It’s really hard to wait for those warm days when you can inhale those earthy, Spring aromas and feel the soil between your fingers. The hardest part of the wait is keeping off the soil in your garden until it has warmed up and the melting snow has drained away.  

You should always wait to walk on your lawn and garden until you can hold the soil in your hands and crumble it in your fingers. Waiting is really necessary because walking on the soil can compact the soil by squeezing out the air that separates the soil particles, filling them with water. Air in the tiny pockets in the soil is important because this is where the microorganisms live that create the substances in the soil that feed the plants. If a handful of soil is sticky and muddy, it is too early to be walking and working on it.  

Have patience, it’s worth the wait.

Once the soil is ready, get out your Little Black Rake to de-thatch the dead grass and those brown spots your pets have lovingly left for you. The lightweight quality of the rake will allow you to spend much more time cleaning out the left over debris from last year without the aches and pains of heavier rakes. Also, if you have a beach on your property, the Little Black Rake is strong enough to clean the seaweed and other interesting winter deposits.  

Whatever way you use the Little Black Rake, enjoy your time this spring preparing for a wonderful summer. We’d love to hear how you use the Little Black Rake and how it’s working for you.

Happy Gardening!

For more information on Spring cleanup and garden preparation from the experts at The Little Black Rake, please contact us here or call us directly at 989.965.0259.

Debido a la situación de los precios, según Enea Martinelli, a los fabricantes de genéricos les resulta farmaciaexpres24.com poco práctico registrar sus productos en el país. De ahí que incluso los medicamentos caros sigan escaseando. Pone el ejemplo de Aldactone para el tratamiento de la insuficiencia cardíaca. El único proveedor de este medicamento en Suiza es Pfizer.

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Originally taken from a design known as the Super Rake, which was majorly used to rejuvenate shag carpet, the Little Black Rake became its own product in December of 2019. The process of creating the physical rake itself was lengthy according to Mary and David. 

“We decided to call it the Little Black Rake because, well, it’s black and it’s only 14 inches wide,” Mary said in a Little Black Rake promotional video on YouTube.

According to Mary, the numerous amounts of sales from the Super Rake eventually drove her and her husband, David to start thinking of creating their own rake of a similar design. 

“Particularly, some of the landscapers would get after us about getting a new mold made because they really liked it,” Mary said. 

The head of the rake looks different than a more traditional household rake. It features two sets of tines, with the rear set offsetting the front set in order to catch anything that may have been left behind. The rake has been quite the multi-purpose rake according to Mary. 

“We have farmers who use it to rake out their pens and homeowners who use it for their yard,” Mary said. 

The process for bringing the rake to life took roughly five years according to Mary and her husband, David. A large part of that process was creating a mold for the rake head. When the duo first began approaching places that could create a mold for their rake, they were shocked by cost quotes reaching nearly $300,000. They decided to do more research in order to find someone who could create the mold at a much lower cost.  

During this process, David recalls speaking to some of the local professionals such as Bob Balzer with the Gladwin County Economic Development Corporation about how to continue with their development. After that, the Moore’s were sent to “person after person after person.” They eventually wound up working with the Central Michigan University Research Corporation (CMURC) to establish different pricing structures. 

While working with CMURC, David and Mary developed different surveys and questions concerning the rake and received a lot of valuable information on some changes that could be made. 

David was later able to find a local plastics developer that was willing to work with him and Mary only because of the shirt David was wearing the day they met. 

“We met with a plastic [manufacturer] who originally said ‘get out of my office,’” David said. “Well, I happened to have a Stone Cottage Gardens shirt on and he said ‘come here, you can sit down; my wife goes to your place.’ Otherwise I’d probably still be looking for a plastic guy.”

The head of the rake is made out of a thermoplastic known as polypropylene which allows for the rake’s weight of just over a pound. The material is also very flexible and helps the user to push down on the rake and bend the head to create a stronger grip and pull without the user having to bend his or her back or causing damage to the rake itself. The rake is advertised to be “practically indestructible” on its website (www.littleblackrake.com) even while made of 100 percent recyclable materials. 

The rake’s components are crafted throughout many different locations, nearly all within about an 80 mile radius of Gladwin. The only exception is the handle which is created in North Carolina, according to David.

“The people here in Gladwin were so welcoming to help us with this,” Mary said. 

The Arnold Center of both Gladwin and Midland were willing to take the lead on the assembly and packaging of the rakes. The Moore’s felt very grateful to have all of the local support they had in their development process. 

“We have been blessed all along and we are very thankful for that,” David said.

David and Mary brought the rake to a home and garden show in Wisconsin back in February of this year. They had future plans to bring it to other shows as well, however, due to the COVID-19 regulations, those shows have all since been canceled. They continue to look forward to the future and many more opportunities to show off their Little Black Rake.

For more information about the Little Black Rake, please contact us here or call us directly at 989.965.0259.

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They spent five years working with local companies and business groups like the CMU Research Corp to develop a durable, double-tined rake made of 100% recyclable materials. In other words, a 2020 version of the former Super Rake.

Director Guillermo del Toro, who was nominated for an Oscar for “Pinocchio,” will direct another animated film for Netflix, Deadline reports. The story will be based on the fantasy “The Buried Giant” by Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro. The story centers Jamie Campbell Bower in twilight on an elderly couple living in fictional medieval England, where no one can keep their memories. Guillermo del Toro will also produce the project and co-write the screenplay with Dennis Kelly (“The Third Day”).

Then in February, the owners of Stone Cottage Gardens, 3740 Willford Road in Gladwin, launched The Little Black Rake, a lightweight and easy-to-use alternative to the heavier rakes on the market.

To top it off, not only was the rake re-engineered locally, but it’s also manufactured locally.

