Edging My Carriage Roads
This time of year is great for starting all those lawn maintenance chores.
Here at my farm, my outdoor grounds crew is busy edging the carriage roads, so they look crisp and clean - it's a task we do once a year. Edging roads, lawns, and around garden beds can be done manually with a variety of spades or edging type tools, but depending on the size of the space, it can also be very time-consuming. Rotary edgers, powered by gasoline, electricity, or portable battery reduce the time it takes to complete this job. These machines feature a spinning blade that cuts through the turf as the edger is pushed along the road where it meets the grass border. For this chore, I use my Troy-Bilt TBE550 Lawn Edger. It works really well for creating that beautiful, smooth edge.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Does your driveway look similar to this – where the grass has grown over the road leaving it messy and unsightly?
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- Are there areas where weeds and grass have grown outside the lawn edge? I have four miles of gravel-covered carriage road at my farm. Every spring, I notice how much the grass has grown into the gravel making it difficult to see the exact edge where the carriage road meets the lawn.
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- My Troy-Bilt TBE550 Lawn and Driveway Edger is a single purpose machine used for making good, crisp lines along the edges of garden beds, driveways, and lawns.
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- The covered nine-inch triple edge blade is self-sharpening and has three different bevel options for trimming. The machine is also very easy to maneuver and guide.
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- Pete and Fernando use bright colored twine and garden sod staples to mark the straight edge of the lawn where the edger will go. The twine is saved and used over and over for making straight lines for a variety of projects.
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- Pete puts up the colored twine one section at a time. Once taut, it is easy to see the guiding string for the edger.
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- Pete hammers in another garden sod staple to anchor the twine at the other end and looks to make sure the twine is aligned straight where he wants it to be.
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- It’s always important to wear long pants and closed shoes to avoid injury from any flying debris. Edgers can cause small stones to fly up to nearly 10-feet. Pete also wheres eye protection while using this machine. As it is running, Pete listens to the edger to guide the speed. The machine works harder when cutting through the 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 an edging spade, but with the number of roads that need edging around the farm, it is a lot easier to use the powered edger tool. In this section, one can see where the edger has passed and made a clean line through the turf.
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- Once a section has been edged, Fernando pulls away the unwanted vegetation between the cut edging line and the lawn using a garden hoe.
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- Look how much is pulled away. Fernando stops often to check his work. The carriage roads are all about 12-feet wide, which is what it should be after any overgrowth is removed.
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- This area is alongside my pergola. It looks so different after it is edged.
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- Fernando uses a soft rake to gather all the debris into one place.
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- And then picks it up by hand.
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- The soft rake is also very helpful in removing the old, dead grass on top of the gravel.
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- Here, Fernando blows along the road with our STIHL leaf blower to clear any leftover dead leaves or debris on the lawn. He also blows any gravel stones back onto the road. These STIHL blowers are powerful and fuel-efficient. They provide enough rugged power to tackle heavy debris while delivering lower emissions.
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- Meanwhile, Pete uses a landscape rake to spread and level the gravel. These rakes have one straight edge and one toothed edge.
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- He uses the straight edge to move and level. These landscape rakes are easy to find at home improvement shops and some gardening centers.
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- The toothed edge is used for more detailed work such as pushing the gravel to the edge of the grass so all looks manicured and finished. Gravel roads are attractive, easy to maintain, and accumulate less pollutants over time.
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- Here’s a finished edge – it looks so straight and clean. It’s important to edge and shape the roads regularly, so they drain properly and look tidy. I like to use native washed stone in a blend of gray tones. This gravel is used all over the farm.
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- This day was mild with very little wind, so flying dust from the gravel was minimal. After a few hours, this section of carriage road looks completely different with its fresh, sharp edge. There’s a lot more road to edge – keep up the good work, Pete and Fernando!
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