Mary Lougee
Garden Guides Editorial Policies
Garden Guides uses a knowledgeable team of editors, writers, and experts to create all our content. We dive deep into the ever-evolving conversations surrounding gardening and landscaping, striving to deliver the most current and helpful tips, strengthened by expert insight and tutorials from our talented team.
As we cover many fields of expertise, we make it a priority to ensure every beat remains fresh and comprehensive. Additional information on our editorial process available here.
Stories By Mary Lougee
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How To Remove The Spool From A Craftsman Weedeater
How to Remove the Spool from a Craftsman Weedeater. Line trimmers make quick work of manicuring the edges of your lawn, along driveways and sidewalks to give your yard a professional grooming. When the line no longer advances and the spool is empty, you need to stop and replace the spool to continue on your mission. Craftsman weed trimmers are one of the easiest when it comes to accessing and changing the spool, so you lose little time to do so.
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How To Unflood A Weedeater
How to Unflood a Weedeater. Gas-powered weedeaters, both the two- and four-cycle variety, have a carburetor to mix the proper amount of gas-to-air ratio for starting and running. A carburetor becomes “flooded” when there is too much gas in it, and it won’t start. The strong smell of gasoline indicates this condition. Pushing the primer bulb too many times forces excessive fuel into the carburetor so that it drips inside instead of misting. However, you can unflood a weedeater in short time and return to trimming.
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How To Repair A Broken Concrete Planter Urn
How to Repair a Broken Concrete Planter Urn. Concrete planter urns are made in molds to supply a long-lasting sturdy container for gardening. Concrete insulates plant roots from both heat in the summer and cold in the winter. After several years, concrete planters lose some of their elasticity and dry out. An unexpected topple can break off pieces that need repairing. Concrete repairs to broken items are much like putting puzzle pieces together and result in completion of the project in short time.
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Changing Oil In A Craftsman Riding Lawn Mower
Changing Oil in a Craftsman Riding Lawn Mower. Craftsman advises to change the oil in your riding lawn mower every 50 hours of operation or every season, whichever comes first. Clean oil is imperative to the engine operation to lubricate internal moving parts, carry worn metal away, lubricate seals and gaskets and to cool the engine. The process is the same for all Craftsman riding lawn mowers, including zero turn radius mowers and models with automatic transmissions.
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How Do I Replace A Fuel Line On A Husqvarna Chain Saw Model 51?
How do I Replace a Fuel Line on a Husqvarna Chain Saw Model 51?. Fuel lines on chainsaws encounter heat from the engine near the carburetor. After several years of use, a fuel line can incur small cracks and leak gas before it reaches the carburetor. This will cause a Husqvarna model 51 chainsaw to die, sputter or not run at all depending on the size of fuel leak. Fuel lines are made of plastic and are replaceable on chainsaws by most homeowners.
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How To Grow A Plant In Charcoal
How to Grow a Plant in Charcoal . Horticultural charcoal, or biochar, is almost pure carbon and is useful as a soil additive for vegetables, flowers, shrubs and potted plants. Biochar helps allow better uptake of nutrients and fertilizers added to the soil for larger plants and greater yields of fruits, vegetables and blooms on plants. It is a manufactured product but is all natural and made from green waste products, such as tree trimmings.
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How To Use A Flower Bulb Planter Tool
How to Use a Flower Bulb Planter Tool. Flower bulb planter tools remove the soil in a plug for each individual bulb planting and alleviate the need for digging an entire bed with a shovel. The hand-held planter tool is the least expensive of the different types and involves bending over to make each hole, as does the most expensive drill-operated model that is the quickest method. A long-handled bulb planter is gardener-friendly and allows you to plant flower bulbs without the need to bend down.
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How To Stop Theft From Outdoor Water Spigots
How to Stop Theft from Outdoor Water Spigots. Some communities experience water theft from the outdoor water spigots with a garden hose. The culprit will attach a garden hose, usually at night and stretch the hose to another home for use in watering the lawn or for home use if their water supply is cut off. Neighborhoods may also have vandals who turn the outdoor water spigots or Bibb faucets on and let the water run for many hours in the night. A hose Bibb lock prevents vandalism and theft of water for a Bibb faucet.
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How To Adjust The Deck On A Murray Lawn Mower
How to Adjust the Deck on a Murray Lawn Mower. The deck on a riding lawn mower needs to be level to ensure a clean, even cut to keep your lawn looking its best. Decks that are not level will leave longer grass blades on one side and shorter grass or scalped areas on the other. It takes relatively little time to adjust the deck on a Murray lawn mower. First check the tires for the proper air pressure to obtain the correct height.
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How To Clean The Bottom Of A Lawnmower
How to Clean the Bottom of a Lawnmower. Cleaning debris and grass clippings from the bottom of a lawn mower deck after each use is a crucial step in maintenance. Mowing when grass is wet from dew or rainfall allows it to stick to the underside of a mower deck above and around the blades. Thick debris prevents blades from turning as they should and decreases the airflow from underneath needed for cooling purposes. Wet grass clippings hold moisture within the deck and cause rust to form. However, it takes just a few minutes of cleaning after each mowing to protect your investment.
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How To Use Sea Foam In A Riding Tractor
How to Use Sea Foam in a Riding Tractor. Sea Foam is a multi-purpose gas and oil treatment that conditions all engine parts in the fuel and oil delivery system. Engine components require lubrication to operate properly and to keep moving parts from rubbing and deteriorating. Extreme temperature changes from night to day can cause condensation in your gas and oil tanks and make your riding tractor hesitate, stall or smoke. Sea Foam is designed to lubricate and correct all of these problems to give your tractor a smoother idle, improve the power and pickup and eliminate hesitations.
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How To Fix A Chain On A Black & Decker Alligator
How to Fix a Chain on a Black & Decker Alligator. Battery-powered tree limb loppers like the Black & Decker Alligator make quick work of removing smaller limbs on trees with minimal effort and no contending with cumbersome electrical cords. It's designed to cut limbs no larger than 4 inches in diameter. Putting the proper amount of tension on your Alligator chain prevents the chain from accidentally and dangerously sliding off, or binding and overheating the engine.
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How To Stabilize A Pergola
How to Stabilize a Pergola. Construction of any structure requires stabilization from the ground up, starting with the footing. Outdoor pergolas encounter winds, rains and storms that can sway or topple them if they are not structurally sound. Using large posts in larger postholes provides area for concrete in the footing to hold the posts in place. Additional lengths of vertical posts in the ground also add sturdiness to a pergola.
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