“We’re really excited it’s a Mid-Michigan product,” Mary said. “It’s all made within an 80-mile radius of Gladwin.”

The Little Black Rake is a time saver because one swipe of the rake produces a clean area. The black, 14-inch wide rake has two sets of curved tines that are offset. What the first set of tines misses, the second set picks up.

Weighing in at just over a pound, the rake also is a back saver. The Little Black Rake was designed for people who often struggle with regular, heavy rakes — women, teens, and older individuals, Mary said.

“I am exhausted after 15 minutes (with a regular rake),” Mary said. “It really does save on your back.”

The small size of the rake head makes it ideal for cleaning out shrubs, under trees, and underneath decks, too, David said in a YouTube promotional video for the product created by the CMU Research Corp.

Ed Wark, owner of Gladwin-based E & D Engineering Systems, has followed The Little Black Rake since the beginning. His company reverse engineered the Super Rake by creating a model and then a mold.

Developing the mold with his team required hard work, and it felt good to see it finished in 2019, he said.

“They were nice people to work with,” Wark said about the Moore family. “I hope it sells for them.”

Kawkawlin-based Saginaw Bay Plastics uses the mold to manufacture the rake head. Finally, the full rake is assembled by the Midland-based Arnold Center.

They also have received support from Alma Container Corporation, the Small Business Development Center in Mount Pleasant, the local chambers of commerce, Midland-based McKay Press, and Gladwin-based S&H Engraving.

To market and sell the product, David and Mary initially focused on home shows where they experienced high conversion rates.

“We have been doing lots of demonstrations,” Mary said.

However, when COVID-19 concerns cancelled home shows this year, they shifted to their website, store, farmer’s markets and the Dow Gardens gift shop.

While many challenges lie ahead, the Moore family is glad they pursued the path that led to The Little Black Rake.

“It’s been a struggle to get here, but we have had so much help from local partners in Mid-Michigan,” Mary said.

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Read below for reasons to mulch:

1. Keep the Soil Moist: A layer of mulch traps moisture in the soil, slowing down the evaporation process. This keeps your soil from drying out and your plants hydrated for longer.
2. Lower Soil Temperature: Because mulch makes it difficult for sun to break through. Plant roots and soil are exposed to lower temperatures helping them remain fertile and healthy and ultimately making you garden last longer.
3. Reduce Weed Growth: Weeds easily pop up through simple topsoil. Weeds harm soil health and plant roots, ultimately deteriorating your garden. Layering your garden or lawn with a layer of mulch makes it difficult for weeds to reach the surface and grow in your garden.
4. Keep Your Gardens pH Levels Balanced: Each type of mulch has different acidity levels and serves a different purpose for your garden. To ensure that your garden and lawn receive the mulch with the correct acidity levels, learn the makeup of your garden or lawn and choose a corresponding mulch. If you are unsure what the makeup of your lawn or garden is and what mulch is best, consider contacting a professional.
5. Supply Natural Nutrient Supplements: When mulch breaks down, natural supplements are released into your garden or lawns soil keeping it healthy and fertile. Adding mulch to your garden and lawn saves you money on purchasing additional nutrients from the store.
6. Add Color To Your Lawn Or Garden: Different types of mulch offer different colors, adding a unique style to your lawn or garden. From hardwood bark mulch to decorative stone mulch you can alternate the style of your yard with a simple purchase. Alternating mulches also provides plants with different nutrients promoting ultimate plant health.

For more information on why to mulch or not to mulch from the experts at Little Black Rake, please contact us here or call us directly at 989.965.0259.

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The name Taylor was chosen for the girl for a reason. The singer’s mother, a former marketing expert, wanted her daughter to follow in her father’s footsteps and have a dizzying career on Wall Street. Too “girlish” a name could have prevented that, so the Taylor option came along, which begs the question: are you looking at a man or a woman? The second part of the name – Alison – the girl inherited from her aunt. The famous American woman does not like to talk about her personal life never grow up Taylor Swift. To each question about the other half, she answers in the same way: “All my experiences, I express in songs. Excessive secrecy associated with a reluctance to see in the press articles about their own relationships, turned upside down. At the age of 9, Taylor was passionate about the theater and participated in various productions.

There are several ways to kill weeds and keep other plants safe, including:

1. Start Early. Attack the weeds as soon as they’re up. This leaves less work for you to do in the future. Young weeds have small roots, making them easier to pull with an increased chance of pulling the entire plant.
2. Mulch, Mulch, Mulch. Mulch benefits plants by keeping the soil cool and moist and deprives weeds from receiving any light. Replenishing the mulch as needed remains extremely important. Keep it about 2 inches deep. Anymore than 3 inches can be harmful because that can deprive soil of oxygen.
3. Weed After It Rains. There’s an old saying, ‘pull when wet; hoe when dry.’ This means that it’s best to weed right after a good rain. Under dry conditions, weeds sliced off just below the soil line promptly shrivel up and die. When they’re wet, it makes pulling them easier.
4. Off With Their Heads. When you can’t remove the weeds, the next best thing to do is cut off their heads. This buys you a little time before the weed ‘seed rain’ begins. This reduces reseeding and forces them to use up food reserves to exhaust their supply of root buds, limiting their spread.
5. Be Stingy With Water. Deprive the weeds of water and only water your plants. Sometimes this gets difficult so placing drip or soaker hoses beneath mulch efficiently irrigates plants while leaving weeds thirsty.
6. Apply Weed Killer. Be careful with this. Weed killers tend to be tricky because if you get them on your plants, they’ll kill them too. Take precautions when using weed killer, and make sure you only apply this to the weeds, especially on a windy day.

For more information on killing weeds from the experts at Little Black Rake, please contact us here or call us directly at 989.965.0259.

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