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Greener World Fertilizer Feeding 2

Your Family Aren’t The Only Ones In Your House Who Need Feeding

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Fall is a special time of year for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love summer and all the amazing weather it brings, but Fall is when I can finally crush the neighbourhood kids at a handful of sports without overheating. What? Don’t act like you don’t enjoy dunking on a trash-talking 10-year-old!

If there’s one area of Fall that I have slacked on in recent years, it is lawn maintenance. Two years ago, I actually bought everything I needed to get my lawn ready for winter, but then got caught up in a month-long game of road hockey and totally blanked on it. Last year’s excuse was that I got lost in the mess that was my garage and just never got around to it.

Greener World Fertilizer Leftovers

This year, however, I was challenged by Greener World to take my lawn maintenance seriously and to actually get things done. And…..I DID!!! They provided an amazing list of tips & tricks, as well as the reasons why each step was important, which really helped this novice lawn keeper. I realized I did even know basic things like the fact that a healthy lawn produces more oxygen, naturally crowds out weeds, and helps prevent disease and insects. While I feel shame for not knowing more about maintaining my own property, it’s never too late to learn, right? Even just videos like the one below are extremely helpful for those just starting out with lawn maintenance.

I’m not going to get into the science behind fertilizing your lawn because, let’s be honest, you don’t come here for science lessons! You can get all that amazing info on the Fertilizer Canada website. What I am going to do is share a couple of the tips that helped me understand the process a bit better.

1. Plants need food (fertilizer) 3-4 times a year and a good way to remember when to feed is by using the following Canadian holidays: Easter, Victoria Day, Labour Day and Thanksgiving.

2. It’s important to get right fertilizer for the season you are in. You can also grab a soil test kit at your local hardware store, so you can narrow down your fertilizer choices. (Make sure to grab a spreader while you’re there!)

3. Make sure to follow the instructions very closely. You don’t want to dump the whole bag of fertilizer on your lawn as it will do more harm than good. Most bags of fertilizer will have very detailed instructions about exactly how and when to feed your lawn, including important but easy to miss details like which spreader setting to use. I suggest studying them closely before you begin.

Greener World Fertilizer Settings

4. Sweep up the excess fertilizer from your driveway and walkways so it doesn’t run off into the storm drains.

5. Store the remainder of the fertilizer for future feedings. Make sure to keep the package sealed and the fertilizer dry. In case you are not interested in keeping it lying around in your garage all year, ask a neighbour if they’d like to use some. The woman that helped me at the hardware store mentioned that 1 bag can last a fairly long time if you have a smaller sized yard.

Greener World Sweeping

The most important things I have learned from this experience are that it is never too late to learn something new, taking care of your lawn is way easier than I thought it was going to be, and feeding your lawn is far more important that I had previously believed it to be. I’ve already got my next lawn feeding alert set on my phone and hope you’ll join my challenge to take better care of our lawns moving forward!

For more information on lawn care and proper fertilization, visit GreenerWorld.ca!

*This post was sponsored by Greener World*

Kamik Boots 1

How Will You Enjoy The Outdoors This Season?

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Finally, we’re right in the middle of my favourite time of year! Fall! That’s right, I said it! As much as I love the Summertime, sometimes it can get a little too hot for my liking, whereas Fall is exactly where I want to be. I like to think of myself as Goldilocks and Fall as the perfect bowl of porridge.

Sure, the end of summer means that baseball season is over and the swimming pool has to close, but there are plenty of indoor facilities available in case we need to get our fix of baseball and swimming. What I love most about fall is the ability to get outside and active with my kids, without feeling like I’m going to pass out from the heat.

With that said, my friends at Kamik, a Canadian family-owned company, sent us some new boots to test while we take part in a few of our favourite fall activities, which I have chronicled below.

Without further ado, here are our favourite fall activities. Please feel free to share some of yours in the comments section!

Sports – The one constant in our lives, outside of taxes, is sports. In fact, I’m not sure a day has gone by in the last 2-3 years where we didn’t take part in at least one sporting activity, whether it be organized or otherwise. There’s something inherently Canadian about dragging the hockey nets down to the road on a chilly Fall day, and hearing the shouts of, “CAR!”, as we lose track of time in a big game of road hockey.

Kamik Boots 2

We may throw our coats on top of the net because we get so hot from all the running around but there’s no replacement for a solid pair of warm boots to keep us moving comfortably. My son’s Drizzly boots were lightweight while the soft fleece lining kept him warm. On top of that, if you’ve ever taken a slap shot in the foot with one of those frozen orange balls, you’d know why I loved playing little roads in my new Griffon Kamik’s.

Nature Walks – As mentioned in the previous list item, I’m not a huge fan of the heat that comes with summer. The minute the weather starts to turn is when I break out my warm clothes and start wanting to go for more family walks. We are lucky enough to live in an area with some great trails and even in the tougher terrain, my daughter’s Takoda boots lived up to the hype of being warm and comfortable enough for our little adventure, but not too clunky, translating effortlessly from nature walk to city stroll.

