The Best Mower for Your Property

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A Kubota zero-turn finish mower.
A Kubota zero-turn finish mower.
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A zero-turn radius mower from Husqvarna.
A zero-turn radius mower from Husqvarna.
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If you're tending a large meadow, the best mower might not be a dedicated mower but a garden tractor with an attached mower deck.
If you're tending a large meadow, the best mower might not be a dedicated mower but a garden tractor with an attached mower deck.
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The Agri-Fab electric-start rough-cut mower is designed to trail behind an ATV.
The Agri-Fab electric-start rough-cut mower is designed to trail behind an ATV.
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This Bobcat finish mower is designed to be used with the Toolcat and select utility vehicles.
This Bobcat finish mower is designed to be used with the Toolcat and select utility vehicles.
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DR Power, our fourth zero-turn radius mower.
DR Power, our fourth zero-turn radius mower.
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The Lawnbott 3500 is a battery-powered robotic mower.
The Lawnbott 3500 is a battery-powered robotic mower.
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Land Pride, another zero-turn radius mower.
Land Pride, another zero-turn radius mower.
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The Cub Cat series 1000 lawn tractor at work.
The Cub Cat series 1000 lawn tractor at work.

Folks were maintaining lawns and cutting meadows long before the advent of power tools — motor-powered tools that is. Lawns belonging to early European aristocrats were kept trim by gangs of gardeners wielding grass-trimming scissors. Peasants who tilled those same estates made hay with scythe and rake. That work, which was every bit as tedious as it was grueling, stimulated the minds of 19th-century inventors who, lucky for us, spawned entire industries aimed at offering better ways to manage rank vegetation.

Today hundreds of mower models are available to tackle the landscaping job at hand. No single type qualifies as the best for all purposes. “The best mower” for yours will depend on whether you’re interested in maintaining a nicely manicured lawn, managing native grasslands, improving pastures, or just beating back weeds. Here’s a roundup of a few of the largest and greatest to help get you started.

So Many Mowers!

The amount of variation in mower types boggles the mind. Some mowers make the cut with a multi bladed reel that sheers the grass against a fixed-bed knife. Indeed, this so-called reel-type mower was first invented in the early 1800s. The reel mower is specifically adept at making fine cuts suitable for formal lawns and golf courses. In today’s terms, the reel mower is one of the finest finish-cut mowers available. Reel mowers can be human-powered or motor-powered, and in the case of large estates and country clubs, gangs of connected reel mowers are pulled, pushed, or otherwise powered by tractors. Most other types of finish-cut mowers utilize engine-powered horizontally spinning blades. The small devices are either pushed by the operator or are self-propelled (the operator walks while the engine powers not only the blades but the wheels that drive the machine).

The next step up in finish mowers involves some means for the operator to ride along. These riding-type finish-cut mowers include zero-turning radius (ZTR) machines, three- and four-wheel riders, and lawn tractors with a mowing deck attached. Larger rotary-type finish-cut mowers tend to be mounted on a compact tractor’s three-point hitch. Many rotary mowers trail behind the tractor, and some mount between the front and rear wheels. Large finish-cut mowers that mount to the front of equipment such as tractors and utility vehicles are also available.

  • Published on Jun 1, 2009
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