LAWNS AND LAWN MOWERS

Lawn mowers maketh the lawn

Most people who own a house will own a garden by default, and with spring just around the corner it will soon be time to break into the shed and dust down those old tools and garden machinery. While odd jobs will present themselves throughout the year, you'll know that the growing season is truly upon you when the lawn is ready for its first cut.

Now this can be a critical time for the lawn. Even though the grass itself would have been slowly growing throughout most of the winter the lawn can be waterlogged, covered in worm casts and/or leaves and generally in a poor condition. So before that first cut is made there are a few tips that will help to prevent any further damage.

To begin with, choose a dry day and rake up any dead leaves or surface debris on the lawn. Next, try to flatten any new bumps and depressions in the lawn to prevent scalping of the turf with the lawn mower.

If you have a lot of weed or thatch in the lawn then go over it once with a spring-tine rake to remove it. Don't be tempted to remove all of it this early on in the season as you may end up taking out a large amount of grass too!

You only want to just trim the tops of the grass on the first cut so don't set the lawn mower blades too low. If you cut off too much then any subsequent frosts can damage the grass further.

Of course, once you have removed your lawn mower from its winter rest you may well find that it is in no condition to do the job anyway and that will leave you two simple choices. Either send your mower away for a service or replace it altogether with a more reliable model.

There are plenty of cheap lawn mowers on the market today, but unless you are perfectly happy to have yours replaced every year or so you are better off purchasing a quality model in the first place and saving yourself a load of heartache and perhaps more importantly, time and money. Of course the choice is huge and with so many makes and variations on the market where on earth do you start?

Firstly there are two methods of propulsion - petrol driven or electric, and your practical choice will depend on the size of your lawn. Put simply, the advantage of a petrol machine is that you can venture far beyond the reach of an electric cable! Cylinder mowers will give you a better quality of cut than a rotary mower, and are ideal for high profile and fine turf areas. However, if your lawn is bumpy or the grass sward is not so fine then a rotary mower is ideal for you.

The more expensive mowers will be hydraulically run which will give you better control of the machine, and have the advantage of self-propulsion which is a must on large lawn areas. Some machines will offer you a wider cutting width, whilst others will have larger rollers which will help to maintain those 'all important' stripes on flat areas.

Just make sure you do your research first as buying the wrong mower can end up as an expensive mistake!

For related articles click onto the following links:
HAS ARTIFICIAL GRASS FINALLY COME OF AGE?
HOW TO CONTROL WEEDS IN THE LAWN
HOW TO GET RID OF BIRD'S FOOT TREFOIL IN LAWNS
HOW TO GET RID OF BROWN PATCHES IN YOUR LAWN
HOW TO GET RID OF CLOVER IN LAWNS
HOW TO GET RID OF MOSS IN LAWNS
HOW TO GROW A LAWN FROM SEED
HOW TO IMPROVE DRAINAGE IN LAWNS
WHY SCARIFY A LAWN