Edging the Carriage Roads at My Farm
Early fall is a great time to start on all those lawn maintenance chores.
Here at my farm, my outdoor grounds crew is busy edging all the interior roads, so they look crisp and clean - it's a task we do at least once a year. Edging the lawn can be done manually with a variety of spades, but depending on the size of the yard, it can become quite time-consuming. Rotary edgers, powered by gasoline or electricity, reduce the time it takes to complete the job - these machines feature a spinning blade that cuts through turf as the edger is pushed along the grass border. We edge the roads with a Little Wonder Power Edger. It works really well for creating that beautiful, smooth edge.
Here are some photos of our process.
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- I have four miles of gravel covered carriage road at my farm. We have several big events coming up on the calendar, so it’s a good time to edge the roads – it can take several days to complete. This section of road is ready to be edged.
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- This is such a handy tool – it is my Little Wonder gas powered edger – a single purpose machine used to make good, crisp lines along the edges of garden beds and lawns.
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- Power edgers are easy to use – just line up the edger blade on the turf side of the road, and turn it on. On this gas powered machine, one has to pull a cord to start the motor.
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- It’s always important to wear safety glasses, long pants and closed shoes to avoid injury from any flying debris – edgers can cause small stones to fly up to nearly 10-feet.
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- The blade is about 10-inches long, which cuts a very clean edge. Here it is protected by a metal cutter head that can also prevent some of the debris from flying.
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- The blade can be adjusted to a cutting depth of up to four-inches.
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- My outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring, keeps both hands on the edger handle at all times when it is running. Here he is guiding the machine slowly along the carriage road, keeping the blade tight against the paved surface, so it cuts through the earth.
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- Chhiring listens to the edger to guide the speed. The machine works harder when cutting through turf and is generally quieter when it finishes.
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- Here is the finished line made by the edger – so clean and crisp. This task can also be done manually with a spade, but with the amount of roads that need edging around the farm, it is a lot easier to use our Little Wonder.
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- The important thing is to focus on staying in line with the turf – one of the biggest problems among homeowners is that they go too low and ignore the line they are following.
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- Once a section has been edged, pull up any existing vegetation between the cut edging line and the lawn.
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- Pete uses a basic paddle hoe. It has a six-inch blade on a 52-inch wooden handle attached with a goose-neck for better alignment.
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- The hoe has a blade set at approximately a right angle to the handle, and easily draws the soil out from the edge – it looks so beautiful and clean.
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- Chhiring uses mason’s twine and a stake to mark perfect lines wherever the carriage roads are straight.
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- He lines up the twine where the edger should go – orange makes it easy to see against the grass.
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- Then he lines up the edger again, and continues to edge along the road.
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- Here is Pete following along with the hoe to pull out the cut turf.
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- Once a section of old grass has been pulled from the edge of the road, Pete rakes up the clippings for the compost pile.
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- It looks so wonderful now.
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- This is the road leading into the woodlands – all edged. The roads are about 12-feet wide, which is what it should be after any overgrowth is removed.
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- And another finished road down behind the chicken coops.
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- Here is the boxwood allee – a favorite spot for guests. I am so proud the boxwood has done so well over the years. Edging the carriage roads just gives this area a beautiful finishing touch. Remember, it’s all in the details!
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