Okay, I just got a new manual lawn mower...

You know, the kind that you push, no motor, etc.

Me and my SO moved into a new home. We are trying our best to be environmentally responsible.

We are doing some renovations to the house prior to moving in, during this time the grass grew...and grew. And has now gone to seed. oy...

So last night with my trusty manual human powered mower, I decided to cut the grass. It did an alright job, but the problem is this: many of the grass "stalks" are just a bit tall for the mower to handle.

So although the grass is cut, there are many of these "tall blades" still sticking up. Not wanting to barrow the neighbors gas mower, and also being stubborn, I want to know if there is a good way to cut these tall ones down?

I'm thinking of getting a thrash and doing it that way.

Anyone else have any advice?

nt

I kid! I think I've seen shears on a long handle that are horizontal to the ground that might work if you're determined not to get a weed-eater.

With push mowers, you have to mow frequently or else the grass gets too high for it to handle.

Maybe a swing-blade would help???

..between landscaping features like sidewalks and shrubbery. I have had the same experience with tall grass that just won't yield to the reel. I go back and forth over it ten times and it won't go. I find myself just dropping the mower and pulling the damn weed out. I suppose if you are using a weed wacker to get into the tight spots in the corners, you could just go around and take out those isolated pockets of resistance. I would borrow a lawn mower and cut it once to get caught up, though.

Or how about an electric weed whacker? Better yet get a horse and stake it out in the yard, mom kept her front yard cut that way, though dad went through the roof when he found out mom took the horses through house because dad forgot to put a gate in the fence. And just think, with a horse around you get transportation too.

"Just this once" in order to give yourself a nice even start to the lawn and make future mowings easier on you. I'm no expert, but I am lazy. :)

My husband would probably get out the hand trimmers and cut them all by hand, or use a scythe (are your grass tall enough for that?), or some other stone-age implement.

once you get a handle on the lawn, you'll have to mow it with the reel mower every 3-5 days in order to stay up with it.

I have two neighbors who have switched to manual mowers now and they are CONSTANTLY mowing to keep up with it....(one mowed on Thursday and then again yesterday (Sunday))

I don't have the time for that...so my 13 year old $69 gas powered push mower will have to do...it uses about three gallons of gas per season...(the snow blower uses about 10 gallons per season)

you might have to cut more often. In other words not let it get long. My father in law used one for 30 years and he trimmed pretty regularly.

Are the tall stalks just every so often or in clumps? If it's just every so often try cutting the grass from a different direction....instead of cutting from east to west, cut from north to south. That used to workd for me a long, long , long time ago when I used a push mower.

My Dad did use a thrash (never knew that was the name, lol) in spots if the grass was high in certain areas.

Good luck and cheers

I scythe as I remember is a single blade, where a thrash is a double sided blade that is on a long handle that is swung from side to side in a pendulum motion.

with a two-sided blade, about eight inches long on the bottom. That's specifically what it's for. Probably cost you $10 or so at a hardware or lawn store.

http://www.ergonica.com/ergonica_frame.htm?Garden_Tools.htm&1

they also make them with long handles (a pole) so that you do not need to bend down to swing it along the grass.

...but it's $37.04. Oh well, it probably cost $10 back in the 1960s when I was doing lawns.

manual weedwhacker for your manual mower.

But now I'm electric -- I use a mower and a string trimmer.

Mostly it's because our lawn is anything that doesn't have thorns or stickers that survives. No insecticides or herbicides, and the only fertilizer is dog urine.

The mix of stuff that survives this and the pounding feet of all the kids in the neighborhood is pretty tough -- often too tough for a push mower.

I hate gasoline powered lawn equipment. I used to do quite a bit of landscaping work as a kid and young adult, and I remember much too well the throbbing headaches I'd get after a day of breathing exhaust fumes. Just the smell of a small gas engine makes me sick.

When you have a reel mower, you need to mow fairly frequently.

but our area has a program where you can turn in an old gas mower and get an electric for $100. I'm very happy with it - it's small, light and easy to push, and is extremely quiet. it does use energy, but at least it isn't using gasoline and sending out terrible fumes.

The push mower can work if you're very diligent about keeping the grass short. Otherwise, you'll keep having the same problem with the taller grass. I guess you could try sharpening the blades - I know it's a new mower anyway, but maybe if they're really sharp they'll do a better job.

It's hard work, but good exercise. We use a reel mower and sometimes have to keep going over some spots to get them down. One just has to mow more often with a reel if the grass is jumping. I feel good about not adding pollution as I read that gas lawn equipment is one of the worst offenders.

not being cut by the push mower. I used electric shears. BTW, the push mower will need to be kept sharp. If you are truly dedicated to using the push mower, get the tools to keep it sharp. Good luck.

http://www.richsoil.com/lawn/index.jsp

Haven't tried his method but I plan to with the new place I am buying.

That's a nice link.

and it looks great year after year with minimal water and no herbicides

The blade on a manual mower is more critical than a powered mower (Do to the slower speed the manual mower is operating under). In a powered Mower the blade not only cuts the grass, but the speed of the blade helps the blade even when it is dull.

In a Manual Mower you should take a good flat file to each blade BEFORE YOU USE IT, to make sure the blades is as sharp as possible. The sharper the blade the more grass the blades will cut.