A big advantage for homeowners is that the Toro electric leaf blower combines many features you can find in separate machines — so it actually saves you money. It has three key functions — it’s a blower, a vacuum, and a leaf shredder/mulcher, which can reduce 10 bags of leaves into just one.

The Toro electric blower with vacuum kit is lighter and more powerful than gas-powered hand-held leaf blowers. It weighs just over seven pounds so it’s ideal for any homeowner, including anyone who struggles with arthritis or joint pain. The Toro also has a 12-amp motor and offers various features to make yard clean up more efficient, so you can spend more time relaxing in your garden, rather than cleaning it.

The Toro electric blower isn’t as noisy as other blowers. It reaches between 63 and 67 decibels, but you should still protect your ears when you’re using it. Also, because of its power, you’ll beautify your yard clean in no time so you won’t annoy the neighbors too much.

Although the Toro is powerful, you don’t have to worry about damaging your plants or vegetable garden. The 12-amp motor allows variable speeds so you can lower the speed when blowing around shrubs, smaller plants, or your growing vegetables. This feature may also help you if you suffer from outdoor allergies because less dust blows up at the lower speed.

The vacuum on the Toro electric blower has a maximum air speed of 225 mph, so it can pick up tons of leaves at once. This shortens the amount of time you’ll spend cleaning up even more, compared to using a rake. It’s also more efficient than a rake at getting rid of those pesky little flowers that shed in spring.

If you’re using a Toro leaf blower to mulch leaves, you should know that it has serrated metal blades. They increase the blower’s efficiency and durability, giving it an advantage over leaf blowers that are made of plastic parts.

One of the accessories that you may like is the blower vac replacement bag, which is a durable canvas bag with an adjustable shoulder strap. It has a large opening that makes it simpler for you to dump leaves or debris after you’re finished cleaning up your yard. Other accessories include the Toro leaf collector that has an eight-foot hose, and a 43-gallon gardening spring bucket.

You can also breathe easy for two years, which is how long the Toro Electric Leaf Blower’s residential warranty lasts. It will cost you about $70 to $79 at Amazon. It’s a great investment for anyone who wants to increase their curb appeal or backyard entertainment area.

Winterize Your Lawnmower – A Few Steps

First, you need to remove any liquid from your lawnmower.  Remember that anything liquid is capable of freezing in cold weather and that can cause serious damage to your mower.  The two main liquids you have to worry about are fuel and oil.

To empty the fuel tank safely start the engine and let in run for a couple of seconds, then siphon out the gas or take the gas tank off and pour the remaining gas back into your gas container. Put the tank back on and start the mower and let it run until the engine dies. This way all the fuel is used up.  When you do this, make sure you will not be using your mower again so you can leave it empty until the spring.

You’ll also want to empty your oil tank but make sure you drain the oil into a proper container and dispose of it properly.

Next, you should thoroughly clean your mower.  Use a hose to remove any grass or dirt that is sticking to its sides.  Grease can be removed with hot water and soap.  After the mower is cleaned, rinse off the soap, and leave it outside to dry under the sun.  You need it to be completely dry before you put it in storage.

As far as storage goes, the best choice is to keep the mower indoors.  A garage, shed, or basement that is completely protected from the elements is recommended.  If you simply don’t have this type of facility, then you can purchase covers for lawn mowers.  Choose the right cover for your mower’s size.

Winterize Your Lawnmower – Additional Steps

While the above steps are the most necessary, there are a few other steps you should consider taking as well.  For example, you should check your mower for any rust spots.  If you locate some, use steel wool to rub it off before you place the mower in storage.

Another good idea is to clean or replace the air filter.  You’ll need to refer to your owner’s manual to determine which method is preferred. In general, paper filters are replaced while plastic ones are cleaned.  You should already have changed the filter a couple of times during the mowing season but it’s a good idea to do it again before storing the mower so it will be ready to go this spring.

Additionally, you can remove the mower blade and have it sharpened.  While you can sharpen it yourself, I recommend taking the blade to a professional who can do it safely and without damaging the blade.

