Fifth Avenue Forum

My battery powered weed whacker has a broken string casing (or whatever that part is called that holds the actual string line). I could probably get a replacement but I'd rather use this opportunity to get a gas powered weed whacker. Any suggestions?

Why gas powered? I went away from gas - mainly because I'm too much of a doofus to remember to winterize it every year.

My current unit dies out (both batteries) before I can finish all the trim + a hillside that is too steep to mow. I figured a gas would not only allow me to finish it all in one shot, but also provide more power where needed if I let the hillside go longer than I should (and I definitely do that way too much).

I have a Toro model my dad gave me when he stopped cutting his own lawn. I fight with the string management system for about half the time I run it. It's awful.

My battery powered weed whacker has a broken string casing (or whatever that part is called that holds the actual string line). I could probably get a replacement but I'd rather use this opportunity to get a gas powered weed whacker. Any suggestions?

Why gas powered? I went away from gas - mainly because I'm too much of a doofus to remember to winterize it every year.

My current unit dies out (both batteries) before I can finish all the trim + a hillside that is too steep to mow. I figured a gas would not only allow me to finish it all in one shot, but also provide more power where needed if I let the hillside go longer than I should (and I definitely do that way too much).

Hard to give a req then

My old Toro was fine for what it was, but it did not have an auto extract feature for the string and the above winterizing issue. As long as you a) winterize or b) use gas without ethanol you should be fine with whatever you choose, imo. Depending on how much you use it, you could probably get away with buying a can of the premixed stuff which should solve that issue. Gets expensive though

Source of the post b) use gas without ethanol

This is the key. Even though it's more expensive, I switched to using TruFuel from the big box stores. Not a single issue since.

Also, don't use StaBil. That **** is just trash now, and I have incidents with 3 different carbs to prove it. Never again.

I have an Echo PAS series. I am not the typical FAF homeowner though, but I love it. I have the line trimmer, blade, pole saw, and cultivator/tiller heads.

X2 on cans of premix fuel too. I think a gallon lasts me a summer. So it's worth the 8 or so bucks.

Finished the chicken tractor tonight. Forgot to put a door on it. Broilers should go in tomorrow or Friday if it rains.
Following a Salatin design. 6'x8'x2'. Move it once day.
Food tied on to the superstructure so I'll only have to move the water when I move the tractor.

Anyone use lawn fabric in garden beds to prevent weeds

I have but I've never found one that actually works.

I'm going to attempt it this year.

**** that stuff, if you ever need to rip it out, you'll never want it again

I created a flower garden 5+ years ago in our backyard, along the back of the house, and used landscape fabric. Zero weeds after all this time, and the only thing I constantly pull is one type of flower that I absolutely hate, and spreads like a weed. Ironic.

We put a bunch of fabric down maybe 4 years ago. I would give to a C grade. It’s kind of a pain to deal with if you need to plant new stuff. We also put a lot of mulch down, so I don’t know if that helps keep weeds down or not. I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll use it in the future.

It also helps to use high quality dirt and potting soil if you're creating a new garden. I spent extra and avoided the stuff they sell at the big box stores. I have at least 8" of it on top of the landscape fabric.

I will say my experience comes from tearing up old landscaping when I bought my house. They let things go, so weeds were coming through everywhere. And there were two layers of the fabric. It was hell

Was it old school rubber fabric? The newer cloth fabric is just so much better, IME.

Yeah, we put the cloth stuff down when we moved in back in 2007. It worked well, until you get a couple of layers/years of mulch or pinestraw, because then you just have a think layer of soil on top of the cover. Then should you want to plant anything, it sucks to cut through it. It's good, but hard to work with later on down the road.

Was it old school rubber fabric? The newer cloth fabric is just so much better, IME.

the top layer was a thicker cloth and the bottom layer was almost like garbage bag material

Unless you have dedicated raised beds with rows between, landscaping fabric in the garden is a moot point. Dirt will eventually fall on top of the fabric, creating a new base layer for the weeds to grow on. Speaking from experience

Finished the chicken tractor tonight. Forgot to put a door on it. Broilers should go in tomorrow or Friday if it rains.

Following a Salatin design. 6'x8'x2'. Move it once day.

Food tied on to the superstructure so I'll only have to move the water when I move the tractor.

They are in their new home.

The mall near us has had pretty much every store close. All that's left is a shoe store, Dunhams, and recently a Rural King opened up where the Sears used to be. What a place. Imagine Tractor Supply, Home Depot, and Walmart had a baby. Anyways, they had a full area of chicks set up for sale. About 10-14 different breeds. Was really neat.

That you, mac?

They have one about 70 miles north of me. They are nice.

On @MWB side of Charlotte there is a place called AgriSupply that is similar.

They are building a "Walmart size" Tractor Supply near me in the next year or so supposedly.

They have one about 70 miles north of me. They are nice.

On @MWB side of Charlotte there is a place called AgriSupply that is similar.

They are building a "Walmart size" Tractor Supply near me in the next year or so supposedly.

YeH, it’s about 15 minutes from me. Ironically, I was just checking their website. Finishing a patio and need some polymeric sand for the gaps. Sadly, they don’t have that.

Really? That's wild.. I was over there about a month ago and they have everything.*


*- except for polymeric sand evidently.

Maybe they do and just don’t have a great search engine in their website. Lowe’s and Home Depot are out, then I remembered that place and thought they might. I might go there anyway just to check it out. Sounds pretty cool.