In which we speak of gardening, tools, propane, homesteading...and such like.
Showing posts with label flame weeder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flame weeder. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Saturday, August 3, 2013
How to get rid of weeds without hoeing or using Round Up
This years
gardening season has been quite rainy for most of the country; and
thankfully so for some areas that have experienced prolonged drought
conditions.
With
all that rain our garden plants have been able to thrive to maturity.
-Even though we got a late start planting this year;.. due to the
excessively rainy spring.
Along
side of the plants grow the tares; weeds that compete for water (as
though there were not enough this growing season) and nutrients that
rightfully belong to the plants you are nurturing to maturity.
With
the soil as wet and mucky as it has been, hoeing can be a messy, tiring
ordeal that only digs up more weed seeds in your garden so the the
daunting task of weeding can continue over and over again.
The answer to that problem: FLAME WEEDING!
We
will be posting more about flame weeding here with some details on
available flame weeding equipment and a little how to as well.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Agriculture Supported Community at The Rodale Institute

Just as it has been for many generations, it is a great inspiration to see the art and techniques of farming continue to be passed on from one to another.
It's exciting to see the unfolding of great ideas in motion.
We're hoping to see great fruit harvested from agriculture supported community.
On the road home. |
Monday, February 21, 2011
Flame Weeding
Weeding is fun!
I'm looking over the array of carefully selected seed varieties that are promising a bountiful crop of vegetables, flowers & herbs in the coming growing season. Then I survey the garden beds. Winter weeds have taken over the garden, crept in right under our noses, or Roses as it were :-). So much work to be done before the fun of planting can begin!
Wouldn't it be great if your could just erase the old leftover plants from last fall, the grasses and vines along the fence line, dandelions and thistles that have stealthily increased in population, those prickly berry canes that try to sneak into your garden? Make it a clean slate, so to speak.
That can be a daunting task though, and backbreaking work to prepare the garden. You want to focus on the growth of spring, not laboring to clear the past! (Especially if you let things slide a little in the fall ;-)) It's tempting to resort to “easy” chemicals to knock back the spring weeds, or use pre-emergents...but are they really as safe as we've been led to believe? And what is the long term effect on your garden, soil, and your food?
The intense heat of the propane flame destroys the cell structure of living plants,causing them to wither and die within a day or so. While it doesn't immediately kill the deep roots of perennial weeds, repeatedly knocking back the top growth will eventually exhaust the plant. Additionally, weed seeds and overwintering pests and their eggs are killed by the heat and cannot become resistant to this form of control. Flame weeding takes the power of heat, and uses it in a controlled and efficient manner.
And you know what? It's fun! (shhhhh!)
I LOVE WEEDING... with my Red Dragon garden weeding torch. I can slip on my handy backpack tank for rough terrain or just pull a grill tank on the dolly-cart in the tamer areas.
First I can clean up the gravel driveway of any weeds that have popped up since last fall.
Then attend to the mulched areas around the ornamental and fruit trees and bushes.
I no longer waste string line when trimming the grass and weeds along the stone walls, patio or walkways. A clean sweep with the flame weeder is all that's needed. Fence lines are another chore to look forward to..... Well, it's true if you're flame weeding! Then clean up the veggie garden, turning last year's leftovers into soil building ash and bio-char. And, at the end of a chilly spring day, light a fire for marshmallows with the kids.
Now string trimmers do have their place. There are times when a weed whacker is a wiser choice than a weeding torch. If you are working near highly combustible materials like pine needles, around plants like Poison Ivy or certain evergreens, or under very dry, windy conditions.
(You might consider converting your motorized 4 cycle trimmer to a low polluting, low emissions fuel: propane.
Find out more about converting your small engine equipment, including lawn and garden equipment, generators, and more to propane: click here.)
Just call me the Hank Hill of gardening!
Red Dragon Flame Weeders are made with pride in the USA .
Labels:
flame weeder,
propane power,
USA made,
vegetables,
weeding
Monday, July 13, 2009
Propane Gas at the 60th Annual Delmarva Chicken Festival
When we got the invitation to attend the 60th annual Delmarva Chicken Festival we decided we just had to go!
We met the folks from the Mid Atlantic Propane Gas Association in Centreville, MD and got to exhibit our propane powered lawn and garden equipment along side some other propane powered implements like a barbecue grill and an outdoor patio heater, not to forget the poultry house sanitizer manufactured by Flame Engineering of LaCrosse, Kansas, now celebrating their 50th year, which was provided by Tri-Gas & Oil of Federalsburg, MD.
We were proud to exhibit our EnviroGard propane powered 61" zero turn lawn mower, and assortment of Weed Dragon torches (also manufactured by Flame Engineering) and the new LEHR Eco Trimmer.
The Chicken Festival was an event filled with food, music, vendors and amusements for all ages and interests.
We were greeted at the entrance gate by a gentleman wearing a chicken hat and met people through out the day wearing similar garments. When we asked about the hats the response we got was that they were from Chicken Festivals from years past, so this seems to be a tradition on the Delmarva. Speaking of chicken, the chicken cooked in the giant fry pan was terrific as was the lemonade that we drank a lot of.
Lots of folks stopped by the M.A.P.G.A. exhibit to try their hand at a form of putt putt golf we call earth golf and to learn about propane which isn't just for heating or cooking any more.
Thanks to the folks at LEHR and Onyx Environmental Solutions we can now use propane as a low polluting motor fuel in lawn equipment engines.
LEHR has a really awesome line of propane powered string trimmers known as Eco Trimmers. They have 4 stroke engines that are smooth running and quieter than your average 2 cycle engine with PLENTY of power and a whole lot less pollution and smell. The fuel for the Eco trimmers comes in economical and easy to use 16.4 oz. twist on canisters readily available at most hardware stores, as are the trimmers themselves.
The reactions we got from the LEHR trimmers was always something like... OH! That's Amazing!! It Runs On Propane!! I WANT ONE!!!
Onyx Environmental Solutions is the originator of the EnviroGard fuel system which powers the zero turn lawn mower. They have been a pioneer in the patented propane fuel system designed for rugged use in the turf industry. We had a really positive response to the EnviroGard mower from home owners and professionals alike. The interest in using propane as a clean burning, low polluting alternative fuel has been consistently high, especially when they realize that propane is much less expensive than gasoline during the growing season.
We also had a great response when people saw the new Mini Dragon flame weeder and saw how easy it is to control weeds without the use of dangerous chemicals. Fueled by easy to use 16.4 oz. propane cylinders the Mini Dragon uses heat to bring weeds to the place where they have wilted and will dry up & die.
We met many chicken consumers as well as producers at the Chicken Fest who were happy to see the Flame Engineering Poultry House Sanitizer which does its job using propane heat not chemicals. Better for the birds, better for the environment and better for you.
Can you say Organic Chicken?
Thanks again to the Mid Atlantic Propane Gas Association for inviting us to the Chicken Fest as well as EnviroGard, Flame Engineering and LEHR for the great equipment to exhibit at the event.
A special note of thanks to Timothy Elgard (pictured above in front of the mower) who braved the heat in his chicken costume.
Check out our new environmentally friendly propane powered equipment section of the WayCoolTools on line catalog... coming soon.
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