Ah, Summer, everyone’s favorite season! But with Summer, comes yardwork…everyone’s least favorite summer pastime. Yardwork has a different meaning for everyone but is most synonymous with mowing the lawn because everyone wants a lovely looking lawn, but that grass seems to grow faster than you want it to doesn’t it? The easiest way to keep your lawn looking great is by having a quality lawnmower, but with so many to choose from, how do you know what one is right for you and your lawn? Here are a few tips to get you started:
1. Determine your yard type and size
Is your yard regular grass without obstacles (trees or bushes, etc…)? Or do you have thicker weed types and obstacles that would need to be mowed around? How fast does the grass grow?
You will need to take into account the type of grass, how fast it grows, and what you will need to avoid before deciding what kind of lawnmower to get. If you have a small yard, with no obstacles, and it grows slowly, a simple push mower may be ideal, but if you have a yard that is big, with thick grass that grows as quickly as you can cut it, you won’t want to devote all your spare time just to keep it manageable.
Next, take into account the size of your yard. Let’s take a 1/4 acre yard as our example, 1/4 acre is roughly 11,000sq ft. Your average 3 bedroom home is around 1,800sq ft. Most individuals wouldn’t dream of mowing 1/4acre with a push mower, so you need to decide for yourself if your yard is something you would want to mow walking behind a push mower. Don’t forget any maintenance like trimming up edges and around bushes, flowers, trees, either that will add to your time spent maintaining your yard.
For a yard that is 1/4-2acres, a traditional small garden tractor should be sufficient for your needs, however, anything larger you will most likely want a more commercial tractor or zero-turn mower with a wider cutting radius.
2. Determine your budget
Lawnmowers, like with most tools, you get what you pay for. Better quality is going to cost you more – the same goes with any extra features you are looking for your mower to have. Once you’ve determined a budget, that will give you a good idea of what type of mower you can purchase.
3. Features
If you decide that a walk mower is sufficient to meet your needs, you will want to look at the pros and cons of a push mower or self-propelled mower. No one wants to be pushing a mower up hills – especially if you plan to bag the clippings. Walking behind your mower can be exercise enough in itself without having to exert more force to keep it moving.
Decide if you want an electric or gas-powered engine – keep in mind, an electric, a battery-powered mower will have a time limit based on battery life, and also the battery life will decrease over time as will the power the mower puts out.
Traditional gas-powered engine mowers will only decrease in power if the engine wears down or if the limits of the engine are strained.
Walk-mowers are often smaller in nature, therefore the blade cutting radius will be smaller than a ride-on mower. However, a large cutting radius does not always mean faster mowing time, not if it means there will be more work to do with a weed wacker or edger to clean up around obstacles in your yard.
If you go with zero turn mowers, be sure to take it for a test drive if possible to know if the driving style will fit your needs – a small garden tractor with a steering wheel handles vastly different than a zero-turn mower with handles.
Finally, no matter what mower you end up with, make sure you are happy with your purchase. There are too many options out there to end up with a mower that leaves you dissatisfied. Enjoy your yard work as much as you can! Happy Hunting.