I have since use my Mantis for dethatching. I LOVE IT!!! It pull so much stuff out of the lawn it fill up a 40 gallon can and more....stuffed. The lawn looked nice right away, not like what other people warn me that it will look bad for 2 weeks. It does not beat up the lawn at all. It immediately look better right after. I end up re-dethatch few weeks later again and the grass looks very good now. Mantis as tiller....not so nice!!!! Jump to much, really not a substitude for even a cheap front tine tiller. I still use my cheap Poulan front tine tiller. Cultivator is a joke. It jump a lot more with the tine reverse for cultivation. I know it will work better if pulling backward. BUT, cultivating usually done around plants which is in tight space, where do you find space to pull backward. I tried for 2 minutes, it throw dirt all over the place, made a big mess, I quit end up using my hand roll cultivator instead. If you think of buying it as a cultivator around flower beds, think again!!! Get it from Mantis direct so you can return within one year free shipping. I am surprised very few people use it for dethatching. It work so well, no jumping, I can't imagine the Blue Bird can do much better, just wider so you dethatch a wider path. The tine look to be high quality that can stand up to use even commercially.

Plan (but first the rules) 1. Use fertilizer to fertilize. 2. Use herbicide to kill weeds (or pull them) 3. Don't use weed n feed for anything 4. Don't use any of the above in the summer heat The brown grass might be dormant Kentucky bluegrass. Let's hope it comes back as soon as you get regular water on it and the temps cool down. The viney weed looks at first like spurge, but I suspect it is something worse. I have not seen it in San Antonio, so maybe it is a northern weed?? Hopefully bpgreen or tiemco will come by to comment. My first attack would be with Weed b Gone Chickweed, Clover, and Oxalis. Once the daytime temps are below 85 you can use that. Spot spray only the weed and do not drench the soil. Most herbicides are a contact type chemicals. How are you watering? Frequency and duration? In a month you can fertilize again. Are you concerned about the yellow looking grass?

Hi, peaches. I'd recommend you investigate buffalo grass, especially one of the improved varieties like 'Legacy'. I suggest this because you mentioned you don't want to have to frequently fertilize or mow your grass. Buffalo grass fits both these requirements. However, since buffalo grass is a warm season grass, I believe it's too late in the season to attempt planting buffalo grass in your climate. But if budget is no problem, check with sod suppliers for buffalo grass sod. The most economical way to establish a lawn of 'Legacy' buffalo grass is by plugs (little plants planted a foot apart which eventually spread and fill in.) This variety can't be seeded because it's a clone. I've grown Legacy and it can stand 110+ temps and below zero weather. I hope this helps. Let us know what you decide.

Lalitha- Sorry, I don't have any experience with, or information about, the mills you are inquiring about. One rule-of-thumb I can share: stones grind finer than steel burrs, and an impact mill the finest flour of all, and that's about all I can help you with; other than a great respect for German workmanship and they are indeed very handsome mills. The price would be my biggest deterrent. Even though I have a couple stone mills, I also keep extra stones for the mills because they can chip, flake and break (check for stones and grit in your grains/seeds/beans before adding them to the mill hopper), or glaze over from too much moisture in your grains/seeds/beans. The stones are also made from a variety of things, including man-made "stone". When using a stone mill, you may need to mill the grain on a coarse setting, and then run the flour through again on a finer setting in order to get the fine flour (especially necessary for making cakes and a fine-crumb for yeast/naturally-leavened breads. How an impact mill works: "Impact grinders use rows of 'blades' placed in circular rows on metal wheels. One wheel turns and the other wheel is stationary, like the stone grinder. But this is where the similarity ends. The two wheels are aligned so that the rows of blades intermesh, running extremely close, yet never touching the blades on the opposite wheel. The rotating wheel turns at several thousand RPM. As grain is fed into the center of the fixed wheel, the interaction between the two wheels `impacts' the grain and pulverizes it [Grainlady note: the grain "explodes" rather than being crushed] into fine flour as the grain works its way to the outside of the wheels." For REAL sandwich bread--- I would suggest purchasing a Pullman (Pain de Mie) Pan (a square pan with a lid). This pan will allow you to make that crustless, close-grained bread that will help you transition from commercial sandwich bread to homemade. A close-grain crumb is what you want in order to be able to cut thin slices, hold moist spreads (without dripping through a hole), and still be able to hold together to eat out-of-hand. That's the more-or-less "technical" characteristics for sandwich bread. A more open crumb is best used for toast. All those lovely places to hold melted butter and jam. I have a 1-pound Pullman Pan (perfect for hubby and me), and a 2-pound for when the house is full of family visiting. Another tip for making a fine-crumb bread is to add the fat early during mixing. The fat coats the gluten, similar to making short-crust pastry. If you want a more open crumb (as well as more loft), add the fat late in mixing, after the gluten has developed. For making 100% whole wheat bread (or multi-grain where one of the grains is wheat), I suggest using hard (spring or winter) white wheat over red wheat. White wheat flour has a mild flavor and lighter color and is less acidic-tasting than the flavor associated with "whole wheat bread" made with red wheat varieties. White wheat has the same plant traits and nutrition as red wheat varieties, it's just missing the genes for the bran color. There are three genes that make up the bran color. Early varieties of red wheat (such as Turkey Red) had all three genes and are very dark in color (bran, flour and finished product) and a strong "whole wheat" taste. Most of today's varieties of red wheat have one or two of those genes, while white wheat has none. I use and store both red and white varieties of wheat. Step back a generation or two and use a sponge method over the quicker straight (or direct) dough method. You'll find you get a finer texture. The "wait" gives the bran in the wholegrain flour time to soften (the hard sharp shreds of bran can actually cut the gluten strands), and you'll get a high-rising loaf of bread. According to "CookWise": "Researchers suggest that an ideal standing period is 2-1/2 hours." I typically use an overnight sponge with 100% wholegrain flour works well to lighten the bread. If I'm in a hurry, I use a 2-1/2 hour sponge with good results. I also add 1/4 t. ascorbic acid per loaf to counteract the negative effects from Glutathione (found in wheat germ) on gluten-development. This will help prevent baking those squatty loaves of 100% whole wheat bread. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: King Arthur Flour - Pullman Pan