Eco-Friendly

Composting is one of those things nearly every gardener knows they should do, but actually doing it is where the gap opens. A pile in the corner of the yard requires turning with a pitchfork, balancing greens and browns, waiting 6–12 months, and dealing with whatever lives in it. A compost tumbler solves most of these problems: you load from the top, spin it every few days, and get finished compost in as little as 3–8 weeks. No pitchfork, no pile, no smell (when done right), and rodents can’t get in. ...

Composting is one of those things that sounds like more work than it is. You throw kitchen scraps and yard waste into a bin, wait, and get free garden soil out the other end. The hard part is choosing the right system for your space — a worm bin is perfect for a balcony but won’t handle the volume a 5,000 square foot garden produces. A three-bin stationary system handles big yards but takes up permanent space. ...

Your garden wants rainwater. Tap water contains chlorine, chloramine, and dissolved minerals that accumulate in soil over time. Rainwater is naturally soft, slightly acidic, and rich in nitrogen. Plants visibly respond to it. A single 50-gallon rain barrel can collect 1,300 gallons per season from a 1,000 sq ft roof. We tested 6 rain barrels for capacity, durability, features, and ease of installation. Whether you want a basic barrel or a decorative urn that blends with your landscaping, here’s what matters. ...

Gas mowers roar. Electric mowers whirr. But a reel mower — a reel mower whispers. The soft “snikt-snikt-snikt” of spinning blades against a stationary bed knife is the sound of a Sunday morning that doesn’t wake the neighbors. Reel mowers cut grass by scissoring each blade between a spinning reel and a fixed bed knife — a fundamentally cleaner cut than the tearing action of a rotary mower. The result is healthier grass that’s less susceptible to disease and brown tips. We tested 6 reel mowers for lawns from 500 to 5,000 square feet. ...