Lawn mower options for 0.75 acres?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by teoman

I would try to get one of those robot lawnmowers. I have some of the irobot roombas and they work great. You dont have to waste your own time and it just does its thing.

One of the few things I don't miss from the days I lived in a house instead of an apartment is mowing the lawn. But unless I had some specific reason to keep a lawn (such as having a dog), I'd much rather plant some fruits and vegetables, or flowers that wouldn't require too much trimming.

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

One of the few things I don't miss from the days I lived in a house instead of an apartment is mowing the lawn. But unless I had some specific reason to keep a lawn (such as having a dog), I'd much rather plant some fruits and vegetables, or flowers that wouldn't require too much trimming.

Anything that takes away from the video screen is BAD!!

A lawn is a fine addition to any home. The basis for all other landscaping (as tree placement is primary there). Of what the lawn should consist, etc, is a separate question.

I find it sad folks don’t enjoy their homes. If they did, I wouldn’t see the freeways packed past 1900 weeknights, and again on weekends.

Why it’s considered “work” to mow a lawn is past me. Every four or five days was a norm as a homeowner in Texas. The houses I bought transitioned from near worst to usually “best lawn” in those neighborhoods in under two years. No big $$ expenditures past what’s necessary.

Use the brain: modify the lawn that the mower needs never be reversed. Easy lines and “corners”. And get the right-sized machine. Too big is worse than too small. I’ve had machines where twice expected engine life was no feat. Have a plan.

Prior to the ascent of TV (November 1963), it was commonplace to want beauty. Gardening or in music, it disappeared steadily and surely. Hire it out.

Eliminated all those cold starts? Kept yourself from driving anywhere on Sunday (except church) as a reward?

The garden IS the reward



.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by slowmover

Why it’s considered “work” to mow a lawn is past me.

I consider mowing the lawn work because there is not value returned. I spend time and money simply to fight the natural state.

Originally Posted by slowmover

Prior to the ascent of TV (November 1963), it was commonplace to want beauty.

I prefer to seek beauty hiking a mountain pass, fishing in a stream, sailing a quiet lake, etc. I find no enjoyment pushing around a loud lawn mower.

Originally Posted by slowmover

The garden IS the reward

A garden is completely different than a lawn. I have no issue planting and tending a garden or maintaining our fruit trees. That work has reward.


To each their own. I had an uncle that loved tending his lawn. He would walk it at least once a week killing individual weeds with an eye dropper. To me cutting lawns is work. (Maybe because it was one of my chores growing up and because I made money cutting lawns in my high school and college days.)

[redpoint5]

I enjoy yard work, but I don't have time for it. I'll look into a robot mower when I move into a house. I've got a rental with a front yard that is difficult to maintain because it likes to grow moss in the shady parts, and clover in the sunny parts. I keep threatening to replace it with astroturf since there are some fairly convincing products out there now. The front yard is unusable anyhow because it's small and on a slope.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I enjoy yard work, but I don't have time for it. I'll look into a robot mower when I move into a house. I've got a rental with a front yard that is difficult to maintain because it likes to grow moss in the shady parts, and clover in the sunny parts. I keep threatening to replace it with astroturf since there are some fairly convincing products out there now. The front yard is unusable anyhow because it's small and on a slope.

I've thought of replacing my front yard with gravel landscaping and some drought tolerant flowers and bushes. I haven't yet because the amount of time it would take to ripe out the lawn and do the hardscape is the equivalent of years of mowing. The front yard takes about 5 minutes to mow since I already have the mower out.

[freebeard]

A backgrounder on the subject:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozQSNdPzD48

The USofA have more irrigated land under turf grass than corn?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by slowmover

A lawn is a fine addition to any home. The basis for all other landscaping (as tree placement is primary there).

Indeed. But I'd still rather plant something else instead of grass, preferably something edible.

[Daschicken]

Originally Posted by Ecky

I can access ethanol-free gasoline quite easily, several stations sell it on my commute.

Ethanol free around me costs more than premium, and is usually 87 octane. Its about a 60c premium over regular.

[Natalya]

@Daschicken there's like Shells around that have 90 octane ethanol-free. The extra money spent on ethanol-free is worth it when it's being used in a lawnmower because the carburetors go bad when exposed to ethanol gas.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Natalya

@Daschicken there's like Shells around that have 90 octane ethanol-free. The extra money spent on ethanol-free is worth it when it's being used in a lawnmower because the carburetors go bad when exposed to ethanol gas.

My Toro SmartStow mower works fine with E10. Manual says using E10 is fine. I top off as needed during the mowing season and run it dry before storing for the winter. 3 years and counting. Don't buy a mower from a company too cheap to pay a few cents to make it E10 compatible.