Danny Lipford » Lawn Mowers

Environmentally Friendly Way to Mow Your Lawn

Danny Lipford — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:00:04 +0000

Changing the way you mow your grass can save water by reducing the need for lawn irrigation. Here’s how:

Use a mulching mower and blade. Leaving the grass clippings on the lawn will provide natural, organic nitrogen and help retain moisture.
Don’t cut the grass too short. Set your cutting depth to leave 2½” to 3” of grass. Taller grass protects the stem from sunlight, makes a stronger root system, and reduces evaporation.

Advantages of Rechargeable Cordless Lawn Mowers

Danny Lipford — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:00:54 +0000

You can’t beat the convenience of cordless tools. But there’s another advantage to battery power when it comes to thinking green, especially when it comes to yard work. You might be surprised to learn that an hour of mowing your yard with a gas-powered lawn mower causes as much pollution as driving 250 miles in a car!

But there are alternatives. The old hand-powered mowers are still available, but my vote goes to rechargeable, cordless models. These mowers operate using a sealed lead acid battery, and usually have enough power to mow up to a half-acre lawn on one charge. There are no emissions, no noise, and no expensive gasoline to buy.

Lawn Mower Maintenance

Danny Lipford — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 05:00:35 +0000

There was a time when lawn work was looked on as strictly the guy’s job. In fact, it often took the strength of Hercules to pull the crank cord a minimum of 10-12 times just to start the darn machine! Long gone are those days, though, as the lawn mower has evolved into a tool that any gender can operate with ease. You may think, however, that maintaining your mower is still a job best left for the man of the house. This, too, is simply not the case.

It’s very easy to take care of your mower; and, with some new innovations, yard work can actually be a fun chore. I’ll share with you some tips and tricks in keeping your yard picture-perfect and look at some of the great new mowers on the market to make life outside a lot easier.

1-2-3 Maintenance

At the start of the season, usually Spring, there are three main areas to focus on when it comes to lawn mower maintenance:

Change the oil: Even if you don’t think it needs it, do it! The oil should be changed at the beginning of every season. Over the course of the cutting season, dirt and other impurities will collect in the oil and those things will ruin an engine. Check with your mower’s owner’s manual for the proper procedure.

Change the spark plug: That little space at the end of the plug where the metal end bends at a 90 degree angle is called the gap. Many manufacturers are now packaging new plugs with the gap pre-set, so it’s as simple as removing the old and installing the new. However, it’s still a good idea to double-check the gap with an inexpensive spark plug gap tool just in case. Many people like to change the plug every year so you’re starting every cutting season with a new spark plug.
Clean the air filter: If the filter in your mower is an accordion-style paper type, simply remove the filter cover and blow out all the debris with a high-pressure air hose. This works well with an air filter that looks like . If the filter is made from foam, wash it in a water and detergent solution, let it dry, and apply a few drops of oil to it. In some rare cases, you may need to replace the filter, but most of the time, a simple cleaning will do.

Blades

I have separated the blade from regular maintenance, because this is more than just a standard upkeep. It takes a little extra effort to remove the blade and sharpen or replace the blade. Every year, though, this should be done prior to the first cutting. You need to have a sharp blade when cutting grass, otherwise it doesn’t cut the grass but, tears it instead, which can lead to a diseased lawn. Before removing the blade, be sure to detach the spark plug wire to prevent the mower from accidently starting. Then tilt the mower up and use a wrench
to loosen the bolt that holds the blade on by turning it counter clockwise.

Sharpening a blade can be done with a metal file, sharpening stone, or a motorized grinder. Regardless of the method used, follow the existing beveled edge on the blade by passing the file over the blade in the same direction each time. An even easier way to sharpen the blade is to use a small grinding attachment for your cordless drill. Just place the blade in a bench vice and you can hone the edge with no trouble.

Mowers

Push Mowers

For a small yard, a simple push mower is perfect. While some homeowners use push mowers to take care of a large yards, it takes several hours of work and defeats the whole purpose of making the chore easier. Don’t rush out and get the least expensive one, though. Remember, the whole point is to make yard work easier. A cheap mower won’t cut it, if you’ll pardon the pun. A larger cutting deck is a good feature. Many small mowers start at around 19”, but 21” is better. Also, think about how easy it is to crank and the type of bagging attachment (a rear bagger is easier to maneuver).

