Weedeaters are an important piece of your lawn arsonal of outdoor power equipment. There are many differences between weed wackers, gas weed wackers or electric, 2-cycle vs. 4-cycle, and straight vs. curved shafts. Making the right decison before buying a weed wacker will save you time, frustration and money if you research them a little bit. In this article we are going to review the differences between straight shaft vs. curved shaft string trimmers.

Straight shaft weed wackers have historically been the weedeater of choice for most lawn care professionals. They are known to attack heavier weeds, and taller thicker brush better than curved shaft models. There is a debate as to which is more maneuverable, but more times out of ten the straight shaft side usually wins. The straight shaft weed wacker simply has more reach since its longer and allows more attachments like blowers, hedge trimmers, and others.. They tend to be more expensive than than curved shaft units. People that are taller tend to enjoy using a straight shaft string trimmer since they don’t have to do as much bending as with the curved.

Curved shaft trimmers were made with comfort in mind. Many people that use them feel that they are easier to maneuver and more comfortable to use. The direction of the spinning lines also varies between straight and curved. Curved shaft models will spin in the better direction as trimmings will get on your feet less as you move. Probably the best benefit of all of the curved shaft is its weight. It is usually less weight than a straight shaft. And finally shorter people tend to go with the curved shaft models of the straight shaft.

There you have it, the pros and the cons of straight shaft trimmers vs. curved. As I mentioned earlier it is important to learn about each type of weedeater so when you are ready to purchase a new one you know which weed eater is right for you!

The use of robots around the home to mow lawns, vacuum floors and manage other chores has surged up as more consumers prefer smart machines to handle their day to day activities without a need to attend to those machines.

A report, issued by the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe and the International Federation of Robotics at the end of 2003, said that out of total domestic robot sales 570,000 were robot lawnmowers and Sales of vacuum cleaning robots reached 37,000.

Fully automatic lawn mowers are designed to mow your lawn all by themselves. The Basic L200 Auto Lawn Mow model can mow an area of up to one third of an acre of lawn and then return home to recharge at the base station – all without human intervention and Auto Lawn Mow Evolution L200 model can handle over one acre of grass! Clean, effective and fully automatic, you can sit back and relax while the robot does all the work.

Robot Lawn mowers are environmentally Friendly- With global warming now being a major concern you can have peace of mind with these mowers. All Auto Lawn Mow models run on rechargeable Lithium ion batteries; and do not use petrol or burn oil like conventional lawn mowers.
Our Robot lawn mowers work very quietly, so you can program them to work in night while you sleep.
AutoLawnMow’s Robot Lawn Mowers are specially designed to cope with rainy weather. Rain Sensors in these robot lawn mowers alerts the robot to return to its docking station or stay in it’s docking station while it’s raining but on the other hand if you are using a simple electric lawn mower without a rain sensor, either you have to run yourself in rain to get your mower in shed or it will be useless.
Bump sensors in our robotic lawnmower protects the lawn mower from running over items that may be lying in the yard, hence increasing its life and efficiency.
Robot lawn mowers are a boon for People with allergy problems. Robot lawn mowers cut your grass while you sitting faraway, reading your favorite novel, and providing you with allergy relief.
Automatic lawn mowers save you time and effort. To buy an automatic lawn mower for green and healthy lawns that too without any hassles, visit http://www.robotlawnmowers.ie or email us at sales@autolawnmow.ie

If you have a large lawn that is getting too much to handle with a walk-behind mower you may be considering buying a lawn tractor or a riding mower. A lawn tractor may have various attachments available and can be used for hauling materials about your yard in addition to mowing your lawn. More expensive than riding mowers they have multiple uses. You should also be looking for mowing decks that are easily adjustable and have mulching capabilities.


Choosing the Type of Mower


Zero Turn Mowers


For a lawn that is more than 1/2 acre with multiple objects a zero turn mower would be a good choice. The time taken to mow your lawn can be cut in half with a zero turn mower as these mowers are more efficient. The excellent maneuverability allows you to easily mow around all size objects without having to back up and turn repeatedly. The rear wheels are used for both power and steering and operate independently so one wheel can reverse while the other wheel rotates forward allowing zero to 360 degree turns. In addition these mowers are fast, up to 6.5 mph so you can quickly cover a large lawn.


