Consumerist: yards

Consumer Reports: Man Vs. Leaf Blower

Meg Marco — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:31:24 EST

Consumer Reports wanted to know if leaf blowers were really worth the money and ear damage, so they marked off a parts of lawn, filled it with leaves and had the ultimate man vs. blower showdown.

Anyone who has ever had to rake a lawn can immediately tell you who won, but it's still a cute video. They've also got some fall cleanup tips.

Man Vs. Machine [Consumer Reports]

Play Yards Recalled Because Of Death Due To Design Flaw

Meg Marco — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 00:49:16 EDT

The 425,000 play yards that were recalled yesterday were recalled because of a design flaw that caused the strangulation of a 10-month-old boy.

A safety commission spokesperson told Bloomberg:

"This is not a made-in-China issue," a safety commission spokeswoman, Patty Davis, said in a telephone interview. "This is a defect in the design of the product by the U.S. company."

Kolcraft, the designers of the cribs, say that the death was caused by "misuse" of the play yard, which carried a warning against leaving infants alone in the product while the changing table was in place.

Baby Furniture Maker Recalls Playpens [NYT]
Kolcraft Recalls Play Yards After the Death of a 10-Month-Old Child [CPSC]

Fall Is A Good Time To Fertilize Your Lawn

Meg Marco — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:42:37 EDT

The summer is winding down and the days are getting shorter. Sigh. Time to fertilize your lawn. Taking a few steps in the fall will help your lawn avoid disease and will ultimately save you money.

From This Old House:

Early in September, grass is recovering from a long hot summer and may be coming out of a drought-induced dormancy, so you'll want to give your lawn a shot of nitrogen to push blade growth. A fertilizer with a formula of 20-8-8 will get it growing again. Always follow the manufacturer's recommended rate of application. Some people treat weeds and insects at this time, but I think that unless there are signs of trouble or a history of problems, don't apply anything but fertilizer. While this September dose of fertilizer is important, an application at the end of October or early November is essential.

Don't forget about your shrubs and trees too!

Fall Fertilizing [This Old House via Shakyard]
(Photo:kusine)