The Citizen, 1988-04-27, Page 20PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 1988.
& Garden ’88yrf^
Mulching power mowers regaining popularity
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More and more homeowners will be using a mulching mower this year.
Mulching mowers such as this unit save time and return nutrients to
the soil.
For many homeowners, the
most difficult part about mowing
the lawn is the clippings. What do
you do with the clippings?
According to experts at Bolens
Corporation, the best answer may
also be the easiest. Put them back
into the earth with a mulching
mower.
That’s what independent uni
versitystudies show. Agronomists
pointout that mulching results in a
generally greener and healthier
lawn, because nutrients are re
turned to the soil.
Mulch particles decompose and
are absorbed by the grass root
system within 14 days. Mulch
allows evaporation at the soil level
without adding to thatch buildup.
Mulching mowers, first intro
duced decades ago, are again
popular because many of today’s
models are ideally suited to meet
pitch blade.
The blade and deck combine to
create air suction to hold grass
upright and, once cut, to suspend
the clippings in the mower cham
ber while repeatedly chopping
them into finer particles.
These small particles are then
blown deep into the turf, near the
soil level, where they decompose
quickly.
A conventional side discharge
mower, on the other hand, blows
clippings horizontally onto the
lawn rather than forcing them
down into the turf.
The long clippings lie on the
lawn surface in unsightly brown
clumps, and this layer of dead
clippings can sometimes become
thick enough to exclude sunlight
and cause yellowing and weaken
ing of the turf.
Homeowners also can bag the
clippings, but it generally takes 40
to50 per cent more mowing time to
empty the bags and dispose of
clippings.
Brick patios are an easy
do-it-yourself project
for handy homeowners
the demands of today’s homeown
er.
According to Bolens, a lawn
mower designed for mulching
must have a deep mowing deck and
use a specially engineered multi-
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The best kind of brick patio floor
is one held together with mortar,
but constructing it usually requires
the services of a professional
mason to achieve good results.
Thousands of homeowners have
discovered reasonably good patio
floors can be made of brick laid into
sand, a procedure that can be
handled by a do-it-yourselfer who
may never have worked with
masonry.
Whatever secret there is to the
laying of a brick floor on sand is
wrapped up in the edging. The
border not only lends a finished
look to the project, it prevents the
bricks from slipping. The edging
can be simple 2-by-4s of a
weather-resistant wood, bricks set
on end or even concrete.
Anything that holds the bricks
solidly in place will do. As for the
do the tapping gently.
It would be impossible to fill
each joint separately with sand.
Instead, dump some sand on the
brick and sweep it into the joints,
preferably with a pushbroom. The
sand should be dry at this point.
Ifitisdamp, let it set for a few
hours before using. Oddly enough,
one of the first things you must do
after the sand is spread between
the joints is to wet it down. This is
best done with water from a garden
hose, but be sure the nozzle is at
the spray setting.
Work very carefully, never
letting the hose send water onto a
single spot for more than a second.
You merely want to dampen the
sand so it will settle, not push it out
of the cracks. The spraying will
serve the added purpose of
cleaning the surface of the bricks.
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bricks making up the floor, they
can be laid in any pattern you
choose. Always remember - the
more complicated the pattern, the
more work it will be.
Take your time in planning the
patio floor. Be sure there is a pitch
thatwill allow rain to roll off, which
means you should keep checking
constantly with a long level to be
sure everything is pitched in the
right direction. Gravel will be
needed under the sand where
there is a severe drainage pro
blem.
Since bricks must be laid one by
one, one of the principal do-it-
yourself ingredients will be pa
tience. Be sure each brick is set
firmly into the sand, about two or
threeinchesindepth. Butteach
one securely. The use of a rubber
mallet or hammer to tap the bricks
in place will facilitate the task, but
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