Riding Mowers


For a lawn of between 1/2 to 1 acre a riding mower will be ideal. They have few attachments as they are primarily built to do one thin wheel and that is to cut the lawn!


Lawn Tractors


With higher horsepower engines lawn tractors are better for larger lawns and rougher terrain. They also have a good range of optional attachments so if you want to use your mower as a snowblower, an aerator, a machine to move material around your yard you should choose a lawn tractor.


Garden Tractors


The toughest of these machines with the highest horsepower, garden tractors usually have two-cylinder engines and sturdy transmissions. For a very large garden or yard with rough terrain choose a garden tractor.


Factors to consider before you purchase a lawn tractor or riding mower


Size of Lawn


The first thing to take into account is the power of the engine and the cutting width and to ensure that these are suitable for the size of your lawn. Here are some general guidelines to help you choose. Be aware of the width between any obstacles as a larger deck may cut down the time to mow a large area but be unable to mow between obstacles.


1/2 to 1 acre lawn: You will need a mower with at least a 14 hp engine and a 42″ cutting width


1 to 2 acres lawn: A cutting width of between 42″ and 46″ with a 14 to 16hp engine should be adequate


3 Acres and above: For this size lawn area an engine size of between 18 and 24 hp and a 46″ to 54″ cutting deck would be the best buy


Attachments


A wide range of attachments are available for lawn tractors including snowblowers, front blades, tractor shovel, electric spreaders, baggers etc. Check that attachments that you might need now or in the future are available for the model you are considering. Riding mowers generally have very few attachments but are cheaper to buy so if all you want to do is mow your lawn a riding mower would be the best buy.


Transmission


Gear Driven or Automatic?


Consider the layout of the lawn area to be cut with your lawn tractor or riding mower. A gear driven mower will be better on open areas with few obstacles such as flower beds or bird baths. Choose an automatic transmission for areas that have obstacles so that you can easily vary the speed around the objects. Most of the lawn tractors with automatic transmission also have cruise control so you can set this in areas that are clearer.


Bagging, Mulching or Side Discharging


Many lawn mowers have the options to easily switch between mulching or side discharging. Most have optional bagging attachments.


Safety Concerns


The higher speed of lawn tractors and riding mowers leads to some concern for safety and operators should be aware of these factors before they use the machines.


Obstacles: Care must be taken with obstacles on the lawn as hitting a solid object will do severe damage to the machine at these speeds.


Scattering objects: Any small objects, for instance stones, twigs, household objects left on the lawn will be picked up by the mower and projected at high speed. Always ensure there are no people or pets in the area when operating the machines.


Noise: Some of these mowers can be very noisy. Wear ear protection if this applies to your model


Advantages and Disadvantages


Lawn Tractors


Advantages: Durable, built to last, attachments to do many other tasks


Disadvantages: Expensive, leaves uncut areas at the end of turns, needs a large storage area, difficult to take in for repairs


Zero Turn Mowers


Advantages: Fast, best for a lawn with many obstacles, no uncut areas at the end of turns, few attachments


Disadvantages: Expensive, needs a large storage area, difficult to take in for repairs, few attachments, some safety concerns due to the high speed.


Riding Mowers


Advantages: Cheaper than lawn tractors, reasonably fast, leaves uncut areas at the end of turns,few attachments


Disadvantages: Awkward to steer around obstacles and leaves uncut grass close to obstacles.

Water, one of the basic requirements for survival is facing a crisis. Unfortunately, one out of six people lack access to safe drinking water, while more than two, out of six lack adequate sanitation.

Lack of strong institutions and agreements, changes within a basin, often give way to Trans boundary tensions finally leading to water scarcity. Water problems at the Aral Sea, Parana La Plata, the Jordan and the Danube further bring home the point. Due to the lack of regional collaboration, major water projects get disrupted half way, resulting in regional instability.

