Posts Tagged grass seed

Scotts EZ Seed Progress Update, Week 5

ezseed1Just a quick update for those interested in my lawn reseeding.  Well, they weren’t lying.  Scotts EZ Seed really works.  The bare patch of ground that I reseeded 5 weeks ago is lush and thick.  It was the best $30 that I’ve spent at Home Depot this Spring. You can read my previous posts on the subject by clicking these links:

Barbaric Links: Reseeding My Lawn Edition

Scotts EZ Seed Progress Update, Week Two

I’ve also reseeded some bare spots in the back yard that the squirrels dug up, and the grass is coming in nicely there, too.  So a big thumbs up for Scotts EZ Seed!

The lawn is growing in so thick that I might have to buy one of these:

lawn-tractor1Well, maybe that would be overkill.  But at least my lawn doesn’t look like this:

Desert Moon Rising
Josh Sommers

And even if my lawn pales in comparison to the Lawn Freak’s, I’m still pleased with the results.  It’s gratifying when a product performs as advertised.  I know, enough of the shilling for Scotts, already!

Has anyone else tried this grass seed?  What kind of success have you had?

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The Economics of Lawn Care

Money doesn
pfala

I’m not an envious person.  When someone experiences some good fortune, I’m genuinely happy for them.  I compliment people if they have nice stuff, or if their houses look nice.  But I think that my neighbor, The Lawn Freak, has finally gone overboard.

What the heck is THAT thing?

I wanted to spruce up the curb appeal of my home, and I thought that I was being diligent by reseeding my lawn with Scotts EZ Seed.  But my neighbor had bigger plans for his place.  This past weekend, I saw him tooling around his yard on this:

lawn-tractorIt’s a Poulin Pro 48 inch 22HP V-Twin Residential ZTR Mower.  Yep, that’s three grand worth of lawn tractor (if you don’t believe me, just click on the picture).  It’s also overkill.  He’s got a quarter of an acre of property, and that includes his house, driveway, deck, and pool.  So, how much grass does he actually have to mow?

Did you get that thing at a garage sale?

I’m at the other end of the spectrum.  I’ve got a ten-year-old generic mower that I bought at Home Depot for about $140.  It’s only accessory is the rear bag.  That’s right, it’s not even self-propelled.  Hey, I can use the exercise.  It moves under barbarian power.  It looks something like this, but much dirtier and beat-up:

lawn-mower

Gadgets and more gadgets

I’m not against technological advancements.  Hell, I love new gadgets as much as the next guy.  I can even see blowing a bit of money if it’s going to save me time in the long run.  But get this: it takes me about an hour and a half to mow my lawn, edge it with an electric trimmer, and vacuum up the grass.  Yes, I vacuum it rather than using a backpack blower.  The vacuum is better for around the pool.  Here it is:

shop-sweep

I’m sure that The Lawn Freak would prefer something like this (click the picture for the details):

troy-vacuumMy vacuum cost under $180.  It’s the second one that I’ve owned, and it replaced an identical one that lasted about 9 years.  I tend to use tools until they fall apart.

Maybe he’s more productive with the new mower?

So, how long does it take The Lawn Freak to do his yard?  Try about 3 hours.  That’s right, twice as long as it takes me.  He never gets finished.  Just having the best, most expensive equipment doesn’t make you the most productive.  You need to have a plan!

What’s his plan?

Apparently, the Lawn Freak’s plan is to plunk down lots of dough for more mower than he’ll ever need.  He’s got better stuff than most landscapers do.  I could see buying it if he planned to start a landscaping business of his own.  I haven’t even touched on the opportunity cost of buying his king-sized mower versus investing the money.  What a waste, of both time and money.

The Takeaway

You don’t have to spend a fortune to be productive.  You just need to use your brain and work hard.  It’ll save you money in the long run.

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Scotts EZ Seed Progress Update, Week Two

It’s been only 2 weeks since I reseeded part of my front lawn with Scotts EZ Seed, and I’ve got positive results to report:  the grass is growing in well.  See for yourself:

Scotts EZ seed 1

Click for larger view

Scotts EZ seed 2

Click for larger view

It’s still early in the game, and Scotts calls for 30 days until full results are achieved, but I’m confident that this is going to work!  This is a relief, since the stuff is pricey at about $30 for a bag that covers 210 square feet.

ezseed

As I mentioned in my initial post, I had to dig out lots of maple tree roots in order to prepare the ground for the grass seed.  Well, I guess I did a decent job, because the grass is growing in nicely.

The maple trees weren’t planted by me; they were planted by the town before we moved in.  The town has since started using Bradford pear trees as substitutes when the maples die.  I guess the shifted sidewalks were the first clue that maple roots grow close to the ground. ;-)

I still have a few more spots to reseed, and I won’t hesitate to use the EZ seed to fill those in.  Time to go pop some more Advil!

I’ll keep monitoring my lawn’s progress, so stop back for updates.  You can get them in your email by clicking here.

Update: Read about the progress through Week 5

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Barbaric Links: Reseeding My Lawn Edition

I spent a good part of Friday reseeding parts of my front lawn.  First, I had to dig out about a million roots from a nearby maple tree.  I’m putting my faith in Scotts EZ Seed, which is supposed to grow in any type of soil.  I’ll let you know in 3 weeks.  I know the birds loved it - I hope they left enough for the bare spots to fill in.

ezseed61wpm9a2zll_sl160_

This morning, my back is stiff, and my arms are sore.  The aches and pains remind me of my college days, when I used to do landscaping.  I wonder if I could create another income stream by using my green thumb…maybe after the Advil kicks in.  Here are some good reads from the past week:

Free Money Finance tells us that we can make a good side income from mowing lawns (the Advil hasn’t started working yet);

Jim at Bargaineering talks about the pressure washer he’d like to rent (an item on my list, too);

Brett at The Art of Manliness lets us in on a Case knife giveaway and asks what’s in your pockets (I always have this Leatherman multitool in my pocket);

David at The Good Human presents his Greenwash of the Week;

J.D. at Get Rich Slowly interviews a retired millionaire next door;

Free Money Finance reminds us that the little things matter for a successful interview;

Trent at The Simple Dollar lists the 10 things he wished he’d done when he was twenty;

Philip at Wise Bread wants us to reverse engineer the best time of our lives.

Have a great weekend!

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