Kamik Boots 3

Geocaching – This one is a newer fad for us. After hearing about it for a year or so, I decided to look up exactly what geocaching was and man, do I wish I had discovered it sooner. For those of you who have never done it, geocaching is like a giant treasure hunt in your own city! We downloaded the app and it leads you to different areas to look for a hidden treasure. Along the way, it gives you different clues to help you find it and it is so much fun to do as a family.

Kamik Boots 4

Now, some of the caches were harder than others and we weren’t always successful, but the thrill of the hunt and the excitement on the kids’ faces was totally worth the time investment. Also, don’t go into it expecting to strike it rich or anything, as most of the treasures were small things such as stickers or pencils, but it was still a blast!

Kamik Boots 5

There are so many more activities we take part in throughout the fall and winter, and I will be working with Kamik over the course of the next few months to prove that their boots are up to the test that our long, cold winter season brings. So far, they have easily passed every test we have thrown their way and I can’t wait to start seeing that snow on the ground! I know, I’m a monster.

Disclosure: My family members were provided Kamik boots for participating in this campaign. To discover Kamik’s latest collection for yourself, visit www.kamik.com.

Fall Leaves Stihl

Preparing Your Property For The Harsh Canadian Winter

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You’ve worked hard on your lawn and garden this year, haven’t you? You built beautiful garden boxes, planted vegetables, cut your lawn with precision and spent hours making sure everything looked just right! With winter on the way, you don’t want all that hard work to go to waste, so it’s time to start preparing for the long winter ahead and STIHL has everything you need to get the job done!

Here are some tips for you on how to protect your property from the harsh Canadian winter and to make sure that you have a #RealSTIHLYard!

STIHL LOGO

1. Let Your Lawn Breathe: Why wait for those two guys to come door-to-door with their aerator when you can do the job yourself with the STIHL RL- MM Lawn Aerator?
Aerating your lawn prevents rainfall from pooling on the grass, ensuring water and nutrients can reach the roots.

2. Lawns Have To Eat, Too!: Winter in Canada can be tough on lawns and we have always struggled to come out of winter unscathed. That said, using a fall lawn fertilizer with high phosphorous content to encourage root growth will definitely get your lawn off on the right foot come spring.

3. Blast That Slime: Maybe it’s just me, but has anyone else’s kids been obsessed with slime this summer? Now that I am doing an assessment of my property, I am noticing slime all over the brick walls outside my house. Of course, the slime will be no match for my STIHL RB 600 Pressure Washer! See you later, slime!

4. Huff & Puff & Blow It All Away: Leaving leaves all over your lawn during winter has the same effect as throwing a tarp over it for the winter, effectively killing the grass you spent so much time working on, so you want to make sure you get them all picked up. We let our kids try the leaf-blower at the cottage last fall and we weren’t sure they were going to give it back. By arming yourself with the STIHL BGA 56, leaf collection can be a breeze and it’s especially great for cleaning small outdoor areas.

5. Trim, Trim, Cheroo: Make sure your bushes and shrubs are talked about for all the right reasons by trimming them with the STIHL HSA 25 Shrub Shears. The shears also include a grass trimmer blade for trimming lawn edges, as well as around patios and flower beds.

6. Find Lost Treasure In The Gutter: This is one of those tasks that can easily get forgotten, but it is so important because water build-up causes things like mould and rot, which compromise the entire structural integrity of your house. For us, cleaning the gutters is also a great chance to find all the toys and hockey balls that were lost in there over the summer!

7. TIMBEEERRRRR!: Okay, maybe not as dramatic as that, but you really want to consider cutting back shrubs and tree limbs in your yard that could possibly snap off and damage your house or car in one of the many ice storms that are sure to come! With the lightweight, but powerful STIHL MSA 120 C-BQ cordless chain saw, you can cut any hazardous shrubbery or tree branches.

8. Tune Up: It takes the proper tools to get your yard ready for winter and you want to treat those tools with the love they deserve. That said, make sure you clean and store tools properly to ensure they start up with ease the following season. Products like the STIHL HomeScaper Lithium-Ion series make tool care a lot easier, but when in doubt, don’t be afraid to head to your nearest STIHL dealer for a tune up!

As you can see, STIHL has a product for every occasion when it comes to winterizing your home and lawn, so I encourage you to pop into your local STIHL dealer to see what they have in store for you!

I’d also love to hear your best tips for winterizing your home, so please feel free to share them here or on any of my social media channels! You can never be too prepared for winter, especially when it comes to your lawn and garden, so make sure that you are STIHL prepared this fall! You can find out more about STIHL’s products and promotions by visiting STIHL Canada on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

Disclosure: I was compensated for my participation in this campaign, however you really do need to make sure your home is ready for winter and STIHL can definitely help get the job done!