When the spring rolls around, you’ll need to bring your mower out of storage, refill the gas and oil, and you’ll be all ready to go.  Plus, you’ll be extending the life of your mower and avoiding costly lawnmower repair just by learning how to properly winterize your lawnmower.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to learn this lesson the hard way. A friend of ours installed a sprinkler system in his yard last spring only to have the pipes freeze during a cold spell. The pipes bust and ruined his sprinklers which had to be completely replaced. That cost him a pretty penny, but it also taught me the importance of winterizing my lawn sprinkler system.

Why Winterize?

Your lawn sprinkler system isn’t any different from any other pipe in your home. If water freezes within the pipe, it’s going to contract and put pressure on that pipe. With enough pressure, the pipe is going to rupture.

The idea of winterization is to make sure all of the water is out of your lawn sprinkler system before the temperature starts dropping into the freezing domain. Even a little water left in those pipes can cause you major problems in the spring – you MUST make sure your sprinkler’s pipes are water-free.

How to Winterize Your Lawn Sprinkler System

In some parts of the country where freezing is most likely to occur, your lawn sprinkler system has probably been equipped with a method for winterization. Many places make this a mandatory feature on all irrigation systems sold. If you’re not sure, then contact the retailer or installer of your system to make sure you use the correct system. If you’re not sure, you may want to hire a contractor to use the “blow out” method on your system. Basically, this method requires the careful use of an air compressor to push all of the water from the pipes. You can rent the compressors, but you may be better off watching a professional handle it the first time so you can learn what to do during the winters to come.

Your other options are to use the manual or automatic drain methods (which option you choose depends on your particular sprinkler system). For the manual method, you need to open up several valves strategically placed along your sprinkler system. All of the water should come out on its own so wait until you don’t see any more water then close all of the valves again. With the automatic method, the valves will open when you shut water off to the system. You may still need to open a few valves by hand.

Keep in mind that some lawn sprinkler systems use a combination of the manual and the automatic drain methods.

Remember that winterization needs to be done before the temperatures start to drop. That’s why it’s a good idea to do your winterization around the same time you start getting your lawn ready for winter. You don’t want to be surprised with a sudden cold snap that ends up damaging your lawn sprinkler system before you have a chance to drain out all of the water.

Buying Spring Bulbs

First, you need to decide how many spring bulbs to buy. The first autumn when we planted our tulips we simply didn’t plant enough so even though the tulips were beautiful in the spring they just weren’t plentiful enough to make a great impression. We later learned that’s a common problem for first time bulb planters so plan to plant more than you think you’ll need.

When you purchase spring bulbs, it’s a good idea to look for the largest ones possible. These are the most mature bulbs and, as a result, will produce the largest flowers in the spring. The only downside is mature bulbs need to be planted sooner, so don’t buy them too far in advance.

You can store your purchased bulbs for a few days before planting, but they need to stay cool. The temperature shouldn’t go below 50 degrees or above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The area also needs to be dry and dark. We usually empty out the vegetable bins in our refrigerator and use those for storing the bulbs.

Planting Your Spring Bulbs

Find a spot in your yard that will get plenty of light during the winter and where you won’t have much standing water. We plant ours around the front porch and along the walkway. You should also plan on planting the spring bulbs in groups of either 6 or 12 depending on the size of your yard (the larger the yard the larger the group).

Some gardeners use a bulb planter to plant the bulbs, and this is definitely fine. However, I don’t like to buy anything I can only use for one purpose so I just rely on a handy spade to dig my holes. As a rule of thumb, tulips and daffodils should be planted about 8 inches into the soil while crocuses do better at 4 inches. If you’re not sure how to deep plant, look at the bulb’s size. Larger bulbs thrive with deeper planting.

Replace soil and water the spring bulbs after you plant them. You don’t have to apply any fertilizer, but I try to add a couple of inches of compost to the ground. The compost helps keep the soil temperature stable and moist during the winter.

If you’re in an area with a large squirrel population, you may want to take some precautions, too. Squirrels have a tendency to dig up those spring bulbs. Make sure you don’t leave any traces of planting behind when you’re done and consider placing chicken wire over the site. You can anchor the wire to the ground with ordinary hangers. Trust me, it’s worth the extra effort to protect your bulbs but make sure you remove the wire at the first sign of growth in the spring.

Fall Lawn Care Fertilizing

For starters, you’ll want to apply your fall fertilizer. Remember you should be applying fertilizer to your lawn twice a year: once in the spring and once in the fall. The fertilizer will give your grass the nutrition it needs, particularly during the winter. Just follow the instructions on the fertilizer you choose (I’m a strong believer in organic lawn care so I prefer organic fertilizer but the choice is yours) for your type of grass and the size of your yard.

