Keep the Basement Dry and Plants Green

In a recent blog we looked at the challenges of keeping your lawn green when hot, dry conditions take hold. The first and most obvious solution was irrigation! Install an automated system or spend extra time pulling hoses to set up temporary sprinklers and keep the landscape green.

A reader was quick to point out that during a dry spell, cities and towns have water usage restrictions. Homeowners depending on well water face the risk of using needed water for the home, on the front lawn!

What if we told you that you could still water regardless of those restrictions? It’s pretty easy, just start collecting rain water.

Harvesting rain water is an effective way to collect and store water that’s safe to reuse on plants and gardens. There are a TON of options to collect water, from burying huge storage tanks to simple connections to a downspout. The elaborate storage systems are large enough that a pump can connect and feed an irrigation system.

For most homeowners, a Rain Barrel is probably sufficient. The barrel sits at the bottom of your downspout and a specialized diverter kit sends rainwater into the container. If your gutter is depositing the water at the base of your foundation now, not only will a rain barrel save rain water, it will probably prevent moisture problems in the basement!

Connect a hose or small solar pump to the container and you are back in business! Now you can capture the afternoon thunderstorm or passing shower and reuse when it is most needed.

What is your experience with harvesting rain? Do you have a harvesting system? Share your photos or experience with us!

Repairing a McCulloch: Fish or Cut Bait?

McCulloch chain saws, string trimmers, and leaf blowers were very popular homeowner tools up until the company shut its doors in 2009.  With McCulloch out of business, production of replacement parts stopped. Any replacement parts that McCulloch had in their factory were sold at auction in June of 1999. Small engine shops from all over scooped up the parts and have been using this limited supply to repair older McCulloch items for 15 years.    

Nobody is making replacement parts for McCulloch and its very unlikely anyone ever will.

What does this mean to you? If you have a McCulloch tool (pre 1999), you should seriously consider replacement vs repair costs. The only way to get a part is a time consuming internet search in the hopes of locating someone who bought parts at the auction, back in 1999. If you locate someone with McCulloch parts, your next hurdle is that they have part you need.

At best, it’s a long shot. You may get lucky and find the part you need, but, you should evaluate if you are throwing good money after bad.

Please note, that the McCulloch brand was acquired by Husqvarna and they are selling tools under this brand name. They are not producing replacement parts for older equipment.  

Dog Days of Summer: Keeping Grass Green in the Heat

After an extended spring season that featured long periods of rainy weather, the summer is continuing the “all or nothing” trend. It’s been hot and dry in the northeast and green lawns are starting to turn brown under the stress.  Here are a few suggestions on how to help keep your lawn looking its best.

Irrigation – Getting water on your lawn nourishes and cools the grass. It’s the first line of defense against hot, dry spells. The best time to water is early in the morning from 3-8am. This allows the soil to soak up water needed and excess water will evaporate when the sun comes up. When a saturated lawn remains in contact with excess water, it creates a breeding ground for disease. This is why watering in the evening can do more harm than good! Finally, watering during the hottest part of the day is bad news…water is evaporating and your lawn won’t appreciate the tease!

PRO TIP: Avoid watering by hand. Use sprinklers to evenly water and connect timers for consistency.  There are even smart-phone apps that can operate irrigation controls! Generally speaking, most lawns want between 1”-2” of water per week. This can vary based on soil and grass types, location, and time of growing season.

Let it Grow…Let it Grow!  Set your mower deck at 3” or greater. Taller grass can absorb water better and creates its own shade too. Cutting too short not only stresses the plant, it prevents it from growing deep roots that could further protect from dry conditions.  

PRO TIP: Get a mulching blade and don’t bag the clippings. A mulching blade cuts the grass a few times before dropping it back into the lawn. The dry, starved lawn will appreciate the mulched clippings for food and shade.

Keep Fertilizer in the Bag. Unless you have an irrigation plan in place, don’t fertilize the lawn when the hot, dry conditions take hold.  Fertilizers provide nutrients for growth, but, without water you’re asking the lawn to do the impossible. Plus, fertilizers need to be watered in to be effective. If the product sits on the lawn for days only to be washed away in a thunderstorm/downpour, you might consider yourself lucky. The alternative would be fertilizer washed into lower areas in super concentrated for that kills the grass in a hurry.

PRO TIP: Use the money you saved on fertilizer and take your spouse to dinner.  A night out beats watching grass grow any day of the week…    

With lawn care, you can’t beat the heat - Mother Nature always has the upper hand. If drought and heat threaten your lawn each year, you might consider a new yard design. Trees can be added to create shade, planting a drought tolerant type of grass, and even reducing the lawn size are all long term solutions to consider.    

Four things to remember before sharpening a set of mower blades.

Sharpening lawnmower blades saves time and money, unless the technique is incorrect – that costs money. 

** Always use proper safety equipment and goggles, hearing, gloves. **

1.       Set the blade grinder to the correct angle. For Oregon replacement blades, use 30 degrees. OEM blades, consult your owner’s manual.

2.       For a right hand cut, set the motor to forward (counter clock wise) to draw the blade into the stone. This will throw sparks out to the right, away from the user.

3.       Your first pass should be to square up the blade.  This will remove any Knicks or chips in the blade.  Once you have set your edge then draw the blade across the stone until you have ground away the metal to meet the bottom edge. Flip the blade and repeat using the same number of passes. Do not attempt to get a razor sharp edge, a .030 - .060 is ideal.

