What Do I Need to Know Before Buying a Lawn Mower?

Everyone wants a beautiful lawn, but when everything is considered, they can take a lot of maintenance!

Photos By: Pixabay

For a start, you need to mow your lawn regularly in the growing seasons – that’s from the middle of spring until the fall – and if you have a sizeable yard, that can be quite a lot of work. It also needs to be watered if it is to grow, which means constant attention in drier climates. In this article, we’re talking about lawn mowers and what you need to know about them before you buy one, so let’s get started.

Types of Lawnmower 

The lawnmower has been around for a long time and remains an essential tool for any yard, no matter the size. In the early days, they were simple, push-along machines – such models can still be bought today as we are about to see – but now there are far more sophisticated designs available covering a wide range of options. Let’s talk about the main types of lawnmower:

Push Along – this is a design that has hardly changed in decades. A rotating set of blades turns with the wheels as you push the machine along and cuts the grass. These may be simple and lack sophistication but, for anyone with a very small area of grass, they are perhaps the best choice as they are easy to use in small spaces.

Electric/Gas Unpowered – the electric motor or gas motor lawnmower is a must for anyone who has an average-sized yard. With these models, the cutting blade is powered – either a set of horizontal spinning blades or a turbine type – but the mower needs to be pushed by the user in the direction needing to be cut.

Electric/Gas Self-Propelled – same as the above except a more powerful motor also powers the wheels, so all the user has to do is point it in the right directions and steer it, plus operate the brake and clutch for stopping and safety.

Ride-On – used by people with larger lawns, as well as by commercial and municipal operators, the ride-on mower s like a small tractor with cutting blades. These are steered by a conventional steering wheel and have settings including speed and cutting height (also available on the other types) and are the most expensive of all.

If you want to read more about the different types, we recommend you have a look at TraditionalGardening.com for detailed advice and information. Now let’s consider which type is for you.

Choosing the Right Lawnmower 

So, which type of lawnmower should you buy? The answer is the one that is most suitable for your yard, so ask yourself these questions:

• How big is my lawn?
• Is my lawn flat or on a slope?
• What is my budget?

These are the questions to start with that should give you a choice of options. Consider an ordinary suburban front lawn, and let’s call that average size. If you have an average size lawn or smaller, you will find using a push-along mower or an electric model that is not self-propelled may be adequate. However, even if your lawn is of average size, if it has gradients, you need to consider that pushing uphill can be hard work, so a self-propelled model is certainly a good idea. If you have a garden that is larger than average or very large, a self-propelled model is highly recommended. For the largest lawns, a ride-on mower may be the best choice for keeping your lawn in trim in the least possible time. As for the budget, you need to decide what you can spend early in the decision-making process. A good push along mower will cost very little, but when you get into the realms of the self-propelled mowers, you can be looking at several hundred dollars for a good model. Check out the link we gave you and see what you can find out about mowers within your budget.

Keeping Your Lawn Tidy

You may not be aware, but there is, in fact, a right and a wrong way to mow the lawn! It’s all about how short you cut it and how often you do so, and it helps to know when the grass will grow and when it remains dormant. All of these points and more are covered in this guide on how to mow a lawn correctly from the respected Royal Horticultural Society in the UK, and it makes for interesting reading.

Regular mowing not only keeps your grass looking beautiful for longer but also encourages it to grow, so you have lush green grass all year. It also keeps the weeds at bay. Check out lawnmowers in more detail, and you will find one that does the job for you at a price you can afford.