Before you start applying that fertilizer, you may want to check out your weed situation. If your yard contains a lot of weeds, you might find it easier to use a weed and feed type of fertilizer this time around. With weed and feed, you end up giving nutrients to the grass while killing the unwanted weeds – it does double duty. However, if you don’t have that many weeds just pull them out by hand.

Other Steps to Fall Lawn Care

After the summer ends, you’ll also notice your grass starts to grow slower so you need to rely less on your lawn mowers. Obviously, you’ll still want to keep it trimmed nicely, but you definitely want to do at least one good mowing before winter hits. Focus on cutting only the higher grass though – you don’t need to go as low as you do in spring or summer.

Another important step is to make sure you keep those falling leaves raked up. When your yard is covered in piles of dead leaves, those leaves can bury your grass and prevent it from getting the nutrients it needs to be healthy. If you have a smaller yard, you can use an ordinary rake to take care of the leaves manually. If you have a larger yard, you might want to consider buying a leaf vacuum or leaf blower to help you. What you definitely don’t want is for those leaves to end up piling up on your grass all winter long.

Of course, you’ll also need a way to get rid of those dead leaves. You can turn them into compost that can be used for fertilizer/mulch next spring and summer. We tried this one year and had good luck by carting garbage-bag size piles behind our shed, then sprinkling the piles with lime to encourage decomposition. Then you just have to turn the pile over once a month. I don’t use this method anymore just because it takes too much time, but I would definitely recommend it as a good choice for organic lawn care.

Otherwise, you’ll need to bag all of those leaves in heavy duty garbage bags. Many garbage companies have specific days when they will pick up lawn debris, especially during the autumn. You may want to check with your sanitation provider for more information.

My quest for the perfect lawn mower began online as I started researching the available models. Before I tell you which I would recommend for a great lawn, I want to go over some of the pros and cons of the main types you’re going to be looking at.

Let’s start with riding lawn mowers. This is actually where I started my search. I imagined it would be pretty quick and easy to mow my lawn with one of those massive mowers. However, you really need a pretty large lawn to get the most benefit from riding lawn mowers. Even then, you’re still going to end up doing plenty of trimming and edging manually if you want a nice looking lawn.

Push mowers are basically the ones where you do all of the work. They are the most affordable and probably the most dependable, but if you have a large yard or if you have physical problems then you’re better off choosing a lawn mower that will do more of the work for you.

That brings us to self-propelled lawn mowers. In this category you’ll find gas lawn mowers, electric lawn mowers, even cordless lawn mowers. Gas lawn mowers are the oldest favorite. Even now when I smell gasoline, I’m reminded of those summer days when I had to cut my parent’s gas with our old self-propelled rotary motor. With the increasing cost of gasoline, the dangers of bringing the gasoline home for the mower, and the general undependable nature of these mowers, I’m not a fan of gas models.

Now electric lawn mowers are a different story. With these mowers, you won’t quite get as much power as you would with a gas model but you’ll have an unlimited stream of energy thanks to your home’s electricity. The downside are those cords and probably a couple of extension cords if you have a pretty deep back yard. You’ve got to watch those cords, too. If you run over one with the mower, you’re in trouble. If you trip on one, then you could end up injured by the mower.

Now cordless lawn mowers do provide the benefits of electric lawn mowers but without the cords. Seems like a perfect solution, right? Not exactly. Cordless lawn mowers just don’t have much battery life in them. Some only last between 30 to 40 minutes which may not be enough time for you to do a quality mowing job.

My favorite lawn mower, however, is the reel mower. If you want a well-manicured lawn mower, then these are your best bet by far. They are available in push models, as well as self-propelled. Either way you go make sure to have the blades sharpened yearly. Otherwise you won’t get the nice cut that is going to make your lawn look fabulous.

We found out later from a neighbor that the old owners supplemented their timed watering with a some water from the garden hose, particularly in areas that just weren’t getting enough water from the sprinklers. By the time, we learned this information our lawn was already going brown in a number of places so we had to make some fast lawn sprinkler buying decisions.

