The Many methods of mowing
From gas to electric, solar to scythe, you'll find what you need to know in MOTHER'S buyer's guide to mowers.
By Jeff Cox
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My dad figured out the perfect low-work, time-saving way to
deal with mowing the grass: He made me do it. Since then
I've had a love-hate relationship with my lawns. I don't
enjoy mowing them any more now than I did when I was 13,
but as soon as the grass gets the least bit shaggy, I feel
the need to cut it.
The longer I put it off, the guiltier I feel, the more it
calls and the more difficult the job becomes.
I could take a cue from my dad and hire a teenager, but I
remember how I used to run the mower over rocks - gouging
chunks of metal out of the cutting blade and sometimes
bending the driveshaft - without thinking twice about it.
There's always the farmyard approach, fencing in the lawn
and running horses, cows or sheep in there. But fencing is
expensive, there are vet bills, shelter for winter, flies
in the manure ...
Or I could plant zoysia grass. This stuff stays short but
has the texture of a stiff-bristled scrub brush and is only
green between the last and first frosts. Forget that. Some
MOTHER readers are trying to lose their lawns and plant
permaculture gardens, but for many of us, at least some
lawn is a fact of life.
Besides, I remind myself, think of the advantages of real
lawn grass. Even without fertilizers, weed killers and
heavy irrigation, a neatly mown, low-care lawn gives your
property an inviting, park-like look. And if you want to
catch the clippings, they are magnificent additions to the
compost pile, providing as much nitrogen as cow manure.
Laid down thickly in the garden, clippings make weedproof
paths. They also make fine, nutritious mulch for all kinds
of vegetables. Farther out, you may have a meadow or an
orchard that requires mowing only once or twice a year to
keep down volunteer saplings, noxious weeds - such as giant
ragweed, poison ivy or poison oak - and thorny customers
like multiflora roses and greenbriar.
The beauty of a lawn or meadow, as well as the benefit of
usable outdoor space, makes mowing worth the work. As with
any chore, however, the right tool makes the job go easier.
Let's look at the tools available and consider their
merits, starting with the nonpolluting, human-powered
options.
Reel Mowers: $100 to $225
Hand-pushed reel mowers offer multiple advantages over
gas-powered mowers: no noise, no noxious air pollution, no
danger of flying rocks, low maintenance and no worries
about getting them started. Plus you get a great aerobic
workout every time you use them, burning about 300 calories
an hour.
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