This is the first department on lawns that will appear every month in Flower Grower, The Home Garden Magazine.
Each month will be devoted to some phase of lawn care—including how-to picture stories and questions and answers.
In December, Flower Grower’s monthly guide to “Better Lawns” will be on the lawn problems of Florida gardeners.
Introduction To The Book
It may be unusual to find a discussion of a book as the subject for launching this new Flower Grower department, but I do not think that it is completely out of order.
The book is Your Lawn—How to Make it and Improve it by R. Milton Carleton (published by Van Nostrand; $3.95; and excerpted in the September Flower Grower).
Without question, my good friend, Milt Carleton, has done an excellent job. All the information any homeowner needs about his lawn is included in an easy-to-read manner.
He has included all the newer chemicals for feeding and weed killing and a frank discussion of the new grass varieties.
It’s a book I heartily recommend. Without a doubt, Mr. Carleton will be furnishing material for this column later.
Differences in Lawnmowers
Our opinions on lawnmowers differ, however. Mr. Carleton prefers a five- or seven-bladed reel mower, whereas I like a rotary with a quick and easy height-of-cut adjustment.
His objections to rotary mowers are based on pathological (disease) and safety factors. My preferences for rotaries are physiological (plant growth of plants), convenience, and economy.
Dull Blade and Grass Bruises
Mr. Carleton writes first in his book about the fact that a dull rotary blade will hack the grass and leave a bruise at the tip. This is true.
The blade of a rotary mower should be sharpened with regularity. It is an easy matter, though, to run a file over the cutting edge every time you use it.
The only precaution is to disconnect the wire leading to the spark plug. Every year, the blade should be ground and balanced by a serviceman specializing in mower repairs.
Reel Mower Bruising and Pulling Plants
By the same token, a reel mower that is out of adjustment can bruise grass blades, too. A poorly set reel mower sometimes pulls plants out of the ground, especially in newly seeded lawns.
Duff Left on the Ground
The second objection Mr. Carleton has to rotaries is the duff of finely powdered organic matter deposited on the ground; this may induce disease organisms.
No doubt there is duff left by a rotary, but it is left when any plant is cut—even hedges. There is also duff left with a reel mower, evidenced by the buildup on the base blade and the reel blades.
Safety Concern
The third and strongest objection he has is in the realm of safety. Accidents have happened with rotary mowers—they have happened with reel mowers, too. In both cases, you are working with a cutting machine, and it should be respected as such.
A mower should be respected just as much as the handyman does his power saw or the housewife her meat slicer in her kitchen. This respect should be taught to the whole family.
Benefits of Rotary Mowers
Mr. Carleton brings out the fact that the rotary can “. . . hurl a piece of glass, stone, steel or wood at terrific force for many feet.” If stones, glass, steel, or wood are in the lawn area, they shouldn’t be mowed until they are removed!
My preferences for rotaries, as 1 said, are physiological, convenience, and economy. On the plant growth side, I feel that lawns can be cut satisfactorily at the proper growing height only with a rotary. I feel that the height of the cut recommended in most cases is too low.
Mr. Carleton puts 1 ½” inches as about the maximum—this is my minimum figure. For best grass growth under average conditions—and an average lawn—1 ½” inches has proved best for me. In some cases, 2” inches is preferred.
I feel that the more use a lawn gets, the higher it should be cut, as the more leaf surface present, the better the chance the plant has to manufacture food.
There is also less chance of soil compaction with a rotary mower. With a rotary, only a 2-inch area is compacted by the wheels. In addition to the wheel area, a reel mower has a wide roller in the back.
On the convenience end, I think a rotary is easier to operate. You can push the non-propelled models where you want them to go—the machine doesn’t pull you around.
Propelled models are available, but even these can be thrown out of gear so they can be eased up to trees, walls, and along borders, whereas the reel is always propelled.
Comparison of Costs and Upkeep
As for the economy, the initial cost of a rotary is less than that of a reel mower. A good, brand-name rotary with a good steel blade and well-designed housing costs less than a comparable reel mower. While on the subject of prices, perhaps a word about “economy” machines is in order.
There are millions of machines sold every year for as low as $39.95 to $59.95. Sure, they will cut grass, but you are not getting a good design, and the steel in the blade is not the best.
A poorly designed machine will cause the grass to bunch up under the housing and then fall into a heap on the lawn.
Reel and Rotary Mowers For Lawns
The upkeep on a rotary is much less expensive than on a reel. Both should have blades sharpened by a professional every year.
The cost of sharpening and balancing a rotary blade is much less than the job demanded on a reel mower.
Theoretically, a reel machine should be sharpened a second time during the mowing season. Just as hitting a rock can dull a rotary blade, bouncing a reel machine down a curb will knock it out of adjustment.
There is much to be said for a reel mower. On a picture lawn of bent or Merion Kentucky blue grass that gets the best of yearly care, use a reel mower by all means.
On the rugged “average” lawn, where you are trying to eke out the best possible results under the most difficult conditions, a rotary mower will do the better job.