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Reality Daydream

The Dream is Free, The Hustle Sold Separately

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Edging a Sidewalk – Stihl FC56C-E

July 26, 2019 by Bethany Sy

Now that we don’t live on an acreage and have a more manageable amount of space to maintain, Nick is taking a huge interest in keeping our curb appeal… well, appealing. I’ve been doing my part in the flower gardens, but today we’re going to talk about the lawn.

We’ve been fertilizing and watering our lawn, but I haven’t been ready to give Nick the green light on weed-killers… because our kids play in the yard, and I’m not a fan of mysterious chemicals. If you have any safe product recommendations that work, I’m all ears. Until then, please ignore our creeping charlie and occasional dandelion in our landscaping posts.

*This post is sponsored by our friends at STIHL. Thank you for supporting the fabulous brands that make Reality Daydream possible!*

One thing I never considered being a necessity to a well-manicured lawn is a crisp sidewalk line. It’s one of those things you don’t notice until you SEE SOMEONE’S PERFECTLY EDGED SIDEWALK… and you just know.

And now that I’ve seen how amazing it can look, consider me sold. I’ll never look at a regular scurvy sidewalk the same way. Evah.

But before we demonstrate this magic, let’s talk about PPE. And this is the part where I hand things over to Nick. Because he knows ALL THE THINGS.

What is PPE you ask? It stands for Personal Protective Equipment!

STIHL recommends that you wear boots, jeans, work gloves, safety glasses, a brush shield and ear muffs. It is important to remember that the safety instructions are established for a reason! This is not a time to cut corners, friends.

We started by checking the gas and filling it up with STIHL’s premium MotoMix Fuel. This is essentially a 50:1 mixture of a Premium, Non-Ethylene blended gas and a STIHL 2 stroke oil.

We did this on the concrete, because if we would have spilled any on the grass, it would have killed it.

To start this STIHL edger we primed the engine (depressing the bulb four to five times), turned the choke on (orange lever depress and slide to the top). Then with a firm grip on the handle and the other on the starter cord, we pulled the starter cord until the engine started.

It will likely start and then die. At this point we will move the choke lever down one notch from the top, then repeat the process with a firm grip at the base of the handle and start the engine.

For the first 10-15 tanks of gas, we want to make sure that we don’t rev up the engine to full throttle. This is because it takes a while for the new engine to break in.

That being said let’s start Edging!

I think you’ll find that edging a sidewalk is surprisingly simple and therapeutic. You want to get the blade spinning at a decent speed prior to engaging it into the grass and dirt.

You want to set the blade so that it is engaging the dirt no more than a 1/4″. You should be able to accomplish this easily while maintaining a comfortably ergonomic body position. If this is not the case you may need to refer to the Owners Manual on how to set the position of the wheel.

Our sidewalks likely hadn’t been trimmed EVER. That being said, years of debris sitting at the edge of the sidewalk, became excellent compost and therefore a perfect breeding ground for grass and weeds. The first cut with the edger, will likely be the most labor intensive, because we have to reestablish the edge and get rid of all the excess dirt. Not hard work, just time consuming. Sequential edging will be so much easier, I promise!

Not only does this look amazing, It reestablishes full usability of our sidewalk!

It’s amazing how simply edging your sidewalks and driveway can make such a dramatic difference in your curb appeal! You don’t really realize how disheveled everything looks until you see how it looks crisp, clean, and perfectly manicured.

I’ll warn you though, it’s a little addicting. Your neighbors will be really grateful when you JUST CAN’T HELP but edge their sidewalks too. 😉

~Nick (and Bethany!)

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About Bethany Sy

Nick and Bethany Sy are the creative free-spirits behind DIY/Lifestyle blog, Reality Daydream. They recently purchased a historic mansion and have been documenting the ups and downs of renovation and making this home their own... all while sharing tips and tutorials along the way! When they found themselves in the trenches of infertility, they started a journey that would prove to be their most important DIY project ever, and have 3 beautiful girls to show for it. <3

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Comments

  1. 10

    Tina Marie says

    August 1, 2019 at 6:18 pm

    Gardens Alive makes some great products for lawn care, though I don’t know of ANY organic herbicides that will kill creeping charlie.

    Reply
  2. 11

    dana schoppe says

    July 29, 2019 at 6:12 pm

    I would love an alternative to roundup – I too have Creeping Charlie & Creeping Jenny – that stuff is amazing at proliferation & seems to grow new shoots whenever you mow. I’ve tried pulling it out… but it’s nearly impossible to get all the shoots & runners of the weed, so I too ( like Sasha said, it’s Creeping Charlies yard & I too pay the mortgage.) I’ve also tried a stronger 24D from the local Farmer stuff since it’s less watered down than what you can buy & it too doesn’t work on Creeping…. unless you’re out there spraying religiously.

    Reply
  3. 12

    Renee says

    July 27, 2019 at 1:25 am

    I love a good edge!

    A pressure washer will also help to get the weeds out of cracks.

    Reply
    • 13

      Bethany Sy says

      July 27, 2019 at 1:51 am

      That’s true! We need one so bad!

      Reply
  4. 14

    d brossy says

    July 26, 2019 at 9:32 pm

    Creeping Charlie, chickweed, clover, and whatever else is growing in your lawn is perfectly fine. Although a lot of households still think a *perfect lawn* is a *must,* you CANNOT grow them that way without using chemicals. Having a perfect lawn is not conducive to having clean water as the *unused* chemicals eventually find their way in our aquifers which filter into our drinking water – yours and the neighbors’.
    High acid vinegar [not household] has the highest acidity and is most effective in killing weeds if you can perfectly aim and not kill other vegetation unwittingly or as Sasha said boiling water. We used to belong to the University of Michigan Community Garden and those are the only 2 allowable ways to kill weeds – other than pulling them out.

    Reply
  5. 15

    Casey says

    July 26, 2019 at 4:35 pm

    I edge my sidewalks with my Sawzall! Luckily it is a short walkway so I am not bending over for too long. But I don’t need to buy another tool for the one job. I saw along the edge of the walk cutting into the dirt a little bit, and then shovel it all up. You walk looks great now.

    Reply
  6. 16

    Mary Billman says

    July 26, 2019 at 4:34 pm

    vinegar, dish soap and water. I think I saw that on Pinterest.

    Reply
  7. 17

    Sasha says

    July 26, 2019 at 3:56 pm

    Sidewalk looks gooood! I’ve avoided Roundup and other such things for similar reasons and am making peace with fact that this is creeping charlie”s yard and we just pay the mortgage.

    Reply
  8. 18

    Vikki says

    July 26, 2019 at 3:11 pm

    Life is just better with your sidewalks and flower beds edged! Nick did a great job. I’ve never used an organic weed killer so I can’t recommend, however, I did a google search and it looks like there are lots on the market. Be careful with home remedies as some contain ingredients that will not only kill the weeds but your good grass also. For the annoying grass/weed that come up in the sidewalk seams (are they called seams?) I’ve used boiling water with decent success. I’m loving how the kitchen is coming together and can’t wait to see how the wall tile will look.

    Reply
  9. 19

    Sherrie says

    July 26, 2019 at 1:21 pm

    You could try Borax. It has limitations as an herbicide, but since it’s used as a laundry additive, it is definitely less toxic than, say, Roundup.

    Reply

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We are Nick and Bethany! Welcome to our blog, Reality Daydream where we share our DIY adventures!
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