One option was to use manual sprinklers or to manually water the lawn with a hose. We quickly ruled out this choice even though it was the most affordable. Having to set up the sprinklers whenever the lawn needed to be watered just did not sound appealing, plus we already knew that manual sprinklers would end up wasting lots of water and not throughly watering our lawn. Basically, we’d be in the same boat we were already in with our sprinkler hoses.

Instead, we decided on an automatic irrigation system. The difference between manual and automatic systems is that automatic sprinklers are permanently incorporated into your landscape and can be set to water your lawn at appropriate intervals. Remember the best time to water your lawn is in the early morning hours before the hot sun can cause too much evaporation. Late evenings are another good time to water your lawn.

Anyway, even after we picked an automatic irrigation system we still had to decide on a specific type of sprinkler head. Two of the main types are spray heads and impulse heads. The main difference between the two types of heads is how much area they cover. Spray heads send water in a steady stream onto a small location of your lawn. Generally, you’ll need more spray heads to water your lawn than you will with impulse heads. Impulse heads shoot out jets of water and have nozzles that rotate which means they cover larger areas. Impulse heads are often used on commercial lawns and golf courses.

While we decided on automatic lawn sprinklers with spray heads, our choice won’t be right for everyone. In fact, you might even choose a manual system if you’re on a limited budget, you live in a pretty rainy area, or don’t have a very large yard. Think about your needs and let that be your guide when choosing the right lawn sprinklers for your yard.

Getting up to speed, I must admit that this is the first year I’ve handled my lawn maintenance entirely myself. When I moved into my home, the lawn and landscaping consisted of more weeds than anything else. I was led to believe that the liquid lawn fertilizer the pros apply is a bit more potent and let’s face it – I really needed professional help to get the desirable green grass I have now.

But this year, since my lawn is finally under control, I’ve decided to handle it on my own. After asking a few landscapers for their tips and advice, the conclusion was that it’s not that hard to take care of. The products are readily available and frankly every bit as good as what the pros use. Plus, if you’re into the whole organic thing, it’s easier to buy these products off the shelf than it is to find a pro that uses them.

The numbers you see describing fertilizer (they look like this: 10-10-10) describe the percentage of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, respectively. To keep things simple, a healthy lawn needs all of these nutrients to grow and fend off problems.

Correct ratios vary and it’s hard to be an expert at this ourselves. Thankfully, the fertilizer companies are. This is why I’ve determined that starting off, it’s important to stick to a predetermined and premixed system of applications. Scotts is one popular and readily available brand of fertilizer that offers systems based on your area and lawn type.

If you’re like me in the Midwest, I experience four different seasons. Corresponding with the seasons, I’m applying four applications yearly with a basic spreader that I purchased at my home store. Setting the spread rate according to the directions with the fertilizer is easy and covering the whole yard takes even less time than an average mowing. Of course, if you don’t need the weed control to keep things in check (I do because my neighbor’s weeds are constantly trying to take my lawn over) you can just pull the pesky ones by hand and apply a growth formula instead.

Whether choosing organic lawn fertilizer, liquid lawn fertilizer, or granules, it’s easy to achieve the perfect green yard with lawn fertilizers.

As I spend some time learning more, I realized the benefits of organic lawn care and how easy these strategies are to implement.

Tip #1 – Water with Care

The basic tenet of organic lawn care is to do all of your landscaping in such a way to preserve the environment. You may not know this but poor watering techniques can significantly deplete the water supply in your area. Sure, water seems like an unlimited resource but that’s not the case.

Your best choice is to set up an in-ground sprinkler system. Attach moisture sensors or timers to the sprinklers so you only water your lawn at specific times or when water is needed. Make sure when you install the system that none of the sprinklers are going to be watering non-grass areas instead – that’s just a huge waste of water which raises your bills and takes water away from other important needs.

Tip #2 – Choose Organic Fertilizers

Organic fertilizers are a better choice for several reasons. First, chemical fertilizers frequently contain a high level of salt. The salt can change the pH of your soil over time and can actually reduce its ability to grow anything. Plus, chemical fertilizers are one of the chief causes of dangerous nitrates and other chemicals in our drinking water. Any water that runs off your yard will contain those chemicals and will eventually make its way back into the water supply.