Proper water management is a very effective way to tackle water shortage. Awareness and protection of freshwater resources is the best way to fix the water shortage issue. To that aim, several measures should be taken:

The right to water: Kofi Annan UNO Secretary General clearly pointed out:” Access to safe water is a fundamental human need and therefore a basic human right”. Therefore the right to safe drinking water should be guaranteed to one and all.

Know-how at the local level at the local level should be developed: Unfortunately, most of the people tend to waste water believing that the access to water is an obvious and natural thing. It is only when they face severe water shortage do they realize its importance. Therefore the level of awareness about the importance and utility of water should be increased at the local level. Urbanization and lifestyle are also responsible behind water scarcity.

Improved and greater investment in water related projects: A large number of water projects still do not receive the necessary political priority and funding they deserve. A strong political will and improved financing are required to solve the severe water problem.

Monitoring water resources: It is important to develop a governing authority that will monitor and check the use of water. The authority will formulate water policies and will design, frame, investigate, operate and maintain water resources. The authority should spread the knowledge of availability of water among the general public.
Improving transboundary relation: Resolution of conflicts regional economic development and cultural preservation can all be strengthened by states cooperating of water. Instead of creating an issue water problem should be handled with cooperation and peace, initiatives should be taken to avoid crises.

Decentralisation of the responsibility for water; It is important to have collective responsibility in order to access and monitor water resources.

Global Water has been working on raising the awareness of the water challenges. Realizing that temporary handouts during emergency crises is not a handy solution to the long-term regional health and other famine-related problems Global Water promises to provide a permanent source of fresh clean water to all. Equipped with bring state-of-the-art water well drilling equipment Global Water is bringing clean and safe drinking water to every household. For more information, please visit Global Water at www(dot)globalwater(dot)org

Plant requires 16 nutrients that are essential for the growth of healthy plants and crops. Most of the required nutrients are not found in the soil and so to promote the plant growth a well-planed fertilizer feeding to crop is required. Fertilizer is generally applied through soil or leaves of the plant to provide the required nutrients to the plants. Soil is supposed to have some nutrients that are essential for the plant growth but soil do not provides an unlimited supply of the nutrients to growing plants. Most of the fertilizers are known for providing nitrogen, potassium and phosphate but just adding nitrogen, potassium and phosphate alone do not solve the purpose and one has to apply fertilizer based on the type of soil and the nutritional needs of the particular crops.

Fertilizers are broadly categorized into two categories of organic and inorganic fertilizers. Organic fertilizers are derived from living or once living material such as animal wastes, crop residues and numerous other byproducts of living organism. Inorganic fertilizers are derived from non-living sources such as commercial or man made fertilizers. Organic fertilizers improve the productivity of the soil and prove to be plant growth regulators, if applied properly. Fertilizers are mostly applied through soil or through leaves. Fertilizers that are applied to be up taken through leaves are called as foliar fertilizers.

There are several types of fertilizers available and one has to smartly choose a fertilizer depending on the nutritional needs of the crops, types of soil and the stage of the plant. The plants should be supplied with the right type of nutrients required at a particular stage so that fertilizers act as a plant growth regulator. Different types of fertilizers are required at the various stages of the plants or crops. Before planting the crops one has to make sure that the soil has well-composed organic matter that will aid in retaining moisture and will also provide some slow release nutrients for the soil. At the time of planting, phosphorous based fertilizer is required that will help in healthy root growth. This nutrient is found in most of the standard fertilizer. In the flowering stage plants need extra nitrogen and potassium hence nitrogen or potassium fertilizers are used as these proves to be great for promoting flowers.

Fertilizers are required to be carefully applied to the plants as applying  too much of fertilizers can cause damage to the crops as well as harm the environment whereas applying less fertilizers can hamper the growth of the plants or crops. Hence one need to carefully analyze the fertilizer needs of the plants and provide fertilizer keeping in mind all the essential aspects of plant growth and plant requirements. Thus to balance all the required nutrients at different stages of the plant, different fertilizers are applied either through soil or through leaves.