An irreverent take on gardening in the Midwest by a frequently disgruntled gardener.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Yard "Butler"


So I bought this thing called a Yard Butler that is supposed to help you mix your compost, and it does the job, but after just a few minutes of the rather backbreaking labor involved, I just want to protest against the name.  It is in no way like having a yard butler, which evokes images of swanning about the garden in a long white dress snipping deadheads off the roses in a desultory fashion while a team of under-gardeners performs the manual labor and there's an absinthe cocktail waiting on the veranda for when you get tired.

Using the yard butler is the opposite of that.  It's like doing bench rows from an awkward standing position.  You shove the thing into the compost, which is easy enough, but when you pull it out these little wings pop out, which is what mixes the compost.  However, unless your compost is already done, the little wings hit a number of snags and it requires quite a bit of brute force to get it out while dragging up whatever solids are lurking at the bottom of your pile.  I think it should be called the Sadistic and Not At All Ergonomic Upper Body Garden Trainer that Will, Incidentally, Mix Your Compost If You Really Apply Yourself.

Update:  Well, it turns out it's NOT called the Yard Butler, it's a compost aerator made by the fine people at Yard Butler.  However, I stand by my rant.  No matter how many products I buy from Yard Butler, I still won't be living like the landed classes in an Agatha Christie novel and there won't be anyone standing about with trays of cocktails waiting to convey my instructions to the head gardener.


No comments:

Post a Comment