The Many methods of mowing

Enlarge Image Image Gallery

By Jeff Cox

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.