I’ve been thinking about selling my townhome and buying a house that actually has a yard. A YARD! Can you imagine the possibilities? I can grow my own vegetables! I can have a place to sit outside!
Well, with a yard comes great responsibilities. That is, taking care of the lawn. I grew up in the midwest where our family had a pretty decent size yard (about a half an acre) and I have to admit, I never once touched a lawn mower. I am such a princess.
Anyway, I’m kind of excited about the possibility of having my own lawn to take care of - and have been thinking about push mowers. Paul thinks that this is not a good idea because he believes they would be hard to push, but I hear this is not really true anymore.
Another option would be to get an electric mower - at least this would still cut down on the pollution.
Anyone have any experience with either? Recommendations would be appreciated!
A push mower could be hard to use, but if your yard isn’t too big and it’s on flat ground, I think it’s the way to go. I used a push mower when I was younger. I lived on a hill and I was still able to push it. I don’t have a lawn now, but I think push mowers have gotten fairly “high tech”, including nice options such as a bag to catch clippings so you don’t have to rake later. It’s definitely worth looking into a push mower. Even with an electric mower, we all know the electricity has to be generated somehow, right?
Please, please, please don’t get a gas powered mower. Not just for the environment’s sake, but also for your neighbors’ sanity. I can’t stand the way gas powered mowers and blowers sound. They drive me nuts!
As a longtime lawn-sufferer, thought I’d throw this out there — have you considered scrapping the yard and planting xeric (waterwise) plants? Yards eat up a HUGE amount of water (more than anything else in your home) and, if you want a “pretty” lawn like the ones we all remember growing up, you’re looking at fertilizers and Miracle-Gro and tons of stuff that probably isn’t that good for you to walk on barefoot (the best part of a lawn!).
But here’s the real crux of the matter — lawns are a PAIN. I was a princess growing up, too, so it’s been a REAL education. I imagined trimming the yard every weekend for a half hour then hanging out with iced tea and an umbrella, but no, it’s a grind because after the mowing there’s the edging, and then the weed pulling, then the treatments, ugh! If anyone finds a cure for Bermuda grass, I want it! Mowing, trimming, edging, fighting crabgrass = no fun on Saturday. We’re in the process of putting in thyme instead of regular grass (check out High Country Gardens if you’re curious) so we can run around in the yard and don’t have to run the sprinklers but it will still look tidy and well-maintained without ruining our lives. Whatever you do, go for the low maintenance option whenever possible — you won’t regret it. Good luck!
@ Binny - thanks for the comment! You bring up great points about the cons of grass - the water, fertilizers, maintenance alone… all very good things to think about. I’m curious to hear more about your thyme!
Ok, so I just got a new house, and was wondering the same thing about push mowers. I read up on it, as it sounds like you did too. I bought one, and mowed the lawn with it yesterday.
This is what i can tell you, having never used a reel mower before, i was quite amazed with how well it actually worked.
The best way to explain how it works would be to compare it to shaving… sometimes you think you’ve covered everything only to find a few stranglers. So you go back at it, only going a different direction, hitting what you’ve missed. You may have to make a couple more passes on the lawn to get it to your liking, but the positives out weight the negatives… Those who say its hard to push are basing that view on the old mowers, these new ones can easily be pushed with one arm. If the worst thing is that i may have to make a few more passes so be it. The parts i hated most about mowing the lawn with a gas mower were the smell, the pull starts, maintenance (of which i push mower is practically free of), and having to do it in the middle of the day (those bad boys are loud)… i can’t wait to wake up at 8, cut the grass, and not scare away the nature.
as a side note, make sure you buy the right kind of mower for your grass… check out https://www.reelin.com/ that the company that made the mower i bought (18″ Deluxe Light) they do a good job explaining what to expect.