my new job: Lawn Technician

On account of my ever decreasing discretionary funds, I have fired my lawn guy and hired myself. For the cost of approximately one month of lawn care, I have purchased a 16” reel lawn mower to use throughout the season. The Greenworks brand is well-reviewed and the 16” size seems perfect for me, at about 26 pounds.

The only maintenance I foresee is sharpening the blades, which many online have called an “enjoyable activity.” While this will be a new time commitment on my part, I will be burning more calories and reducing my carbon footprint. (Previous lawn maintenance technician used a gas-powered riding lawn mower and gas-guzzling trimmer.) I particularly enjoy that Greenworks has categorized their reel mowers as "human" powered on their website. 

Thanks to Amazon, I will have my new human-powered mower this week. And should the weather be enjoyable Saturday, I will have a go at cutting my lawn myself! (Among other needed landscape chores.) I cannot wait for spring, happy gardening ya’ll!

end of summer

It's the end of summer and I'm taking stock of the garden and planning fall projects. This year I have really enjoyed growing new things, like banana peppers, and trying new things, like making pickles. Between what I've grown, generous friends, and my CSA, I know I'm eating healthier and more sustainably than ever before.

I'm about to throw the towel in on my tomatoes and get that space ready for a winter veggie garden. My peppers, especially the jalapenos are still producing, which will make a nice addition to this weekend's chili. In the upper south, right now is a great time to aerate and over-seed your lawn too. And while most irrigating can be cut back this time of year, newly-seeded lawns should be sprinkled twice daily (e.g., 4am and 4pm).

Today I collected almost 50 Chinkapin Oak acorns in a matter of minutes. Potential fall projects I have in mind are: germinate the acorns and make baby oak trees, become an urban forager and prepare them for consumption, or most likely some combination of the two. I will undoubtedly report successes/ failures here.

Until then, happy foraging/gardening!