.



In addition to a powered compound miter saw I also own a manual one which I still use frequently. It's very easy to use and you don't need to worry about power.



All 4 pieces should be the same size but make sure to measure the exact length on the inside of the box from one corner to an adjacent one. In our 4x4' example, using 1x3 lumber for the lip. The piece will be 48" on one side and 53" on the other if every thing was perfect.

Post Style Raised Garden Bed

The post style raised garden bed is my favorite because I find it more interesting because it has some varying height and thickness. It's going to be a little more expensive to build and take a little more effort but not much more. One other thing to consider is that the post style bed is that the outside size is going to be about 5" wider than a plain style bed. One benefit is that it looks nice attaching multiple short pieces in a long bed, for example a 4x12' bed with 4 posts along the 12' side, 2 on the corners, 2 spaced equally in the middle.

It's comprised of 4 4x4 posts that are cut 2" higher than the 2x side pieces. If you were using 2x8 lumber for the sides, you would cut your posts to be 9.25" high. The 2x sides are attached to the middle of the 4x4 posts so there is 1" of 4x4 on either side of the 2x.



All 4 side pieces will be the same if you're making a square bed. In our 4x4' example we would need 4 46" long pieces of 2x for the sides.



I like to take a 1" spade bit and drill a 2" deep hole in the center of each 4x4 post. This gives you a hole where you can slide 1/2" PVC pipe to build a frame for a cold frame or netting. To keep water from collecting in the hole when you're not using the PVC pipe frame, slide a decorative post cap on top, such as the ones shown below. You can even try solar powered post cap lights.

Determining How Much Wood You Need

This is where some people get into trouble. The first thing you should do is make a drawing of your raised bed.





Step 1 - First draw a rectangle of the top view of the size you'd like the inside of your bed to be. Noting the length and width of the bed. It doesn't have to be to scale but you can use graph paper if you have it to make it more precise if you want.



Step 2 - Draw the top view of the peices of wood you will need around the first rectangle. You can see an example for the plain bed and the post style bed below. The lipped bed is the same as the plain bed.





Now we can visualize exactly how long each side peice needs to be.

In the case of the plain bed:



Front/Back length = Length + (2 x thickness of board) Sides length = Width - (2 x thickness of board)

For the post style bed:



Front/Back length = Length - ( (Width of Post) - (thickness of board) / 2) Sides Length = Width - ( (Width of Post) - (thickness of board) / 2) Height of post = 2" + width of side boards.



Once you know how many boards you need and how long each is, you can figure out how many peices of lumber you need to buy. Also keep in mind you will lose about 1/8" per cut due to the width of the blade.



Lengths of lumber usually come in 8', 10', 12' and 16' but you should ask your lumber yard what they carry.

Let's use our 4'x4' example again. We'll make a plain bed using 2x8 cedar. We know we need 2 51" peices and 2 45" pieces. 51 + 45 is 96 which is 8'. We can purchase 2 8' lengths of 2x8 cedar. We're going to be off by an 1/8" due to the saw cut but that's not enough to justify the cost of an extra board. Below you can see the cut diagram showing how each board will be cut to get the peices we need.





If you have a power miter saw you can make nice straight cuts or you can use a circular saw. If you take it slow you can get straight cuts with a hand saw or you can ask your lumber yard to make the cuts for you. There is sometimes a fee for this. Usually around $1 per cut. Sometimes these are called "convenience cuts" which means they may not be exact. They are cuts to make it easier to fit in your car but if you get someone good making the cuts they'll be very good. If they don't charge per cut and the person doing the cutting does a good job of measuring and cutting feel free to tip.

How to Attach The Pieces

One way is to use 3" deck screws into the face of one peice through the side of the other. You want to use deck or stainless steel screws because they won't rust outside. You should predrill holes for the screws to keep the wood from splitting.




It's easier if you have someone helping you so you can keep the peices square or you can use a corner clamp like the Kreg KHC-90DCC 90-degree Corner Clamp pictured right.




Instead of screwing directly into the boards you can make pocket holes which will be less noticable. I bought a Kreg MKJKIT Mini Kreg Jig Kit to build some cabinets and I have found many uses for it. In fact I try and come up with uses for it. It makes a very strong, concealed joint. Pocket holes with the Kreg Mini Jig are very easy but you do have to take some time to align it properly. If you plan on using it often you may want to consider one of the other Kreg Pocket Hole Jig Systems which are faster to align. You'll also need a clamp to hold the jig to the wood, a 12" Irwin Quick Clamp will work fine.



Kreg also makes their own screws for use with their pocket holes and I've never used anything but their screws. Kreg makes weather resistant Blue-Kote screws. You'll need different sized screws depending on the thickness of the side peices you use. Use these links for the appropriate screws if you plan on using 1x and 5/4 or 2x lumber for the sides of your raised bed.



Kreg also makes plugs to fill in the holes and give you a finished look. The plugs are available in different species of wood, including cedar, as well as plastic.

Painting/Sealing Your Raised Garden Bed

Untreated wood will deteriorate faster outdoors than untreated wood. If you'd like you can use pure boiled linseed oil or 100% Pure Tung Oil. Linseed oil is made from flax seed and is non-toxic. It is not a UV inhibitor so it will not prevent your wood from changing color as it ages.



Another option if you'd like to give your beds some color is to use Milk Paint on the outside of the boxes. Lifetime Wood Treatment also claims to be a non-toxic wood preservative but I haven't been able to determine its ingredients.

Installing Your Raised Garden Bed

Installing your newly built raised garden bed is simple. Just pick an area, dig out any grass and place your bed frame on the soil. Use a level to make sure it's level.



To help secure the bed, screw in 2 screw eyes with an inside diameter greater than 5/16" into each post. One towards the bottom and one in the middle and rive a landscape spikethrough the screw eyes and into the ground. The weight of the beds and growing medium will do most of the work keeping it in place.