Getting a new lawnmower - advice please

[hellohelenhere]

I will have to get a lawnmower fairly promptly, as our new garden is 65ft x 11ft of grass, at the moment, and not well-looked after. I will eventually dig up about half of it, but that still leaves quite a lot of grass to cut.
I'm considering getting a hand cylinder mower, e.g. non-powered, old-style. They say they're 'ideal for small gardens' - does that mean it's going to be hard work in one as large as ours? Too much?

Also - is it ever possible to pick up such things second-hand?

[hellohelenhere]

[SMP1704]

Try Freecycle

I have the original small garden, when we had grass it covered an area approx 10x8.  I had an electric mower, which we had from our last, bigger garden.  It was such a pain, getting everything ready and then 5 mins mow and it was all over.  On the other hand, unless the ground is perfectly level and the blades really sharp, a push mower is v. hard work.  Looking at your measurements, that still leaves 3 times as much as my small garden, so on that basis I would recommend an electric with an extension lead.

I gave up with grass in the end :'(

[kt.]

You can get some cheap reliable electric lawnmowers specifically for smaller gardens.  Plus now is a good time to get one as most places are selling them off cheap to make way for Christmas stuff.

[hellohelenhere]

Good point, kt! As soon as we get to Reading I'll go out scouting for one. I have a sentimental eco-fantasy about having a non-electric mower (and sooooo nice and quiet) but I think the fantasy would soon pale as I strain to push the d**n thing up and down a 65ft strip of turf...  :D

[OllieC]

You can get one for nearly free at your nearest recycling centre - it will have the plug cut off & be sold for "spares" as they're not allowed to sell anything electrical as working...

[hellohelenhere]

Interesting idea, OllieC. Though - I won't be able to find out if it works or not, before hoiking it home and getting a new plug on it; since I don't have a car, that could be a lot of trouble for nothing if it's bust...

[OllieC]

Certainly could! Freecycle or small ads then!

[Eristic]

I have a sentimental eco-fantasy about having a non-electric mower (and sooooo nice and quiet)

There is nothing quiet about a push mower except when it is not being pushed.

A couple of points to mention regarding push mowers.

1. You will not realistically be able to mow in stripes, just push and pull backwards and forwards.
2. If you do not cut the grass at least once a week you will not be able to use a push mower.

[jjt]

An old style push mower with a roller will get you a nice smooth lawn. Because you'll get that fed up with all the bumping about that you'll get off your behind and sort it. At least I did. Then the mole came.
           You can mow stripes. I'd say 65' x 11' is doable. Hard at first but easier each time. Sharpness is important and worth investing time or money in.

[ninnyscrops]

Hubby went to a push mower this year when I bought him one for his 56th birthday  ;D

His comment was "why on earth hadn't we done this before!"

1) no power
2) better exercise
3) a better cut in his opinion (I don't do lawns)

We've got two powered ones in the shed I'm looking to recycle!

Ninnyscrops (circa 30' x 15' each front and back ;))

[hellohelenhere]

If you do not cut the grass at least once a week you will not be able to use a push mower.

Ah well, I think that settles it. The grass, as far as I'm concerned, is just the bit to stand on while you're gardening, and it isn't going to get a weekly haircut. :)
I'll go for a flymo, in that case. Stripes would actually look quite effective on such a long garden - but I don't think I'll ever have a striped lawn in this lifetime...

Ninnyscrops, if you lived a tad closer I might ask if you wanted to recycle one of those in my direction! I don't have a car though, so it seems a bit implausible. You don't ever happen to go to Reading, do you? :D

[ninnyscrops]

Wish I was a tad closer and you'd be more than welcome to either of them :-(

[hellohelenhere]

Thanks for the thought, anyway. :)

[Bean_Queen]

I have a push mower (£40 from Lidl in the summer).
It's fabulous on flat ground, but is a b'stard on lumps and bumps.  I am gradually digging up the lawn to make borders.


PS.  Guinea pigs make fantastic little mowers - and cuddlier than a Hover

[grawrc]

We started out with 50x30 feet and a small electric mower from a previous larger garden but then moved to a hand mower which did a perfectly good job. Over the years the area of grass has got smaller and smaller - now about 18x12- and the mower has continued to perform well. Since I got the lottie however, with its lumpy bumpy grass paths with crazy growth due to adjacent manured beds, my handmower has really struggled. Last year i invested in a battery powered mower. I had toyed with a petrol one, given that there is no power at the allotments, but I decided that they were too heavy for me to lift in and out of the car. The battery mower is brilliant. Does the home grass in 5 minutes and copes with the lottie paths brilliantly. They used to take hours but I can do them all in about 20 minutes now.Plus it is easy to lift in and out of the car. So I'm happy. Mind you it wasn't the cheap option, although cheaper than petrol and less messy.