For years developers have been scraping the topsoil (8-12 inches) from properties and selling it to sod farms. It's another way that land can be monetized and topsoil is a valuable commodity that contains minerals and nutrients from years of plant and animal decomposition.
Nutrient rich topsoil can make or break a lawn or home garden and if you are struggling to keep yours thriving it could be because you are planting in dirt that is deficient of topsoil.
From the developers point of view there is money to be made with topsoil but it is also not the most ideal foundation for a house to be built on. Foundations need to be poured into a solid clay foundation so topsoil needs to be removed but that doesn't mean it should be sold and carted away. It should be redistributed around the property once a home is built to help landscape and lawns grow.
By adding chemicals and overwatering lawns that will never grow we are wasting resources and burning the land. Make sure you check the PH levels of your soil and if you are considering purchasing a home from a developer ask what has happened to the topsoil.
What do you think about the practice of removing topsoil? Is your lawn or garden suffering because of this?
A couple months ago I checked out the NexGen grass seed lab and the Pennington Seed factory in Oregon and received some valuable information on lawn care as well as a hands-on look at their 1 Step Complete combo mulch seed fertilizer product. I couldn't wait to get home to give it try.
Well the results are in and our lawn is looking better than ever.
Lawn Problem
We put down new sod but due to neglect and dog urine it started to get spotty.
Solution
The 1 Step Complete seems like the perfect product to fix our lawn. We needed coverage in problem areas as well as a way to help thicken the existing lawn. Our back lawn is small and we want to make the most of it.
I spread the 1 Step Complete according to the instructions and watered it twice daily. In two weeks I started seeing grass. I'm going to let it really thicken before cutting by waiting at least another two months. I know it's sensitive right now and the roots are developing.
I'm impressed with how much nicer our yard looks with a full green lawn and we can't wait for our first summer picnic outside.
Spring is here which means it's time to get your yard back in shape. Instead of fixing up your old gas trimmer or or dull hedger, enter to Win a new Black & Decker cordless 36V trimmer or hedge trimmer.
Black & Decker invited us to test both tools and we were very impressed. They both pack plenty of power and the battery runtime is more than enough for most homeowner landscapes.
Kicking the gas habit has a lot of advantages. Between clean up, pull cords, storage and making sure you have fuel on hand, you're wasting time you'd rather spend doing other things.
Black & Decker's 36V cordless electric lawn and garden tools are built for performance, speed and convenience. All the power of gas with just the touch of a button and none of the mess. Electric lawn equipment is lighter, cleaner and greener.
HOW TO ENTER
Leave a comment below stating why you want to "Kick Gas".
You can enter once-per-day to increase your odds of winning.
Make sure you provide a working email in the comment form so we can contact the winner.
PRIZE
We will randomly select TWO WINNERS
One winner will receive a Black & Decker 36V Cordless Trimmer and the other will receive a Black & Decker 36V Cordless Hedge Trimmer.
GIVEAWAY DEADLINE
We will select TWO random winners at 12 midnight EST on April 23rd, 2012 and they will be notified immediately.
Cordless power tools continue to advance in performance and it finally looks like outdoor power equipment which has long been dominated by gas is finally catching up.
Black & Decker invited us out to Tempe, AZ to check out their latest yard tools that have been upgraded to the 36V platform. They introduced a 24" hedge trimmer, 13" trimmer/edger, hard sweeper/vacuum and their self-propelled cordless mower.
Besides the mower the other three tools all run on the new 36V lithium-ion platform which is compact and now includes a "fuel gauge" to measure remaining battery life. The mower runs on 36V but in a different form factor.
Black & Decker took the unique approach of demonstrating the tools at Diablo Stadium where Major League Baseball does Spring Training. The field was immaculate so we weren't able to really test the effectiveness of some of these tools but we did get our hands on all of them and we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful setting to test tools.
