Quick, what’s the largest crop in America? You guessed it, our lawns. Almost every patch of proud blades requires some machine to keep it trim, and given a recent publication of controversial but alarming statistics on the pollution that our gas-powered beautification devices puts out, we decided to get an electric mower. Enter the Sunlawn EM-2. A rotary–blade mower (think your granparents old push mower) that runs on two 12-volt batteries and charges from an ordinary transformer, it is quite compact and relatively light compared to other electron-swapping-powered (read:ballast) machines. Those of you who have found yourself drooling over those ads for the DR brush mower can keep on salivating. The Sunlawn will choke on anything more than a moist patch of average kentucky’s finest blue. Happily, it will chug along with quiet persistence on most of your favorite ¼ acre plots of willing fescue. Only gripe on my end is the pitifully small bag. If you want to keep your vermillion crop nice and clean during its haircut, you’ll be schlepping bags to the curb every few minutes. One of the best parts: The average YEARLY cost of powering one of these – 5 bucks. The EM-2 is available direct from Sunlawn for about $380.

This post should be read:

1. If you live in an area like we do, which is basically irrigated dessert
2. If you find your water bill insanely high
3. If you would rather sip mai-tais and watch your garden grow, rather than water it

If any or all of these apply to you, Zeba makes a line of soil amendment products to help you cut back on your watering, whatever your motivation. According to Zeba, “Quench” saves water by up to 50% in your gardens and container plants by absorbing water and releasing it when the plant root “asks for it”! That’s right, your plant says “hey Zeba, I’m thirsty”, and then Zeba says, “well, drink up my dear bromeliad, there’s plenty to go around.” Zeba acts like a sponge catching and releasing moisture, and it can hold hundreds of times its weight in water. Available in both “Singles” (with organic fertilizer option), or in larger containers for mixing right into the soil. There are also several different types geared towards home use, agricultural, nursery, etc. You fellow green homefixated types will appeciate that not only does Zeba save water, but it is biodegradable, non-toxic and pH neutral. More details at Zeba.com. Available starting at about $15 from Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden and other retailers and etailers.

So, you have purchased your dream 2 million dollar ultra modern one bedroom bachelor pad in California. Now it is time to accessorize and spice up that patio. Leave it to Germans to build an ultra modern, oh-so sexy firepit. I am afraid it will not fit in with our Spanish style casa, but I know one of you could use it. Made in Germany and available from Hart’s Hearth. At just about $600, it is way less expensive than a new BMW.

Have I mentioned my refusal to use toxins to control weeds on our lawn? On the off chance I might become possessed and choose to lick our lawn, or that the toxins will seep into our water table, I refuse to use any weed killer or pesticides on our property. Being green is not easy sometimes, but there are resources to help. The Weed Hound, made by Hound Dog Tools, is a handy weed puller that lets you do your dirty work from a standing position. After crawling around on our lawn, cursing the weeds like a mad man, this looks like a brilliant design. Dave Pollard also has some helpful eco friendly tips for lawn and yard care on his site. Thanks to Greg for the tip and to TreeHugger and Sustainablog for their original link to Dave Pollard’s site. I just ordered my Weed Hound for $25 with free shipping from Hound Dog Tools online order site.

I knew when a nature loving, home improvement guru and friend was tempted to shoot some nasty woodpeckers after they poked holes into his custom log home, trouble was brewing. Thankfully a solution of black streamers seemed to scare the birds away. If that fails in the future, these bird balloons might do the trick. The 18″ balloons have mylar tails and “eyes” that mimic and exaggerate the glaring eyes and gaping mouth of a predator bird. Plus they look cool and come in nifty colors like black, white or yellow. Rotate colors for best results. They recommend four to eight balloons per acre. Let me see. . . at our house we would need 1/10th of one balloon. Why is this under “eco-friendly” you might ask? Mainly because showing birds scary balloons is much nicer than shooting them. If you have pesky birds, please scare them away gently rather than killing them. Available for about $8 each at Gemplers

.

Oh sweet robotics. If I had an extra $1000-$2000 (depending on the model), I would be all over this. I used to think lawn mowing was cool. However after the novelty wore off, lawn mowing was not much fun after all. Enter the Robomower, from the creative minds at Friendly Robotics. I find it ironic that a company with a name that warm and fuzzy makes autonomous robots with spinning sharp metal blades that rotate at 5800 rpm. Despite the threat of a rogue Robomower of death, this looks a great product. I would opt for the Robomow RL1000, which happens to be the most expensive, because it actually offers programmed scheduled departures. It even sounds a safety buzzer 5 minutes before launch to warn people away (or attract them, depending on their curiosity level). Despite sensor equipped bumpers, mower lift detection, child lock and anti-theft features, I think I would still keep an eye on it to make sure a jealous neighbor would not run off with mine. Friendly Robotics, are you listening? Please send me one for permanent evaluation. I will even change the blog name to RoboFixated in your honor. More information is available at FriendlyRobotics.com.

OK, so it hardly ever rains in San Diego. In fact, in the summer it never rains. However, San Diego’s lack of precipitation will not stop me from writing about moisture friendly technology. RainBarrelGuide.com is chock full of helpful information to get you started in the eco-friendly business of harvesting rainwater with rain barrels. It offers tips like making sure your barrel has a lid to keep your children and pets from falling into the barrel. Other more mundane and less frightening tips are offered as well, along with some interesting facts. According to the RainBarrelGuide.com site, 10 inches of rain falling on 1,000 square feet can generate about 6,000 gallons! Saving rainwater (at least outside of San Diego) is a great way to save money and save the environment. The barrel pictured is the Rainsaver, available for about $200.

If we had trees, I would be all over this! Although we are tree-less, our neighbor has a pesky palm tree that I would like to cut down in the middle of the night like a chainsawing ninja. Either that, or maybe I will just ask them if I can cut it down. The pocket chainsaw is reported to cut a 3″ diameter tree limb in less than 10 seconds. I watched the video, and I don’t care if the tree is made of balsa and Sven the 300 pound lumberjack is doing the sawing, this thing saws fast! The saws design makes it great for awkward cuts close to the ground too. It is probably a tad safer than a gas powered 6 hp Husqvarna. Available from Clean Air Gardening for about $20.

That’s right, spatulate. Although this tool looks like something you might want to flip pancakes with, it is in fact a highly specialized lawn mower utensil. You know that green debris that gets caked onto the underside of your mower? This scraper will make short work of cleaning it right out. As a man who likes to believe there is a tool to make just about every task easier, or at least more fun, the mower scraper brings a smile to my face. Available from Gempler’s for about $10.