Mowing the yard
- Thread starter meanmiJ01
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It's a synthetic turf project we did a couple of years ago on Jupiter Island. Private residence - about 7.5 acres - over 2 acres of which we put turf down.
We have just about 2.5 acres. I run a 61" Scag TigerCat II and love the fact that I can knock it out in just about an hour and a half.
I have 1.3 acres that I mow with my Wheel Horse circa 1987 garden tractor with a 48 inch deck.
If you have a 20” push mower that cuts better than a rider - you bought the wrong riding mower
1 acre, ride proudly on my JD x300, trim with a classic 20yr old two-cycle LawnBoy...
1 acre, ride proudly on my JD x300, trim with a classic 20yr old two-cycle LawnBoy...
Honda self propel. I do all the trimming and edging. 0.6 acres
Put on the headphones and get a good walk in
Wife fires anyone else that I try to pay to do it.
Put on the headphones and get a good walk in
Wife fires anyone else that I try to pay to do it.
Me too, except for July, August and September. 0.5 acre lot of which there are 0.33 acres of mowable turf. It's mindless entertainment behind my Honda self-propelled, especially because I am the only "weird neighbor" who mows their own grass (and has the best looking lawn).
I've found that as one grows old, it's okay to be an "enigma".
I used to hate cutting the grass. Then I got married and had four daughters. Now I grab three beers out to start, place them strategically throughout the yard, throw the headphones in and push the mower around for 1/2 hour to finish the lawn. Many weeks it is the most enjoyable 1/2 hour I get.
The house I grew up in had a half acre lot. My dad was older and out of shape and we always had a small riding mower. When I bought my first house, it had a one acre lot and I bought a small riding tractor. My buddy gave me crap about not using a push mower. He just bought a house with a half acre and was going to push. The following spring I called him and he was at sears. I asked him what for and he said buying a riding mower.
If you have a half acre or more and can afford one, buy/use a riding mower. If you want exercise then go jogging OT take a yoga class.
If you have a half acre or more and can afford one, buy/use a riding mower. If you want exercise then go jogging OT take a yoga class.
A little more than a half acre here with a lot of edging and 13 trees. I push for the edging and trees and have tractor for the rest. I love cutting the lawn, but my next mower will be a 30-36” walk behind. Too many undulations in my yard for 42” desk on tractor. 22” is too much time.
I haven't mowed my lawn in years. I don't have time for all that jazz. I do however hand-wash every record I acquire before they are played; I understand the ritual.
Also I'm extraordinarily lazy.
I’m guessing that you don’t “bag”
Mulch kit, baby... bagging is not good for the soil
If my yard had ONE blade of grass I would still only use the riding mower. When it's 90 out with 100% humidity you can take your 'exercise' and stuff it in your arse.
I do keep the bushes around my deck trimmed down pretty good year round though. Makes the deck look bigger.
I do keep the bushes around my deck trimmed down pretty good year round though. Makes the deck look bigger.
Unless you’re worried about “thatch”, which rhymes with something else
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.39 acres and I used to use my Zero Turn but for the past 2 years I've kept it in the garage and just used my push mower. The prep and upkeep is so much easier than with a tractor. The tractor only saved me about 15-20 minutes anyway.
Not sure if you are joking? I am with the thought though I absolutely hate it.
Huge waste of time and money and worse than mowing is working on the damn mower . I used to have cornfield on all 3 sides and across the road so obviously country. Someone bought a lot next to me and the guy wants a golf course I guess I can see in a subdivision or residential area. Guy across the rd 1/8 mile down mows all the way down the field he doesn't own along the rd. My neighbor , luckily I had a fence and bushes most of the way to the rd before he arrived, will mow way over in my yard. It seems mower people think anywhere there is grass they can drive their mower and cut grass. I don't mind the mower types if they have a quiet mower and just get it done but 2-3 times a week w a big mower and he mows 10-15 mins stops 10-15 minutes is too much and the mowing in my yard? I finally hauled a 6x6 out and laid it on my side of the line for awhile.I actually have a flexible schedule and try to mow during the day vs trying to eat dinner and relax in the evening and listen to a mower for 2 hrs. Granted his dogs over shitting in my yard all the time and getting into grilled food on a table on my raised deck didn't help much either. To top it off his fertilizer runs off into part of mine and makes it grow faster.
Mrs. wbcincy does all our mowing, as she's done for about 5 years now. She's also going to be cutting up a lot of huge tree branches that came down today from some terrible weather. Then in 3 weeks she's picking up our dog to Schutzhund train for competition... Good thing I'm comfortable in my manhood.
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I don't cut the grass anymore, I actually do enjoy it. My boys are in multiple sports , involved at church , clubs etc. It's the one weekly manual labor job I have for them , so I make them do it. Gone are the days of having kids for cheap labor I guess.
.8 acres and I mow it with an Ariens zero turn. I also do all my fertilizing, weed control, crab grass control, etc. myself.
Takes me 45 minutes to mow and then pull the grass raker through the lawn.
I have no doubt that pushing is better (less soil compaction, etc.) but I'm not devoting an hour and a half to mowing.
Takes me 45 minutes to mow and then pull the grass raker through the lawn.
I have no doubt that pushing is better (less soil compaction, etc.) but I'm not devoting an hour and a half to mowing.
I am just amazed at all the chemicals; time; and money people put into grass......its just grass.
