Troy-Bilt Triple Blade Lawn Edger TB554 Review

Have you ever wondered how to keep your grass from spreading in to your planting beds?  It takes a bit of diligence along with the proper tool. I'm kind of a stickler for keeping a clear delineation between the grass edge and whatever plants frame my beds. Just like mowing the lawn regularly is required for healthy grass, edging the grass is a repetitive gardening task required for clean edges. Edge every time you mow and you will keep the grass out of your planting beds.

Routine gardening maintenance, like mowing and edging, is repeated often during the growing season and can become mundane. For these tasks, reliable tools save time and get the job with better efficiency. I'd rather spend my time planting and creating than mowing and edging the lawn.

I discovered a long time ago that a walk-behind edger provides the cleanest edge. I've owned several of them over the years, each made by various manufacturers.


As a member of the Troy-Bilt Saturday6 Team, they provide me with Troy-Bilt equipment of my choice each year. I get to keep it. I also test and review it. Sweet! One of the products I chose this year is the Troy-Bilt Triple Blade Lawn Edger TB554.

I wanted this edger because it had all the features I look for in a walk-behind edger:
•Self-sharpening, heavy duty 9" triple-edge blade
•6-position edging depth up to 2 1/4"
•3-position adjustable bevel for easy edging along walks and flower beds
•Curb wheel included
•Premium 7" front and 8" rear steel ball-bearing wheels
•158cc/5.0 ft-lbs* gross torque Briggs & Stratton 500 Series engine
•*ft-lbs gross torque per SAE J1940 as rated by engine manufacturer @ 3060 rpm
•2-year limited warranty

Additional features I especially appreciate about this edger:
•Easy start: the pull start is easy enough for me to pull and it cranks the motor with the first or second pull.
•Manageability: It is lightweight and easily maneuvers through the grass.
•No tilt: It has excellent balance when going around curving borders.
•Reliability: this edger contributes to efficiency in the garden and saves me time.

It is also particularly useful for shaping the circular ground cover of Asiatic jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum) in the back garden.

I love the triple-edge blade! It is sharp, powerful and precise.

I don't need the feature for changing the angle of the blade for my sandy soil and St. Augustine grass, but it could be beneficial for clay soils.

In the front garden, the edger shears off the Asiatic jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum) ground cover and keeps it from growing over the drive way.

I highly recommend this edger**. It has been a great complement to my Troy-Bilt lawn mower for keeping what's left of the lawn in the back garden tidy.

What tool do you use to keep your lawn from spreading in to the planting beds?


**Reviews, recommendations or opinions expressed by me regarding Troy-Bilt® products are my own. I am being compensated for my partnership with Troy-Bilt® as one of the Saturday6 team members. This post is in conjunction with that partnership. The Troy-Bilt® product I've reviewed has been provided to me free of charge.

Yay! Winner of Chipper Shredder Revealed

This is the most exciting and fun part about a giveaway. We have a winner!

It's also the hardest part.  I SO wish each and every one of you who entered could have one of these magical machines delivered to your home.

To be absolutely fair each contestant's name was listed into an online random generator which made the choice of who the winner is.

The winner is:
Mary Ann McKay who left this comment,"Supporting my local mulch salesman is a good thing, but making my own would be so much better! And shredding maple leaves for compost and oak for mulch would be fabulous, too. Why should my hubby have all the power tools? Seriously, Meems, a chipper/shredder would be a huge blessing. i hope it goes to the reader who needs it most."

 A really BIG congratulations to you, Mary Ann. I know you are going to get much use from this new toy! I'm so happy for you.

Meems




Disclosure: My reviews and/or recommendations are always my own thoughts. I am being compensated for my partnership with Troy-Bilt as one of the Saturday6 team members. This post is in conjunction with that partnership. Troy-Bilt is providing a CS4325 Chipper Shredder to one winner of this contest.

Last Day to Enter Chipper Shredder Giveaway

Maybe you've let time slip away or maybe you haven't even seen this incredible opportunity before today.