Battery powered cordless models are becoming more and more popular. Not only are they quieter and more environmentally friendly than gas powered models, but cordless electric mowers greatly reduce the maintenance needed, since they don’t need oil changes, spark plugs, or air filters.

Riding Mowers

For a large yard, riding mowers are the toy of preference. Professional services use ZTR (Zero Turn Radius) mowers, which can turn on a dime. The new ZTR’s are a work of art focusing not only on performance, but also on comfort and style. They can include shock absorbers, larger wheels for a more comfortable ride, cushy seat with armrests and even cup holders! The biggest drawback for many homeowners is trying to operate the ZTR’s with the two separate directional levers.

The cutting decks for riding mowers start at 42”. While most homeowners don’t need one that’s too big, a 48”-50” model is ideal. If you want the “cool factor” of a ZTR with the convenience of a traditional tractor, consider Cub Cadet’s iSeries Zero Turn Tractors. They have a traditional steering wheel while still giving zero turn radius.

Cutting Tips

Here are a few quick tips that will keep your lawn looking great:

Don’t cut wet grass: Aside from having a tendency to clog the machine and leave clumps of wet grass all over the yard, wet grass won’t cut easily. It tears, just as it does with a dull blade.
Set the cutting height to at least 1½”: Taller grass will hold moisture better and will also allow the root system to “grab hold” of the soil better, which means a healthier lawn.
Don’t mow in the same direction every time you cut: For example, one week mow north to south. The next week, mow east to west. This prevents ruts from forming in the yard and also lets the grass grow thicker.
Use a grass catcher for the first cut and last cut of the season: Use the mulching feature the rest of the time to reduce yard waste and add nutrients back into the yard.

Finally, if you need just a little more incentive to spend a day in the yard, remember this. According to the Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, you can burn over 350 calories every hour you spend behind a push mower! Now that’s a great workout with added benefits!

Making Mowing Easier

Julie Day — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:22:36 +0000

I’m looking out my window today at a lawn that is – hopefully – on the verge of a nice spring green-up, and I’m thinking about mowing. I know that in other parts of the world, there are people who enjoy mowing their lawn. In my world, mowing is a chore that offers quite pleasing results, but it’s not one of my favorite ways to spend my time. I know it sounds crazy, but hauling around a big, noisy machine that could cut my foot off sort of interferes with my serenity.

So, as I look out the window, my mind is already starting to focus on what I can do this year to make mowing easier. I have two main rules for lawn mowing, and I keep them in mind every time I work on my landscape design:

If it’s hard to mow, then don’t grow grass. One side of my back yard slopes steeply down to a fence, and the other side slopes down to a drainage ditch. This year, I will stop wrestling the lawn mower on those slopes by enlarging my naturalized and mulched areas, in a nice pleasing curve that conveniently eliminates the need to mow the slopes. Oh, and that “pleasing curve” will also be one that the mower can easily turn.
If it won’t grow grass, then don’t grow grass. In the front corner, there’s an area that stubbornly refuses to grow grass – it’s dry and compacted, and the mower kicks up a storm of dust and gravel whenever I run over it. All along I’ve thought that would be a great place for a drought-tolerant flower garden, and this is the year to do it. Likewise, there is a deeply shaded strip between my house and the neighbors’ that seems inclined to grow only moss despite my elaborate attentions. You guessed it – I’m going to naturalize that, too, perhaps with a shady stepping-stone path inviting you to the nice, green back yard.

Of course, the motivation behind all this is that the easier – and safer – my lawn is to care for, the more diligently I will care for it, and the lovelier it will be. In the areas where grass DOES grow, I do everything I can to help it grow thick and strong, but I don’t spend a lot of time on losing battles. Come to think of it, this approach has led to some pretty awesome flower gardens, too!

Proper Mowing Techniques

Danny Lipford — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 15:39:29 +0000

Turf expert Dr. Trey Rogers tells us the best way to insure good lawn health is to mow properly. That begins with a sharp mower blade and mowing more often. Cut off no more that 1/3 of the grass blade’s length at one time to prevent shocking the plant. He also recommends allowing the grass clippings to fall back onto the lawn instead of bagging them. These clippings provide important nutrients, and contrary to conventional thought, do not promote thatch.