To summarize this product in one word, these landscape stakes are wonderful! The first 100% biodegradable landscape tool on the market, these stakes are designed to replace the use of metal turf staples that are on the market today with a stronger and more eco-friendly alternative! They are a great “green” solution for the lawn care professional, and the home and garden warrior alike.

GreenStake’s Pitch:

• Green Stakes are 100% biodegradable within 8-24 months of installation, leaving no harmful residue.
• They are designed to be 45% stronger, with more holding power than metal staples because of their design.
• They cut down on lawn mower repair with landscape pins that dissolve in the turf, and do not become entangled in machinery.
• Green Stakes reduce human and animal injury on golf courses and public areas, since they are not a tripping hazard, and cannot entrap unwary animals in metal hoops or parts.
• These stakes save contractors time and money that used to be spent on return visits to job sites to remove metal sod staples after grass becomes established. For homeowners, these Green Stakes save them from the removal time as well, and give the homeowners peace of mind since the pins are safe around kids and pets
• This tool has as many uses as a traditional sod staple, and is available for a similar price.

Going “green” with your backyard pond this year can mean a cleaner conscience, and a cleaner pond!  Of course, no one likes a green pond, when the “green” we are talking about is string algae, and pond scum!  Aside from taking away from the aesthetics of your tranquil oasis, dealing with algae means constant additions of safe chemicals that won’t harm your pond plants and fish, and cleaning both filters and rocks on a regular basis.

After years of balancing the chemical ratios in several of the ponds that I oversee professionally, and struggling to keep algae under control in a few ponds that were constructed poorly, I finally made the switch to Barley Bales this past summer, and I’m never looking back.  While I am always looking for cleaner and greener products, I confess, most often I’m just looking for a product that makes life easier!  Barley Bales are a long lasting, fish and plant safe, chemical alternative, for keeping algae out of your pond or water-garden.

How Barley Bales Work: Barley, more so than other hays and straws, gives off stable levels of Hydrogen Peroxide, when decomposing in water, and interacting with sunlight, and oxygen.  Hydrogen Peroxide kills new algae growth and creates a hostile environment for many types of biological sludge as well.  Bales give you up to six months of cleaning power before they start to loose their potency and begin to sink, after which time you can place the bale out to dry and work again later, or discard.  This greener method of pond cleaning has been used for hundreds of years, and appears to actually benefit fish colonies, and aquatic  plants.

What To Look For: If you are shopping for a Barley Ball, or bundle, I suggest looking for a reputable retailer firstly, who is required to sell you a solidly Barley bundle, without it being thinned with hay, which is less potent, but has some effectiveness.  Secondly, avoid very tightly bunched products, or those in a mesh or panty-hose type dispenser.  Waterflow is key both around and through your Barley product.  Meshes with tiny openings, and overly bundled balls will prevent water from moving through and producing the Hydrogen Peroxide you are looking for to kill the algae in your pond.

Bags Or Bundles: I suggest you look for bundles rather than balls for the simple reason that freshly dried Barley floats in water, and with balls, most of the Barley you paid for is bobbing in the sun, away from your precious pond.  What’s the point of a cute container for your Barley, if the Barley isn’t working for you?  Another point for Barley Bundles as opposed to Balls is this, Oxygen is key in both creating the Hydrogen Peroxide, and distributing it through the pond.  A flow of water around, and through your Barley bag will maximize the cleaning potential, and to this end, bags and bundles of Barley are easier to lay unobserved in a pump or filter box, and will have a greater effectiveness through your overall pond in those locations.

Prepping Your Pond For Barley: Yes, there is a little prep work involved in getting prepared for your newest (and future favorite) pond cleaner.  Sources do not agree on how effective your Barley cleaner will be with large esablished patches of Algae, so the best way to set yourself up for success is with a little prep cleaning.  Make sure to rake out, and otherwise clean up major algae blooms in your pond before setting your new Barley in.  Then, sit back and watch your Barley return the favor for months longer than chemical products ever did.

I highly recommend Barley products to homeowners, and landscape managers, as a natural way to cut down on unpleasant plant life in your waterfeatures.  Not only will it take some items off your weekly chore list, with cleaner filter boxes overall, but it will cut down on the money and time you spend with chemical additives!  The bonus with Barley is that unlike chemicals, which will follow a natural cycle of evaporation along with your pond water, the bundles remain in your pond, and are continually active for a longer period of time on average.

For a great read on Barley Bundles and Balls, check out this article titled The Truth and Facts About Barley Balls

Your Thoughts:  Have you used Barley Balls or Barley Bundles?  Did they work well for you in your pond?  Would you recommend them to your online neighbors?

Anytime someone introduces a new tool to you with the preface “I took this with me to Iraq,” you know it’s probably worth paying attention to them! :)  Recently I volunteered with a local community service organization called Rebuilding Together, which specializes in home renovation for the elderly to help make homes warmer, safer and drier.  During that, of all places, I accidentally stumbled upon the Garden Weasel Golden Claw Cultivator.  A volunteer working with me brought this tilling and aerating tool to the site that he said he swore by, even to the point of taking the tool with him to Iraq when he was stationed there. Our group had really been struggling with some very dry, compacted soil and deep weeds around a neglected front porch. After repeatedly pounding out chunks of soil and filling out growing trenches with water to soften the soil, we were ready to explore new ideas! The tool handed to us was a multi-pronged garden tool with a bent handlebar that reminded me of my childhood bike more than any hand tool I was used to. I’m pretty sure my first thought was that I had seen this on an “As seen on TV” commercial, and I doubted that the tool could be as great as the glowing review that came with it - after all, how could I have never heard of this tool if it was that great?

In a very short amount of time I realized how quickly the other volunteers were making progress with the new tool - and the garden bed! The other volunteers were actually taking turns using the tool by choice, so they could get a feel for it, and were talking excitedly with each other about how easily this tool cut through the soil. To make a long story short, that morning we used the one tool to till an area for a garden bed, to dig holes for the installation of mature Azalea bushes, to mix topsoil into the bed, and to pull weeds out of sidewalk borders areas.

In the time since this tool has been brought to my attention, I have used a few similarly designed tools, such as the “Hound Dog” from Garden Hound Tools, but their design, and usefullness has not been as impressive. This Garden Weasel Cultivator has a trademark curved handlebar (that similar products lack), and six sharply angled 6 inch prong legs in its ergonomic design. It comfortably, and smoothly multiplies your upper-body strength exponentially through the tool, breaking through tough weeds and soil in seconds, without creating the strain on your wrists, and shoulders that other tools can cause. As a small framed woman myself, I greatly appreciate any tool that saves my back and shoulders from strenuous repedative movements, and which can maximize the upper body strength I have to get a job done quickly. This tool surpassed both my expectations, and that of coworkers, for whom I later provided this tool to. In my opinion, it is vastly superior to all other look alike tools! Since my initial purchase of the tool for my own use, I have shared it with every age group, including the elderly, and always received glowing reviews of the tool afterward.

Ordinarily, I do not get very excited about yard tools, but this one tool has created such a buzz with anyone I have shared it with, that I wanted to pass the information along to other gardeners! If you are looking for a good all around, multi-purpose garden tool, then absolutely check out the Garden Weasel! If you have a neighbor who owns one, ask to borrow it for your next small yard project, and see how much quicker you can get the job done. I really cannot recommend this product enough!

I highly recommend this product.  You can pick up your own Garden Weasel at Amazon and save your back alot of pain! 

Your thoughts:  Have you used the Garden Weasel before?  What were your thoughts?  Have you used other similar tools with great/little success?  Let me know!