If you intend to enter the giveaway for this remarkably handy Troy-Bilt chipper shredder, this is the last day for valid entries. I've temporarily removed the "word verification" to make leaving a comment easier for those that have had trouble with it.

Please see the post below to add your comment for a chance to win. Rules apply. Read them at the bottom of the post.

Thanks to all who have already left a comment.

Good luck to all,
Meems

Your Chance to Win aTroy-Bilt Chipper Shredder

By now you probably all know how very much I love and use my chipper-shredder? It has become my all-time favorite power tool and gardening friend.

Just look at how it shreds large oak leaves, turning them into yummy useable organic goodness. Do  you know what's great about shredded leaves? Well, I'll tell you just one of the best things. I can literally scatter them on top of massing groundcovers like asiatic jasmine or mimosa strigillosa and the small bits of leaves find their way through the plants and to the soil. Beautiful. Okay ... two things. I also love it for newly seeded places in the edible garden. Shredded leaves/limbs are light and small enough to allow the small seedlings to push up through it easily.

I can operate it by myself. Mr. Meems helps me get it started the first time if it's been sitting for a while. After that, I'm good to go.
There is a chute in the front for limbs up to 3" (edit update~ yes, 3 inches~ this chipper-shredder is for residential use; it does not possess commercial capabilities). The hopper on the top is for leaves and smaller sticks. It quickly takes a full bag of whole leaves and in a few seconds shreds them and shoots them to the catch-bag on the side.

I collect fallen sticks from around the garden and smaller limbs we trim off of trees and shrubs. They get chewed up and go right back into my garden as mulch. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.



For a closer look at the specs on the CS 4325 Chipper Shredder 2-in-1 Heavy Duty Wood Chipper and Shredder you can go here.



As part of the Saturday6 Blogger Team, I am SO, SO excited Troy-Bilt is giving YOU the opportunity to win this fabulously handy home-gardening tool. I've told so many people about it and how valuable it is in my garden.  I can't tell you how thrilled I am that my regular readers now have a chance to have one, too.

TO ENTER the GIVEAWAY:
All **you have to do is respond to this post in the *comments* section  and tell me how you will put this beautiful machine to work in your garden and why you would like to own one.

 

RULES~~ Yes, there are RULES. Please follow for your entry to be valid.
1. One **entry per person.

2. An email address must accompany your comment.
3. When you leave your comment, you MUST have a link back to a website that includes an email address, or you must leave your email address within the comment, or you can email me if you aren't comfortable leaving it within your comment.
3. Anonymous comments are welcome, however you must leave your (first) name and an email address within your comment in order to be entered into the contest.
4. If there isn't a clear way to contact you, your comment will not be valid for entry to win.

**Each contestant must have a street address (no P.O. Boxes) within the continuous 48 states.
Contest is over September 9, 2012 at 12:01 EST.

Winner will be randomly drawn and announced September 11, 2012. Email notification will be sent to winner in addition to announcement. 

If you have any questions or problems entering your comment email me at
hoe and shovel garden at gmail dot com.

Thank you and good luck,
Meems

Disclosure: My reviews and/or recommendations are always my own thoughts. I am being compensated for my partnership with Troy-Bilt as one of the Saturday6 team members. This post is in conjunction with that partnership. Troy-Bilt is providing a CS4325 Chipper Shredder to one winner of this contest.

Cranking Up The Troy-Bilt Saturday6 Team

It's that time of year again when gardeners everywhere look forward to a good long day of gardening when Saturday rolls around. I know I love a Saturday without obligations so I can garden completely uninterrupted. A full day in the garden is a treasured commodity for gardeners.Troy-Bilt is a company I admire for their hard-work ethic and family owned values. They started their company in 1937 with the first tiller introduced into the market. Florida doesn't use tillers as much as the rest of the country. They offer a wide range of dependable lawn and garden equipment with caring customer service.

Above we are visiting The Chef's Garden Micro Greens Grow House and taste testing (I'm not in the picture).

