Do you mow?

[yelnad]

We have 22 acres and maybe 1-2 of it is mowed. We take turns on the riding mower, but usually I mow and Dh does the trimming.

 

[saluki9]

We pay $32 per cut for our 1 acre lot. Problem is they come weekly whether or not the lawn needs mowing. August here you might cut twice all month ... but he comes 5 times . He has labor to pay for ... .

At the lake I bought a $60 used mower that starts on the first pull .... even if I had to buy one every year that's OK. Not much to mow there.

That's sort of what I'm worried about. I never like giving people freedom to charge me to will. I had this problem with my plow guy. My FIL signed me up with his plow guy which at $20 a plow is supposed to be a great deal. It turned out that it snowed 6-7 times in February here. Every time a single flurry hit the ground this guy was out plowing which pissed me off.

 

[tryan]

yeah, the mower and plower are the same guy! He was taking a bath this year (no snow) sooo when we FINALLY got 6 inches ... he plowed TWICE!

 

[rmark]

2.5 acres, maybe one third in trees and housing, using a riding mower. We never mow it all at once, just bits and pieces as we have time or interest.

 

[ScooterGuy]

We could have renamed our place DunMowin'. About three years ago, I took a small rototiller and dug up the always failing grass, over the whole front lawn. Went to the local park and got carfull after carfull of nice decomposed compost for free. Rototilled it in, over and over. Added a cheap 10-10-10 fertilizer. We planted Sweet Woodruff, in plugs given to us by DW's folks. I thought to stand the lawn mower up on its handle, weld it shut, and paint it pink, but decided it was too much trouble. We leave the dead leaves on the ground over the autumn and winter, thus, free mulch. This summer, I expect to make some hypertufa blocks, and put in a couple of low 'stone' walls. Maybe put up a homemade 'word-sculpture,' saying "Up To No Good!" That is, if I decide to get off the maxi-scooter I ride whenever possible.

I like grass ... on someone else's lawn.

The RETIRED REPROBATE;
A free-thinking Quaker DINK on FIRE;
Riding the DEMON DUCK of DOOM maxi-scooter:

Rep.ro.bate
N – A morally unprincipled person; one who is predestined to damnation.
Adj – Morally unprincipled; shameless; rejected by God and without hope of Salvation.
Syn – vicious; bad man; disapproved; sinner.

“If you believe me an Agent-of-Satan – do not approve of what I say or write – are offended by what I do – then you are politely invited to go pound sand in a rat-hole!”

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i sodded the place when i first bought but year after year i added more trees and shrubs and now the entire property is gardens with trails running through it. the plants are happy, the birds are happy, the possum & raccoons and squirrels are happy and i'm happy to not have to bother maintaining a lawn.

 

[73ss454]

I don't mow any mow.

 

[REWahoo]

I don't mow any mow.

Since you are now living in the South, that should be, "I don't mow no mo."

Yo.

 

[73ss454]

Sorry, I lost my head.

 

[martyb]

Mowed my own for years, but allergies & sinuses/respiratory infections got to be a serious problem, so for the past 2 years I've been paying $25 a pop to get it done. My lot is 65 X 135 feet, so not too big. When I did it, mowing, edging/trimming & blowing took about 1 1/2 hr. Sadly, my lawn guy told me last week he's moving on, so I decided to try it myself again. Got allergy testing done, started taking 2 shots a week & meds night & day. Now, my HONDA mower that looks just like the one saluki9 posted a pic of, that I paid $500 for about 4 yrs ago & used only two season, will not start and has developed a transmission problem. ( It's a 3 speed). So now, it's sitting in a repair shop, and I hate to see what the bill is gonna look like. Meantime, my grass is looking kinda shaggy. :

 

[REWahoo]

Mowed my own for years, but allergies & sinuses/respiratory infections got to be a serious problem....

I had the same problem and found wearing a dust mask worked wonders. It's a lot less expensive than those shots and meds, too.

 

[Goonie]

We have five acres, but most of it is vegetable and flower gardens, pond, second growth fir and hemlock with a small grass yard for the dogs. I LOVE to mow the yard and work in the garden and my greenhouse. It was a great way to relax when I was working and it's one of the best parts of being FIRED.

I've mowed yard several times this spring. It's very relaxing and one of the easiest things you can do to make the place look nice.

Yeah, I agree....very relaxing!!!

 

[Goonie]

i sodded the place when i first bought but year after year i added more trees and shrubs and now the entire property is gardens with trails running through it. the plants are happy, the birds are happy, the possum & raccoons and squirrels are happy and i'm happy to not have to bother maintaining a lawn.

That's what I'm shooting for eventually! Little by little the grass is being replaced by gardens full of native perennials, shrubs, and trees.....and some annuals thrown in to make it look "purty"! And the stuff, being native, will take the wet/dry, hot/cold, whatever, conditions that mother nature throws at 'em!!! Workin' toward a landscape on 'cruise-control'!

 

[Spanky]

My lot is bigger than 1/3 acre. It takes me about 30 minutes to mow and enjoy it. It's a good way to get some exercise. It feels great that your lawn looks nice after the mowing.

 

[dumpster56]

Huh

Bought a craftsman for 109.00 5 horespower.

Cut your own grass!

 

[UncleHoney]

Another Honda mower fan here. My 26 year old Honda is still working like it was when new. It still has the original sparkplug.

It takes me about 20 minutes to mow, but I do it about three times a week when the grass is going full tilt. If time it just right I can do the whole yard on one bag. I compost all my clippings.

I edge every other time I mow which takes an extra 10 minutes or so.

UH

 

[samclem]

I mow with a mulcjing, non-self-propelled mower. We're on 1/3 acre lot, with typical trees and structures. It's not a big hassle. I can't say I enjoy it more than anything else I could be doing, but am too cheap to pay others to do it.

 

[polloloco]

We have 22 acres and maybe 1-2 of it is mowed. We take turns on the riding mower, but usually I mow and Dh does the trimming.

You are trimming around a ten acre plot?

 

[jazz4cash]

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.

Good off-spring repellant, too! I get dirty looks from the neighbors (whats he doing now!!?? DW does her share too. Sometimes I worry that my desire for supplies and gadgets will threaten LBYM, tho. This year Im growing garden flowers from seed. I have 18 yr old Wheelhorse riding mower (purchased for the larger lot at our previous home) for my 1/2 acre lot which is 1/3 woodland. My trim mower.....$89 Sears budget beater. 2-3 hrs/week mowing avg. Lawn services want 105 per month, but they won't do it the way I want it done.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/

 

[UncleHoney]

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.

Got any pictures of your handywork?

Here's mine. The mowing is easy, the pruning takes the time.

All lots of fun.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

This is my Los Angeles area backyard (1/5 acre) during the Jan 2005 rainstorms

 

[yakers]

My wife took out the front lawn to save work & water and let us travel more, even won a local garden award....no more mowing for us.

 

[Spanky]

I see these are houses in CA (with small yards and/or lawns).

 

[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!).

That's the size of the grass area, though the footprint of the house is even smaller (1500 sqft / 2 fl = 750 sqft).

Of course land where you are might be 10x-100x as valuable as land where I am.

I don't know about valuable. Expensive, perhaps.

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

You'd be surprised, actually, working around the edges (and a lawn that small is all edges) with the trimming shears.

 

[audreyh1]

We solved that problem by getting rid of the lawn! (we got rid of the house too!)

One of my husband's happiest days - knowing he wouldn't have to mow a lawn again for a good long while. Even though he somewhat reluctantly gave up his super cool Toro electric lawnmower.

Audrey