Allotments 4 All

Our electric mower has just bitten the dust and since we have very little lawn at home & use a petrol strimmer at the allotment, we thought we might try a manual mower as a cheaper & greener option. What are the pros & cons & can anyone recommend a good one, please?

I think if you are just mowing strips then its a good idea but if you have ALOT to mow you will find it hard work.  I guess it depends on how much time, how much energy you have and how much you need to mow.  Good thing is you dont have to keep emptying the grass box!

I use a manual for a tiny lawn, and my daughter does for one about 5 times bigger. I mowed her lawn today and I think the manuals are lighter and quieter than others I have used on much larger lawns (mainly ancient petrol driven rotaries, though).

And I did keep emptying the grass box....

You must have a posh model Artichoke LOL :P

Posh model??? £25 second hand from people who bought it to mow their son's grave, sadly; they found it was easier to clip the grass. I bought daughter's from B&Q for about £35 new, complete with grass box (and some misgivings about its lasting power/flimsiness etc) and it is still doing really well after a couple of year's continuous use.

However, I am thinking of getting another rusty old rotary for new allotment, as ground is like concrete and I am not going to manage digging it over for months.

Push mowers are great, they keep you fit, cheap to run, you never run out of fuel, if you get an old rear roller one the lawn looks great afterwards, very quite, not very appealing to pillfer'ers etc......

Been using a hand-mower for more than 30 years now. I change it about every tenth year. Power mowers are noisy, costly, smelly and need maintenance. It also helps to keep me fit and my 'lawn' is still as healthy as can be.

I can only recommend it.

Quote from: keef on June 07, 2006, 13:18:46
Push mowers are great, they keep you fit, cheap to run, you never run out of fuel, if you get an old rear roller one the lawn looks great afterwards, very quite, not very appealing to pillfer'ers etc......

When are you coming round to do my lawn, then?
;D

Can they cope with long grass?

No!  :( They work ony if you use them regularly enough for the grass to be reasonably short and level.

Thanks, everyone- no specific recommendations on make, so I guess I'll go to B&Q & get whatever's cheapest- assuming you can still buy such low-tech gear these days!

I have a vague memory that I couldn't find any in B&Q or Homebase and ended up buying online. (Homebase I think :-\)