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While mowing the lawn today/night (BTW, you know you're a red-neck if you have lights on your lawnmower and ever had to use them) I couldn't help but worry over the bald spots in my lawn. I figured that if I aerate my lawn and then seeded it, I might get a few results, but who has time to aerate, seed,
then throw some mulch out so the seeds don't all run away when next it rains? Not only that, but have you seen the price of seeds lately? I'm not too poor, but I don't really have that much money to go spending it on seeds every other week just to watch everything down hill getting greener and my yard look like a bruised apple starting to turn bad. What I propose is to have a mower accessory that attaches to the bag (or where the bag attaches to the mower) that would cull out the seeds in the grass. Once the seeds were seperated everything else would get sent to the mulcher. While everything is getting chopped up into little fertile bits the seeds would go into a heavy, hollow drum with spikes coming off it and small holes in between the spikes. The spikes would aerate the ground and seeds would fall out of the holes. Then, after all this work, the mulcher would dump it's load ever so slowly over the area that was just cut, aerated, and seeded so that the seeds wouldn't get washed away in the next watering.
Grass seed harvesting
http://www.hort.pur...afcm/grassseed.html "There are three methods of harvesting grass seed..." [half, Sep 09 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004]
Stealth Lawnmower
http://www.halfbake...Stealth_20Lawnmower Be at peace with your neighbours. [8th of 7, Sep 11 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]
[link]
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Holy Moly! A real live idea! |
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A case of transmuralsemperherbohyperviridiance, here? |
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I was mowing last day/night as well, because the sun set and a storm moved in rather quickly. I was about to post Lawnmower Headlights. Oh well. |
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Sorry 'bout that [BC], yeah, I've had lawnmower headlights for several years. Only had to use them a few times though. |
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//cull out the seeds in the grass// Any thoughts on how this part would be accomplished? This is a good idea and I can build it in my head until I get to this part. |
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Yeah, thats the only part that was getting me too. Was thinking that it would have to be a combine-harvester like machine, just miniturized to fit on the back of a riding lawnmower. |
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At least in the context of the grass in my yard, that part sounds impractical given the size and mass of the seed versus the grass/mulched grass. Maybe a screen of sorts would do the job if the grass was very dry. |
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Given the increased survival rate per seed, it might become economically justifiable to purchase seed and pour it in to a hopper for distribution. |
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How's the seed collect for those plant stores anyway? I know 'they' don't just wave their magic wands and say "poof" and there it is. |
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Beats me. I'm a halfbaker not a horticulturalist. Ask [FarmerJohn]. Looks like there's more than one way. (link) |
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You sound like a bad Star Trek episode, "Dammit jim, I'm a doctor, not a thermal nuclear scientest!" It sounds like the harvesting of seeds would be a little tricker then I first though. Maybe it should be like you suggested, putting store bought seeds in a hopper. Or, to go along with my dream machine, a funnel that is attached to the hollow drum so that it can spread the seed while I cut and mulch and aerate. |
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I did intend for the hopper to feed the drum that you described. Now, just add an infrared system to detect and automatically re-seed the bald spots and you're in business (or is that "Bob's your uncle"?). |
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//I couldn't help but worry over the bald spots in my lawn.// Just so you know what my advice is worth, my lawn currently *is* a bald spot. |
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St. Augustine grass sends up a stem with a V shaped thing on the end, covered in seeds, when it goes to seed. I don't know about other types of grass, but it shouldn't be too difficult to collect those. The seeds are pretty strongly held, though, it takes some effort to get them out with a fingernail or something... |
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//that would cull out the seeds in the grass.
How long do you have to leave grass uncut before it goes to seed? I suspect if your grass is going to seed, then your lawn is going to look pretty scruffy anyway. And of course you would be re-seeding the weeds in your lawn too. You probably don't want to multch the cut grass on to it either - your lawn should really be well scarified and free of old organic matter to look good. The grass seed is going to do much better with a blood based topdressing and fertilizer mix. |
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// Neighbours *do not* appreciate you mowing your lawn at 10:00 at night // |
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New idea oportunity - "Stealth Lawnmower" ? |
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