Last year Troy-bilt put together a team that makes up the Saturday6 bloggers from different parts the U. S. You can read my articles describing our adventures so far here and the link to my Saturday6 page is here.
Each of us will individually choose products to review, write helpful articles to help make all of our Saturdays in the garden more successful, and we will include some videos to show you how we do it right here in our own gardens. Sound like fun?
I'm still in the process of choosing the Troy-Bilt products I'd like to review this year. But without the least bit of hesitation I'd like to remind you of how pleased I am with the lawnmower and the chipper shredder I was given in the last campaign.

Of course, it goes without saying, the lawn mower has become necessary equipment to crank up weekly for mowing that last bit of lawn in the back garden.

My chipper-shredder? Oh, it is a life saver and a favorite power tool.

Our oak leaves fall in the winter/spring and provide oodles of organic goodness to return back to the garden in the way of mulch and organic amendments.

All I have to do is wheel it out of the garage, give it a start, and I am on my way to shredding glory.

It is always at the ready for helping out in the garden. I love what this machine accomplishes for my garden!

Watch for Saturday6 monthly articles when you sign up here (click on Tips, Advice, and How-to's) for 'The Dirt' newsletter Troy-Bilt publishes.

You can *Like* Troy-Bilt on Facebook to see what fellow gardeners are saying and doing.

Disclosure: My reviews and/or recommendations are always my own thoughts. I am being compensated for my partnership with Troy-Bilt as one of the Saturday6 team members. This post is in conjunction with that partnership.

Winner of Troy-Bilt Lawn Mower Announced

It is so very thrilling to be able to host this giveaway!

Thank you to each one who left a comment on the contest blog. Every commenter was entered in a random drawing with a chance to win this remarkably fine lawn mower from Troy-Bilt. What a great gift! Courtesy of Troy-Bilt. They are good people! And ... they make great products.


Congratulations to the winner ...

Ladygrow who left the following comment...

How generous of you to sponsor this mower giveaway. I have been a follower of your blog for the last year.I am a master gardener and I really enjoy your info and pictures. You have the yard that I want! Anyway, I am in the process of separating (after 25 yrs)and starting all over on my own. I will have a small house with a big yard with nothing but grass until I can get out there and change things. Thanks for this chance!

Please contact me via email within the next 48 hours to claim your mower. hoe and shovel garden at gmail dot com

UPDATE: A nudge to Ladygrow!!! As of Sunday, December 4 Ladygrow has not responded to me via email and unfortunately I do not have any contact information for Ladygrow. If I do not hear from you by midnight December 5 I will be left with no choice but to randomly choose another winner. Bad news for Ladygrow... good news for the rest of the entries.

Update December 6: A new winner has been chosen. Congratulations to Sienna337 who left the following comment and a link-back with an email address.

"Meems would be an awesome gift for my husband as our lawnmower died on us recently. My two kids love to play outside every chance they get. They play all kinds of stuff on our lawn soccer, kick ball..etc. Hubby hurt his back and this would be much easier for him to use. Thank you so much for the contest."

Disclosure: My reviews and/or recommendations are always my own thoughts. I am being compensated for my partnership with Troy-Bilt as one of the Saturday6 team members. This post is in conjunction with that partnership.** Troy-Bilt provided this product as part of my membership.

TB350 XP Lawn Mower Review and Giveaway

Trying to dodge a looming rainstorm the Saturday6 team hurriedly chugged up the steep hill to The Lodge. We had spent most of the afternoon inside the MTD headquarter's building learning from the gracious employee team and engineers about their products and their standard of business practices.

What stood out to me the most that May day in Cleveland, Ohio was hearing the history of MTD products and its owners. MTD is a worldwide leader of outdoor power equipment that has built the family-owned business on values like stewardship, integrity, and hard work. I like that.

The covered pavilion adjacent to The Lodge was set up with various home lawn equipment that we were all invited to play with, errr ... I mean test-out to our hearts' content. My thought was to try what I knew I would use back at home. A hand held weed trimmer was on my mind to help me keep all the asiatic jasmine in check. That was fun. Have I ever mentioned how much I like power tools?

