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The one I have works if its not tall, but I HATE the look of gas mowers since they generally cut so short. I plan to use the trimmer to take care of the tall stuff and can mow over it. I like that it keeps the grass about three inches over the usual where you can see dirt. And a can of spray oil is the only maintence I need. And it quiet. I would adjust the mower to higher but the city would object.
It's been a while since I had to deal with a mower, but the ones I've seen had adjustable cutting heights. There was a handle that had ratchets to hold the mower at height 3 or 4 levels if I recall, and also the mower was attached via cotter pins and lag bolts and had a couple of positions too. Now, my experience mowing was on a small home tractor on 2 acres, and the tractor had multiple attachments that used the lag bolts/cotter pins....
My family had a reel mower when I was growing up. My brother & dad used it to mow 3/4 acres. I rarely had the priviledge of mowing. I feel soo deprived.
As a boy of 12 I had a small business mowing lawns. I started with a hand-pushed reel mower. Made enough to buy a reel mower in a summer. After three summers, I made enough to buy a used John Deer garden tractor which could pull a reel mower. A few years later I made enough money to buy a bigger tractor that pulled a gang of reel motors; hired 2 other guys to run the smaller equipment and bought struck to carry all this stuff around from client to client. By then I had landed a lot of contracts from cemeteries and some large regional high schools, and had to hire even more guys. Several years later, i bought an even bigger real mower to do golf courses and i was constantly selling old and buying new machines and repairing them in between, me and 11 guys. I even had to build a storage building with a shop. I finally quit after high school, sold the business and used that money and the GI bill to go to college and train for an indoor job as an economist. I still mow my small yard with hand-pushed reel mower. Nothing equals a reel mower as long as you keep the blades sharp and watch out for rocks. They clip the grass smoothly and evenly and the cut grass residue is a lot easier to dispose of for all types.
I had one when i lived in my first rent house, in my current house I had 4 gas mowers in the 16 years since I lived here, all of my gas mowers were only good for the first 2 years I had them and then 3 - 4 years of taking forever to get them started, reel mowers just work as long as you keep them sharpened and oiled and even that is a once in a blue moon thing. with all my gas mowers maintenance was a constant thing after the 2nd summer of use. and I no longer have to cut my grass in the heat of the day, last night I cut my grass by porch light at 3AM, with a gas mower someone would have called the police lol. but my neighbors saw me cutting last week one mourning and were saying how they hate those things, I'm curious on your opinions.
Gee, I dunno. I have used one at my house for 12 years and get nothing but positive comments. Granted, they don't cut as well and can't be used in long or thick grass but I love mine.
Or just don't have a lawn all together. I've never understood the obsession with having a grass lawn. Just because it looks pretty, perhaps?
America: Where we have mile upon square mile of grass lawns, where we dump water suitable for drinking all over the ground, because we like the look.
Lots of reasons... it is naturally soothing and proven scientifically through studies... excellent at preserving soil and for erosion control and minimizing runoff... minimizes fire danger... play area for kids and even adult activities... great for pets... natural cooling effect during hot weather... kids can't easily pick up grass and break a window like happen where I replaced turf with rocks.
Grass doesn't need tap water and actually thrives without it... grey water, rain water, etc... is much better.
Turf is also easy to maintain... automatic sprinklers are easy plus bagging mowers "Vacuum" the area much quicker than raking...
As a boy of 12 I had a small business mowing lawns. I started with a hand-pushed reel mower. Made enough to buy a reel mower in a summer. After three summers, I made enough to buy a used John Deer garden tractor which could pull a reel mower. A few years later I made enough money to buy a bigger tractor that pulled a gang of reel motors; hired 2 other guys to run the smaller equipment and bought struck to carry all this stuff around from client to client. By then I had landed a lot of contracts from cemeteries and some large regional high schools, and had to hire even more guys. Several years later, i bought an even bigger real mower to do golf courses and i was constantly selling old and buying new machines and repairing them in between, me and 11 guys. I even had to build a storage building with a shop. I finally quit after high school, sold the business and used that money and the GI bill to go to college and train for an indoor job as an economist. I still mow my small yard with hand-pushed reel mower. Nothing equals a reel mower as long as you keep the blades sharp and watch out for rocks. They clip the grass smoothly and evenly and the cut grass residue is a lot easier to dispose of for all types.
My first job as a young kid was using a push mower at 25 cents a residential lawn... did that job until at 9 when we moved... all day Saturday I was up early and made the rounds.
Lots of reasons... it is naturally soothing and proven scientifically through studies... excellent at preserving soil and for erosion control and minimizing runoff... minimizes fire danger... play area for kids and even adult activities... great for pets... natural cooling effect during hot weather... kids can't easily pick up grass and break a window like happen where I replaced turf with rocks.
Grass doesn't need tap water and actually thrives without it... grey water, rain water, etc... is much better.
Turf is also easy to maintain... automatic sprinklers are easy plus bagging mowers "Vacuum" the area much quicker than raking...
Xeriscaping, at least in non-arid climates, is a much better option for preventing erosion and runoff, and would still provide most of the other benefits of turf grass that you mention, with the exception of having a play area for children and pets. (and possibly fire danger, but that's rarely--if ever--an issue here)
--edit to add--
And, you don't have to mow native plants!
Or just don't have a lawn all together. I've never understood the obsession with having a grass lawn. Just because it looks pretty, perhaps?
America: Where we have mile upon square mile of grass lawns, where we dump water suitable for drinking all over the ground, because we like the look.
We have one because other plants don't tolerate being walked on every day. We use our yard, not just look at it. And because I want some space that is open rather than completely filled with packed shrubs. I happen to like the look of crushed rock, too, and am thinking of tearing out a problematic small piece of the lawn to replace with that. But there will still be some lawn, in addition to the xeriscaping that I also planted. Nice to have a mix instead of everything the same.
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