Do you mow?

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bpp 1/40th of an acre. It would be embarrassing to hire somebody else to do it.

With scissors...

[justin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bpp 1/40th of an acre. It would be embarrassing to hire somebody else to do it.

Wow! Is that how much grass/yard you have or the size of the land your house sits on? That equates to 1100 square feet. Most folks houses in the US wouldn't physically fit on that piece of land at all (my rather modest house certainly wouldn't!). Of course land where you are might be 10x-100x as valuable as land where I am.

I probably wouldn't even break a sweat mowing that size yard.

[FinanceDude]

1/3 of an acre. Bought a 20 inch John Deere self-propelled 11 years ago

However, still works, has had only 3 tune-ups, runs like a "Deere".........

It takes me 75 minutes to mow the whole thing.....not a lot of time..........

1/3 of an acre is NOTHING to mow..............

[REWahoo]

5 acres, with only one acre mowed and/or trimmed.

For the first 10-12 weeks of the season (March - May), I mow only a very small area allowing the blooming weeds wildflowers to seed before cutting them. This reduces the number of times I have to mow each season by 50% since little grows around here in the heat of the summer - and I don't water anything but the plants around the house foundation.

[Sandy]

2/3 of an acre. DH and I share mowing.

About half the neighbors have a service and half mow their own. Of those who mow, all have large riding mowers. I find these silly for this amount of land. They are difficult to store, seem to break often, are very heavy and difficult to load into the van/truck to take to the repair shop, and are more costly to fix.

We have a good, but basic self-propelled mulching mower that is a walk behind (and a steep slope in one part of the front the yard that is a challenge even with self-propelled and which would make a riding mower very scary).

[ScaredtoQuit]

I've had 1/2 acre to mow since 1977. For the first 28 years, I was one of only two families on the block that mowed their own lawn. Two years ago, my wife persuaded me to turn it over to my nephew at a cost of $25 per cut. In a year or so, he's off to college so I'll be back to mowing very shortly. Hopefully, by then I'll have a lot more free time to do it!!

Quick cost analysis: Professional lawn mowing in our area costs $35 to $40 per week times 25 cuts per season equals $875 to $1,000. At a 28% tax bracket, your pre-tax cost is $1,215 to $1,389 per year. That means you would have to devote more than $30,000 of your portfolio just to cutting the grass!!!

[d]

Quote:

At a 28% tax bracket, your pre-tax cost is $1,215 to $1,389 per year. That means you would have to devote more than $30,000 of your portfolio just to cutting the grass!!!

... which brings me back to

Quote:

don't water, don't fertilize, don't grow, don't mow.

[Donzo]

Got 12 acres - about 5 need mowing - I bought a tow behind mower w/ a 54 inch swath. I pull it w/ my quad.....it is kinda fun and it looks great/smells great when it is done. My wife thinks I'm playing when I mow

[Goonie]

I have about 1/4 acre that I mow with a Toro self-propelled 22" mulching 'push' mower. Also have a small Sears rider that I run around once in a great while just to collect grass clippings for the compost pile. Of course the house, garage, and garden shed take up a nice chunk of the yard. I also have a large composting site (5' x 10') near the back by the garage. Also have SEVERAL gardens scattered all over the yard...mostly perennials and small shrubs......and I'm adding another 200 sq.ft. shade garden this year. So I really don't have a lot to mow....it takes me about 45 minutes to mow, and about once a month I trip with a weed-eater.

Mowing, gardening, yard work, etc. is like therapy for me.....VERY relaxing!!! I love it!!!

As a matter of fact that's the kind of stuff I'm really looking forward to doing when I'm FIRE'd! I love outdoor stuff like that. I've even talked to a couple of the neighbors and may help them with their yards and gardens, too.

[TromboneAl]

For 1/3 of an acre, you should be able to get a used lawn mower for under $80. I just gave mine away on Freecycle. I had bought it 10 years ago for $15 and it never failed to work perfectly (electric).

I am converting my lawn over to something else. Just have to find something that will grow in the shade with too much water and pine needles on it.

[Sarah in SC]

T-Al, English Ivy is a good choice. Can you improve the drainage at all so the roots will dry out periodically? Vinca is another nice groundcover. Depends a bit on your zone.

Sarah

[saluki9]

I'm leaning towards doing it myself. It's just that I'm sick of buying crap. It's been two months since we moved in and I can't go a week without dropping a couple hundred $$$ on something else for the house.

That being said, I am a sworn Hondaphile so if I do buy that will be it. (I do dream about being able to use a Deere tractor though)

Check out this baby

[FIRE'd@51]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saluki9 Lawn service would run about $60 a month.

$60 a month in a wealthy suburb where no one does their own lawn is downright cheap. Are you sure the quote wasn't $60 a week?

For a $60 a month I'd hire the service in about 2 seconds and spend my weekends playing golf.

[Gumby]

Unless it's raining, I mow my 1/3 acre every Saturday morning from late April to mid-July, then about once per month until November. I find it to be relaxing.

We got the cheapest 20" push mower that Home Depot had 15 years ago (I think it was about $100) and have used it ever since. I change the oil and filter about every other year. I have replaced the blade once. You don't really need to spend a lot on a mower. For most people it is more a question of time.

[maddythebeagle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d don't water, don't fertilize, don't grow, don't mow.

or get one of those wild flower yards...but something tells me the area that OP is going to be living in wont allow it...

[saluki9]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIRE'd@51 $60 a month in a wealthy suburb where no one does their own lawn is downright cheap. Are you sure the quote wasn't $60 a week?

Sorry, it's $30 a mow. I was hoping to get by having it cut twice a month. We have a lot of shade, so hopefully the grass isn't going to grow that fast.

[CyclingInvestor]

I mow, but use a mulching mower, so the whole 1/5 acre takes maybe 20
minutes once every 2-4 weeks. 19 years of this means my yard have a nice
spongy feel when walked on. I have never fertilized or watered, but my
neighbors water so much that most of my lawn is green all summer anyway,
and turns all green after any rain. About once a year after a good rain, I
distribute a bag of grass seed across my lawn, mainly to fill in the holes left
by my 'weeding' (I use RoundUp).

[TromboneAl]

Quote:

T-Al, English Ivy is a good choice. Can you improve the drainage at all so the roots will dry out periodically? Vinca is another nice groundcover.

Thanks, yes, I'd choose ivy, but it's frowned upon around here because it escapes into the forest, competes with native plants, and strangles trees and small animals.

I think that if I can help the pine needles in their efforts to kill all the plants, I can get that nice brown forest floor effect.

[FIRE'd@51]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saluki9 Sorry, it's $30 a mow.

OK - that makes more sense.

Quote:

Originally Posted by saluki9 I was hoping to get by having it cut twice a month. We have a lot of shade, so hopefully the grass isn't going to grow that fast.

You may be able to get by with twice a month in the heat of summer. But in the spring, I think you will find that it will need cutting at least once a week, maybe every 4 or 5 days, depending on the rainfall.

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saluki9 Lawn service would run about $60 a month.

$60 a month for a 2/3 acre lawn? Take it.