I agree with this, to an extent. I buy the Ace Hardware store brand of the Scott's 4-step lawn care system. Total cost is about $120 a year and each step takes about 15 minutes to apply to our 1/4 acre lot. The difference between our yard and the yards on either side (which don't do anything) is stark. That's as much as I'm willing to do.
I have a .25 acre lot. I push mow it with a self propelled. I do it once a week. For some reason the previous owner planted large areas of my yard with grass that you would plant in Florida, so it's dead right now (brown) and will come back green in a few more weeks.
The stuff sucks. It's brittle when it's dead and it gets tracked in my house like you would not believe. He also, for some reason, had a pond in the back yard at one point. He sounds like a real quack.
The stuff sucks. It's brittle when it's dead and it gets tracked in my house like you would not believe. He also, for some reason, had a pond in the back yard at one point. He sounds like a real quack.
I have a very old established yard with hearty grass and I let it go with the weather. Ive had 6+ inches of rain in 4 days and may have to move my mowing up a bit and again I live out on a county rd vs residential , I just happened to get a manic mower by a lot out of the field next to me. I guess it's all in what you like to do.
That tangled mess? And the thatch is bad too!Unless you’re worried about “thatch”, which rhymes with something else
3 beers in half an hour - I haven't been able to do that in years. Do you get out to mow quite often?
This time of year, it usually every other week. Ridiculous schedule with kids’ activities and all. Plus, has to be dry on the day I am available to mow. Once summer hits I’ll cut it weekly.
I will typically have something like Rolling Rock for lawn cutting. Perfect for the summertime.
We bought our house back in 94 with an acre of mostly lawn. I had the 22" push mower from our townhouse (about 1/4 acre) and quickly learned what my next purchase would be when it took 4 hours to finish the yard. Bought a used piece of crap riding mower that lasted a few years and got a Craftsman 42" rider with a Kohler engine ... best purchase ever. It is starting to show it's age but still gets the job done 20 years later. I actually got cutting time down to under an hour before we fenced in the back yard for the dogs we got. I agree that somewhere around half an acre is the push/rider dividing line.
My issue is the frickin neighbors on both sides. On the side where I planted evergreens and forsythia as a natural divider I get crap if a branch extends one inch into his property or cut one blade of grass he deems is his. On the other side the neighbor planted evergreens so close to the property line there are branches that hang 8 feet into my yard and he randomly cuts a large portion of my lawn (just near the street). I can't win.
My issue is the frickin neighbors on both sides. On the side where I planted evergreens and forsythia as a natural divider I get crap if a branch extends one inch into his property or cut one blade of grass he deems is his. On the other side the neighbor planted evergreens so close to the property line there are branches that hang 8 feet into my yard and he randomly cuts a large portion of my lawn (just near the street). I can't win.
Don't get started on my neighbor. Mine keeps banging up my fence with his rider mower because he is too stubborn/stupid to realize that he can't control his mower going up hill when it is wet and muddy.
Living in Texas, the heat is what motivated me to start paying someone to mow. In August when it's 110 outside I have no interest in pushing a mower around for even 10 minutes.
My situation is similar to many. .5 mowable grass. Use Honda Selfprop. Cut weekly or due to work / kids perhaps 10 days. If you keep sharp blades and do Scotts or something once in awhile, even if your grass gets long it can still look good. Last year my neighbor let me borrow his rider. I know I would have become more efficient overtime with it but it took near the same time due to all the turns I had to make with landscape and such. And I couldn't use it near the pond. I thanked him but said I will stick with push.
I think how a lawn looks is up to the person. I personally like my neighbors across from me but he paid for some extra attachment to make it look like a golf course. I also like the wide band riders make. But for me, I am perfectly happy with the push look and getting exercise and alone time.
Do whatever makes you happy. If you already own a rider then keep on doing it. You could always borrow his push and do it once to see how it looks and how long it took. If it looks better perhaps you borrow it before you have company over and otherwise who cares.
I think how a lawn looks is up to the person. I personally like my neighbors across from me but he paid for some extra attachment to make it look like a golf course. I also like the wide band riders make. But for me, I am perfectly happy with the push look and getting exercise and alone time.
Do whatever makes you happy. If you already own a rider then keep on doing it. You could always borrow his push and do it once to see how it looks and how long it took. If it looks better perhaps you borrow it before you have company over and otherwise who cares.
Unless you’re worried about “thatch”, which rhymes with something else
Thatch should not be a concern if you mow the lawn more than once a month...grass tips break down and the organic matter is good feed for soil microbes
7.5 Acres, mow 7. As you I have a JD 1025R w/ a 60" deck, takes me 4.15 hrs generally. Right now I mow the "good part" every five days and the field part every 10 days or so. As a former professional turf mgt. guy I like to have a nice lawn. I sprayed for crabgrass and broad leaf weeds last week and things are looking mighty nice right now. To each his own as has been said.
We have a neighbor who began mowing part of our field out back, against his property, so he could walk his dogs our our land. I saw liability all over that and one day, saw him doing it as its not readily visible from the house. I walked back and stopped in line of his mower about 50 yards ahead. He eventually stopped right in front of me. I introduced myself, he didn't, and I nicely asked him to stop mowing my lawn. His answer was where he lived before his neighbors never minded. I explained that I did not want this are mowed for agronomic reasons. He relented, lifted the deck and drove home. Haven't seen him since other then when he lost his can and demanded to look in my shed for it. We call him Mr. Personality as he has never introduced himself do this day. I don't enjoy confrontation but am fully capable of doing it when required. It was just a bit satisfying to do it to him as he was begging for it.
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