As a homeowner, you take great pride in your lawn and landscape’s curb appeal. A lush, green, perfectly cut lawn can make your home stand out in the neighborhood. In addition to regularly purchasing fertilizers, herbicides and seed for overseeding, homeowner’s desiring a perfect lawn may also have to invest in a good quality lawn mower. Understanding your lawn mowing options is important before heading out to purchase one.
About Lawn Mowing Equipment
Which type of lawn mowing equipment is right for you and your yard will depend on a few things: the size of your yard, the terrain (i.e. hilly or sloped), obstacles and/or turns, as well as your budget and how much physical energy you are willing to put into mowing. Different types of lawn mowers will work better for different sites and different people. The type of mower you choose will also affect cutting heights, as some mowers cut better at different heights. All lawn mower types require maintenance to keep them functioning properly and cutting nicely. Lawn mower blades need to be kept sharp to prevent unnecessary damage and stress to turf grasses. Damaged grass blades can reduce the turf plant’s ability to photosynthesize, causing sparse, brown, unhealthy lawns. Which lawn mower type you choose may depend on the regular maintenance you are willing to do or pay for to ensure peak performance of your equipment.
Different Kinds of Lawn Mowers
There are basically two different lawn mower types: reel mowers and rotary mowers. Reel mowers make precise clean cuts on grass blades using the scissor-like action of a cylinder of rotating blades. They may have 2-6 of these rolling blades which are usually turned by the axle of the mower’s wheels. Available as tow behind attachments for lawn tractors, gas or electric powered or manual push models, reel mowers are generally less noisy and create less pollution than rotary mowers. Reel mowers can also cut grass to short heights better than rotary mowers. However, reel mower blades can be difficult to sharpen and maintain. Rotary mowers cut grass, usually with just one horizontally rotating blade. The fan-like action creates a vacuum which sucks up grass into the blade’s cut. Rotary mowers are the most common mowers used by homeowners. They can be gas or electric powered, manual or self-propelled, or available in ride on models. They also are available with mulching and bagging systems for clippings. Which you choose will most likely depend on the size of your yard. Rotary mower blades can cause rough, damaging cuts to grass blades. However, they can cut taller grasses and weeds better than reel mowers.