In order to make the lawn in front of your house clean and comfortable, you will need a fan rake. They will help remove fallen leaves, debris, loosen the soil.
Unlike garden rakes, which are used to level the soil, break up clods of earth after digging and combing out rhizomes, the fan rake is intended only for harvesting. They have a convenient fan-shaped shape of steel rods, bent at the ends, and are very well suited for raking leaves from under bushes.
They are also used to comb the lawn before mowing.
And the fan rake is a great way to improve soil aeration. The dried grass and moss that has covered your plot interfere with the access of air, light, nutrients and water to the roots of plants planted on the lawn. Therefore, they must be disposed of in a timely manner. To do this, water the lawn with a special remedy for moss and after a week start cleaning using a fan rake.
How to choose a rake
Fan rakes are divided into lamellar and wire rakes, depending on their type. Lamellar made of narrow curved plates that spring well, they are convenient to work on uneven surfaces. A wire rake has teeth made of thick wire, which is bent at the ends at a right angle. They are more rigid, but convenient for garbage collection where it is necessary not to damage the sprouted plants.
In order to make it convenient to work with a rake, they need to be selected based on their growth. Make sure that their edges are curved and sharp enough.
When choosing a fan rake, carefully consider their stalk. If it is birch or pine, then your hands may be “decorated” with splinters. More durable and suitable for use are cuttings of mountain ash, aspen or willow.
Take a closer look at the rake with a removable handle - they are more functional, since you can change the nozzle if necessary.
Especially convenient are a light rake with a handle from aluminum, with anti-slip vinyl coating and a long “fan”. With them you can get to the farthest places under the bushes, or in areas difficult to access for any buildings. Modern varieties of fan rakes sometimes have a telescopic handle that extends up to 120 cm.
A big plus when choosing a fan rake will be the ability to regulate this “fan”. Thus, you can control the size of the rake and the pressure of the working surface.
Immediately discard instances with an unreliable plastic fan.
Homemade rake
And although there is already a large selection of all kinds of rakes on sale, some owners prefer a homemade tool. To do this, a fan is drawn from steel wire of the length you need and with a diameter of about 4 mm, and carefully welded to a small piece of pipe with a diameter of up to 35 mm. And above the place of welding you need to install a clamp so that the teeth could not break out.
The ends of the teeth of a makeshift rake need to be processed with sandpaper and lubricated. Then the garbage will easily pile up on them.
If you successfully choose a fan rake, they will make your work on the plot easy and enjoyable!