Then I saw this beauty. Oh, it rained on me while I mowed the green, green grass of that Ohio hill. But somehow I managed not to melt away.

And that's the story of how I came to be the owner of my very own powerful and efficient TB350 XP Troy-Bilt mower. It arrived to Hoe and Shovel in a box.

Keep reading and you'll find out how you can enter to win one for yourself. Now that's exciting!

Mr. Meems assembled it with just a few handy tools and ... look at that... he's reading the instructions. Honestly, I don't know what he used because I was busy unloading bales of pine straw out of my truck and keeping up with a 5yo. But I know it didn't take him long.

And then he was on his way getting the job done. He's so cute when he mows! He likes 'my' mower.

As much lawn as I've removed over the years a nice patch of it remains in the back yard for the family to play. And, oh my, does that St. Augustine grass grow like a weed in the summertime!

It makes me think of a carpet of green on mowing day. (I took these photos in August). A nice spread of lawn is soothing to the eyes don't you think!

And just for you... a personal demonstration of the good work this machine can do.

Or for a direct link to the You Tube Video:

http://youtu.be/bRaqNmtHOnA

And now for the exciting part. You can enter to **win a mower just like mine!

TO ENTER
1. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment in the *comments* section of this post telling me something about your lawn and why you'd like a new mower.

RULES
One entry per person.

Update Note: If you enter as "anonymous or a name that does not link back to a website I cannot properly enter you in the contest." Please leave a name with your anonymous comment or a valid email address within your comment in order to enter the contest. If you have any questions or problems entering email me at hoe and shovel garden at gmail dot com. Thank you. Meems

Each contestant must have a street address (no P.O. Boxes) in the continuous 48 states.
Contest over November 28, 2011 at 12:01 EST

Winner will be announced November 30!

Have fun and good luck, dear Readers.

Disclosure: My reviews and/or recommendations are always my own thoughts. I am being compensated for my partnership with Troy-Bilt as one of the Saturday6 team members. This post is in conjunction with that partnership.
** Troy-Bilt provided this product as part of my membership.

How-to Video:: Lawn Removal

Those of you who have followed this blog are familiar with my habit of reducing the amount of lawn wherever it isn't completely necessary to maintain it. Currently I'm working on another section on the south side of the back yard.

Today I'm sharing with you my first "how-to" video created for Troy-Bilt and will be posted in their newsletter "The Dirt" in the coming months. But you are viewing it first here.

The layering method described here is the most gentle method I've found for killing the grass either for a pathway or to prepare an area before you plant.

If you prefer you may watch the video directly on You Tube by following this link: http://youtu.be/rgtCpsaXfqc



Stay tuned for a lawn mower give-away coming soon ...

Disclosure: My reviews and/or recommendations are always my own thoughts. I am being compensated for my partnership with Troy-Bilt as one of the Saturday6 team members. This post is in conjunction with that partnership.

From Sand to Soil

My article, From the Ground Up, has been published this week in Troy-Bilt's June newsletter, The Dirt. If you haven't already signed up to receive their monthly e-news you can sign up for The Dirt here.

The Dirt is always full of tips and great information on all sorts of gardening endeavors as well as special offers. Not only that but you'll learn about the ways and advantages to using good garden equipment that is "built for life".

As a refresher for those of you new to Hoe and Shovel I shared some news a while back ... I'm working with Troy-Bilt and the Saturday6 team to help provide practical tips and answers for everyday home gardeners like you and me. For all the details and links to the 5 other bloggers that make up the fabulous team included in this project, click on the page tab above. Also in that link updated photos of me working the Saturday6 Lowe's event... just keep scrolling down.

In the event you didn't receive The Dirt in your INBOX today and you want to take a peek at my thoughts on improving soil as a means to grow your best Florida garden you can read it by clicking on the Saturday6 icon below.

Don't forget to come back here and leave a comment to add your thoughts to mine. :-)

Disclosure: My reviews and/or recommendations are always my own thoughts. I am being compensated for my partnership with Troy-Bilt as one of the Saturday6 team members. This post is in conjunction with that partnership.