Much of the research I did early on about fertilizers also explained that organic fertilizers have been designed today based on newer understandings of soil and grass growth. Chemical fertilizers, on the other hand, are not. That means you’re more likely to see positive results with organic fertilizer.

Tip #3 – Compost

Another method of organic lawn care is composting. You can buy inexpensive backyard composting equipment which can turn lawn clippings (which make up a large percentage of what’s in our landfills) and kitchen waste into an organic material that can help your lawn be healthier.

The compost helps the grass hold in more water so you need to water less often and helps your lawn fight off diseases and insects. You’ll also be able to achieve a more balanced soil pH with the compost. And you’ll be recycling tons of waste that would normally end up in a landfill.

Tip #4 – Use Mulch

If you have any parts of your lawn where you don’t need or want grass – under your deck, around your trees, in your garden, etc. – then don’t use herbicides or weed killers to keep these areas free of weeds. Instead, use mulch. Spread about three inches of mulch on these areas and you shouldn’t see any weeds breaking through.

Keeping your lawn weed-free requires a combination of high mowing and deep watering to prevent the development of a weed friendly environment in your yard. If you do see weeds, pull them out by hand or use a weed eater. Don’t let them stay too long or you’ll end up with a lot more.

The bottom line when it comes to organic lawn care is to find ways to have that healthy green yard you want without damaging the environment in the process. Hopefully, these lawn care tips will help you achieve that goal as I have in my own yard.

Then reality set in.

Lawn irrigation is not as simple as you may have been led to believe. Keeping your grass looking healthy and lovely is a challenge but for most homeowners, including myself, it’s a labor of love and well worth the effort, particularly if you want to maintain a high property value and amazing curb appeal for your home.

But no matter how much you love your lawn, knowing some good tips for proper lawn watering will make your job a great deal easier.

Let’s start with the biggest question: How often should I water my lawn? The answer, as I discovered, depends on where you live and on the season. If you wait too long, your grass will start to brown and die – not an attractive look. If you water too often, you can overly saturate the ground and increase your water bills – not a great choice either.

Generally, you need to water more often in the spring and in the summer than in the fall and the winter. During those warmer months, a good watering every five days works great. After my family and I moved into our home, I became obsessed with watering my new lawn nearly every day manually (more about that choice later) until a more experienced neighbor told me I really wasn’t doing anything but wasting water most of those days. I was skeptical, but his lawn looked fabulous so I trusted him and started watering less often. It turned out he was right.

Then a year later we had a very dry summer and my grass started looking horrible well before the fifth day arrived. So keep in mind that if your grass is showing signs of dehydration – basically looking wilted – you might need to water more frequently than normal.

Another important question is when is the best time to water lawns. One thing a neighbor of ours learned the hard way was how important it is to follow your local restrictions about lawn irrigation. His automatic sprinklers were set to water his lawn during the afternoon while he was at work, at least until he was cited by our local government. That means you really need to know, understand, and adhere to any local guidelines in place in your area.

Besides those guidelines, you’ll get the best results from your lawn watering by waiting until the early morning hours and on non-windy days when the water is going to be blown away from your lawn. You don’t want to end up watering your neighbor’s yard or having all of that precious water evaporate in the hot sun before it can sink into your soil.

Now let’s talk about how much water you need for proper lawn irrigation. To be healthy, your lawn probably needs about 2 inches of water every 5 to 7 days and that includes rain. My lawn was growing from a clay-type soil which requires less watering than some other types of soil so when I followed these basic rules I ended up overwatering. After I did some research, I realized the best rule of thumb is to water enough to soak the lawn but not to leave puddling or cause run-off.

Finally, we can’t end a discussion of lawn watering without touching on the different systems available. Initially, my family relied on the manual sprinklers the past owners had installed. We thought it would work great, but we had to monitor those sprinklers all the time. A slight jostle would move the spray of water so it would drench our driveway not our lawn. During that first summer, patches of our grass were browning despite the watering because those sections were untouched by the sprinklers.

A better choice, as my family now knows, is to install an underground, automatic sprinkler system. You’ll conserve water, cover your entire lawn evenly, and never have to worry about forgetting to turn on the sprinklers.

Having a home surrounded by a vast and healthy green lawn is something to be proud of and once you understand how to handle your lawn irrigation effectively, you’ll be well on your way to having a lawn you’ll be proud to show off to your neighbors.