Day 23 of our Green Year: Going Green On The Lawn

Well, with spring comes the time to mow our lawn, and since Layla and I have a large front yard and backyard, there is a lot of lawn to mow. That being said, we have decided we will not be mowing our lawn with a gas or electric mower, and have instead decided to go old school with our mower.

We will be using a Reel Mower, which is a mower that cuts grass as you push it around. The motor is you and they have been designed to be lightweight and easy to push around.
So now not only do we get great exercise pushing the mower around, but we also don't deal with gas at all, which means we do not put any CO2 into the atmosphere just so we can cut our grass.

We were quite surprised by prices for the mower, we thought they would be expensive but the one we are purchasing one for only $99 at Canadian Tire. These mowers have been proven to last longer than other mowers, if they are cared for properly, and they are even better for your lawn.
When most people cut their lawn, they cut it too short for one thing, but they also collect all the grass in bags and then dump it elsewhere. When you let the Reel Mower cut up the grass and leave it on the lawn, it creates a great natural mulching system that will actually help your lawn.

This is just the start of going green with our lawn. You can check back in the future as we use a rain barrel to deal with watering, we use natural fertilizers and more!

A traditional gas lawnmower puts 22 pounds of CO2 in the atmosphere for one hour use. This means, that if we mow the lawn, one hour every two weeks from April to September, that puts 264 pounds of CO2 in the atmosphere, which is exactly what we are taking out of the atmosphere with our Reel Mower.

Some good news! We were awarded the Blog of the Day award from http://blogofthedayawards.blogspot.com/ so that is great! Word is getting out! Thanks everyone!

Day 4 of our Green Year: Storing Snow

We are just about one week into our Green Year, and today we took the advice of someone who has read the blog and began storing snow.
Yes, it may seem odd that we are storing snow, but the truth is that it is an excellent way to save water for the summer.
When people water their lawns, they can waste between 50 and 500 gallons of water. Some water in the afternoons, when most of the water evaporates, while others water their lawn too much. Typically, your lawn needs only one inch of water per week. This means that if you have a rectangle lawn (for simplicity's sake) that is 15 by 35 feet, you will need 271 gallons of water per week to water it. However, your lawn can survive on less, so watering your lawn as little as 100 gallons of water per week should be fine.
To that end, we have begun gathering up snow, which we will store in a 71 gallon rain barrel that can be bought from Canadian Tire for about $70 to $90. While we fill the barrel with snow, rain will also keep it full. This means that if we can maintain the barrel with enough rain water so that it is full twice a month, that is 142 less gallons of water we will be using on the lawn each month.
We have not bought the barrel yet, and are just using some containers we have around the house instead. They may be small, but every single drop of water helps and it is another drop less that we use from the watersheds in the area.

It should be noted that when we store our water, we will be purchasing a mosquito net so that no mosquito can get to the water to lay its larvae. You should never let still water exist in your yard, unless it is covered or protected from mosquitoes, who will use it as a breeding ground.

A Shout Out!
Thank you to everyone who has read the blog and sent us e-mails. In particular, Min, Jay and Sue have all told us they will be implementing some of the ten things you can do to save the environment. Every big change starts small, but overtime it grows larger and larger until it cannot be denied. We look forward to receiving more comments and feedback in the future.

Water Saved With Two Small Containers: 5.3 Gallons (small but a start)