4.       Balance your blade – it is a simple step, but very important when sharpening your blades. A simple screw on the side of your work bench or even a fancy blade balancer will do the trick. Balancing your blade can save you from having to replace your deck spindles prematurely.

A blade grinder is a great addition to any landscape company. By properly learning how to sharpen your own blades you can get a longer blade life, better cut and save money and time while doing it!

For more information on Oregon belt and blade grinders, click here: http://www.propartsdirect.net/pages/CustomCatalog/Catalog/1057

Getting Toro replacement parts just got easier for The Grounds Guys.

As the landscaping season begins its important to inspect your equipment and identify equipment problems before they happen. Air filters, blades, and trimmer line all wear at a predictable rate – so stocking up early saves time – and prevents unneeded breakdowns mid-season. Another place to investigate is the lawnmower’s repair history. Are you nearing the end of life on your belts, cables, or hoses? Keep detailed notes and keep a copy of this information with you in the truck.

This list will make it easy to call in a replacement part order from the field, as soon as it breaks. If you don’t have this list, you should keep a copy of the ProParts Direct catalog handy. Pricing, parts, and Dingo breakdowns alone make it invaluable, but for The Grounds Guys who receive 4% off all orders – it’s a no-brainer!

Unfortunately, ProParts Direct can’t prevent your equipment from unforeseen breakdowns, but we can get you replacement parts faster!  This summer, we are offering The Grounds Guys landscapers factory direct, drop shipments from Toro! When you order from ProParts Direct before 2pm (EST), you receive your Toro order in 48 hours. 

In addition to the best pricing around, we are excited to deliver Toro and Toro Dingo parts with the speed The Grounds Guys demand!  In addition to Toro, ProParts Direct is an OEM and aftermarket dealer for all commercial lawnmower parts.

Order online at ProPartsDirect.net or call our dedicated commercial parts team at 800-305-9255.

The Benefits Of Buying and Stocking Parts Early

Spend time preparing for the upcoming season and avoid the headaches and trouble in-season.

As a landscaper, you really need to look at your efforts through the eyes of a small business owner. Taking advantage of pre-season buying programs keeps items on the shelf for quick repairs and manages consumables. A little bit of attention spent is the difference between turning a profit on the year, growing your business, and standing out among competition. 

Here is an example of the immediate financial impact of not having backup parts:

• Cost of new part and overnight shipping.
• Lost time spent diagnosing and physically repairing the issue.
• Lost revenue due to lost time. Your landscape crew is not cutting and earning; they are waiting.

True Cost of Downtime

1.      Customers who pay for a professional expect great work, no excuses. Landscaper says: “I broke a belt, I’ll return in 2 days.” Customer hears: “Call someone else who can get the job done right.”

2.      $6000 buys a nice enclosed trailer and huge billboard… that nobody sees when it is parked at the shop waiting for a repair.

3.      Failing to prepare says a lot about your business. Not having pride in your work is reflected through your employees and ultimately customers. If you don’t take your work, seriously neither will your customers. Eventually the phone stops ringing and you will never know how many sales you are missing. A reputation is the hardest thing to repair.

Take some time…

Look at what you spend on consumable items.  Trimmer line, two-cycle fuel, air filters, oil filters, and blades are replaced based on hourly use so you can estimate your seasonal parts budget. If you only order as parts break, calculate your shipping cost and lost income during the down time. You will find that it costs more to order only when you need parts vs having the consumable parts on hand.

Once you know what you spend each season, take 20% of what you spend to place a bulk order next spring. Companies like ours, ProParts Direct, have the best buying programs in January and February to help jump start the season.  You can also save by combining several smaller orders into one large order. Shipping charges on individual packages adds up quickly.

Knowing what you need makes it possible to take advantage of pre-season sales and bulk discounts. It’s the little steps that will help increase your bottom line and help your company grow.

For Parts view our website www.propartsdirect.net

Don’t put that snowblower away … yet

Although it feels like winter won’t quit, the good news is that spring will be upon us soon. Before switching from snowblower to lawnmower, it’s a good idea to prepare your snowblower for next winter. It’s a fairly simple process and it will keep your snwoblower running for many years. The following steps should be completed each season.

1.       Fuel used in small engines should always be treated with stabilizer. Ethanol contained in today’s gasoline causes trouble with the carburetor and headaches for the owner. If you don’t treat fuel year round, at least consider adding to the fuel and running the machine before storing.

2.       Inspect the snowblower for worn or loose parts. The scraper blade and skid shoes are designed to wear so if anything looks questionable, just make the repair. Crashing into large snowbanks and throwing heavy snow will weaken shear pins and loosen bolts all over the snowblower. Tighten bolts and replace where necessary.   

PROTIP – While you are at it – change the oil and spark plug! Check your owner’s manual for machine specific instructions, but a 5W30 oil should do the trick.

3.        When storing the snowblower – remember it should stay covered and dry. Clear room inside the shed or even pick up a cover. Either way, make sure it’s secure because it makes a nice home for pests!

Preventative maintenance is straight forward, so a homeowner can complete in less than an hour. Just make sure to have the correct replacement parts on hand before starting the project. Order the replacement parts online at ProPartsDirect.net or call us with questions at 800-305-9255.

Think spring!