Meet Meems :: Saturday6 Gardening Q & A at Lowe's

Troy-Bilt has teamed up with six bloggers from across the country calling us the Saturday6. And guess what? I'm one of the Saturday6! Isn't that exciting!!


Click above to meet the entire team!

THIS SATURDAY I'll be on hand to answer your gardening questions at the New Tampa Lowe's.

Here's ALL the scoop

Where:
Outside the garden center under the tent
New Tampa Lowe's Store (#1003)
6201 Commerce Palms Dr.
Tampa 33647

When:
May 21, 2011, Saturday
10:00 am to 1:00 pm

What:
A Troy-Bilt representative will be there with products available to test run and I'll be on hand to answer gardening questions. Sound like fun?

All we need is YOU to join us and make the day a success!



In the future, as part of the Saturday6, you can look forward to my review of Troy Bilt products, give-away offers, and gardening articles written for Troy Bilt's newsletter, The Dirt.

As backyard gardeners just like you the Saturday6 team will do our best to help you love getting the most from your Saturdays spent in the garden.

Recently all of us met together in Cleveland, Ohio where we were given a tour of the still-family-owned Troy-Bilt headquarters. It was a fascinating experience getting to hear from the employees and see how they implement the company philosophy with the customer foremost in mind.

More to come on that fabulous trip later.

I hope to see you Saturday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclosure: My reviews and/or recommendations are always my own thoughts. I am being compensated for my partnership with Troy-Bilt as one of the Saturday6 team members. This post is in conjunction with that partnership.

The Chipper Shredder that Troy-Bilt

Initially when the over-sized truck pulled up in the front of the house it caused me to question just how large was the machinery being delivered.

A couple of months prior Troy-Bilt made a generous offer that I could pick out anything from their catalog for under $1,000 if I would agree to use it and write a review on my blog.

They only asked that I let my readers know if I was pleased or not pleased. That sounded fair enough. It didn't take long to decide what Hoe and Shovel could put to good use right away. At the time the driveway and walkways were daily covered with fallen oak leaves like a thick brown carpet.

By the time that pretty red (a bonus in my mind)machine showed up on my doorstep we were more than ready to give it a good whirl. Leaves were bagged and ready to be shredded. Limbs were trimmed from the trees and a rather nice sized pile was set to be chipped.
Mr. Meems even got involved in the action with the promise of all that power flowing through all that torque eating up tree limbs. He read the manual, filled it with gas and oil and cranked her right up. No problem. As we got used to feeding the limbs through the designated shoot we added a bag of leaves to the back hopper to mix the two ingredients for our final outcome. No problem. The hopper made quick order of each bag of leaves shredding them into fine particles of yummy mulch in no time flat.

I cannot tell you how long I've wanted a leaf shredder in order to make better use of the wonderful leaves that fall freely each spring as new growth arrives on the oak trees. Oak leaves are my main source of mulch often placed right into the beds prior to composting.
But what if they could be shredded into fine particles, easily spread, and subsequently broken down into the soil for all the micro-organisms to grow! A finer mulching product would be so beneficial for tender new spring plants and favorite hardy shrubs alike. What could me more perfect to use as mulch for the veggie garden!

Oh, the sight, the smell, the feel of wheelbarrows full of that luscious mixture of oak branches and shredded brown leaves. It is like gold! All I could think when we were piling it up was ... "this is a very beautiful thing." Very exciting stuff.
We put our new red Troy-Bilt Chipper Shredder CS4325 through a rigorous first workout and it met the challenge. It exceeded my expectations actually. I can honestly say I am more than happy with the efficiency of its performance. It is simple enough for me to use all by myself as it transports easily on its 10" x 4" tires and cranks very smoothly.
What a great feeling to put those tree limbs back into the cycle of life in the garden rather than pile them up for the trash man. I know my plants are as happy as me about those gloriously fine chips and shreds of organic materials protecting their roots.