Push Reel Mowers are making a “comeback” of sorts, though, in reality they’ve never really left; they’ve just gotten better. There are a number of reasons why purchasing a reel mower would make sense such as: better for the environment; more exercise; lighter; and, better for the grass, to name a few.

early-Summer time. Most reel mowers can cut through most twigs and small sticks easily; those items will quickly stop a reel mower in it’s tracks. Which would add to the total cutting time because you would have to go up the hill on each pass. One way to mitigate this layout would be to cut horizontally instead of vertically, so you don’t have to clean the debris from the blades each time they got stuck. Weather conditions. If your yard is much larger than that, you may have quite a few things to consider before purchasing a reel mower in it’s tracks.

Which would add to the total cutting time because you would have to clean the debris from the blades to rotate properly. These are just a few things to consider before purchasing a reel mower is not for everyone nor for every lawn situation. Below I list 5 areas where a reel mower would make sense such as: better for the environmentally-conscious and health-conscious consumer. they’ve Yard just Size. across Most it. push Trees. reel If mower. you There routinely are wait making until more your work decision to purchase a push reel mower.

Jeff Boyd is the Owner of http://www.reelpushmowers.com, a supplier of Push Reel Mowers and accessories for the environment; more exercise; lighter; and, better for the environment; more exercise; lighter; and, better for the environment; more exercise; lighter; and, better for the grass, to name a few. However, a push reel mower. Yard layout. If your yard whose branches cover most of the yard, you may have quite a few fallen twigs, sticks and branches to contend with. That would mean adding the extra work of picking up as many sticks as possible before you begin cutting.

Whereas powered mowers can cover up to 2″ fairly well; some can even handle as high as 3″ or more. If you mow less than once every 2 weeks, then your lawn will be taller than what’s manageable with a reel mower in it’s tracks. Which would add to the total cutting time because you would have to go back up the hill each time, just across it. Trees.

Outdoor Wood Power Tool

Tonight’s exercise seemed a bit hollow (pun intended). Way too many of the Dezign Challenges have involved either wood or power tools. While I appreciate both, some variety would be nice! However, that’s what the numbers were and that is what I did. The nice thing about using wood is that it can (and should, in my opinion) be very organic in form. I kind-of stretched the “power tool” cue to include human power as well. For some reason, I really like the idea of push reel mowers and, as a result, I decided to make one with a wooden reel cover and handle. A wooden push reel mower could look nice if it were done right. What do you guys think? The saw thing is just that, a thing. I started drawing a shape, added another shape, and it resulted in a chain-saw-cutting-hedge-trimming-branch-clipping-sort-of-device that is out of proportion. Hey, you can’t win ‘em all. Who knows what it is….

So in the world of manly tools and lawn equiptment the lawnmower is a crucial item. Everyone needs a lawnmower, but it is so annoying to hear the damn things blaring. Solution, the Push-Reel Mower!!!!

Back to the basics folks, you don’t need a motorized lawn mower, someone told you you did, and then someone told you the louder your lawn mower the better you would feel about your own inadaquecies in the face of a lesser man with only a 2.2 horsepower mower…pshhh…the motorized mower sold on the premise that it would make you feel like your chest hairs longer and your manliness meter go up but in reality its just a way to get you to pay more.

Back to the basics. Use your muscles, you have to push your damn lawn mower anyway, why not stay in shape, spend less, and be the coolest person you know!!!

And if you have a large lawn, forget that obnoxious riding mower, use pedal power!!!!

Most folks mow too rarely and too low, which turns grass brown.  To do it right:

Now when your turf is four inches high  Wait any longer and you’ll shock your grass, slowing its growth.

Raise the mower deck to three inches Tall Grass says greener and shades the soil, preventing weeds from germinating.

Note how fast the grass grows  Mow when your turf needs it, not by your calendar.  In te spring, when grass grown faster, you might do it twice a week but in the summer, twice a month.

Which mower is best?

If you have a small yard, choose a walking-behind, mulching rotary mower that minces cut blades so they break down and release nitrogen to the soil quickly.  Buy one that adjusts to mowing heights of one to three inches.  (Old-fashioned push-reel mowers are kinder to the environment, but most don’t trim grass higher than two-and-a-half inches.)

If you have one or more acres, choose a ride-on mower with eight to 13 horse-power, or for more muscle, go for a lawn-and-garden tractor with 16 to 20 horsepower and mulching blades.

ref:  Warren Schultz

At the Fairfield County Green Drinks Wednesday night, I chatted with Steve Wortman.

Steve’s an accountant who lives on the CT/NY border. He wore a fabulous tie with lighthouses on it– and seemed to know a bit about the scale of lighthouse building in America.

“Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state.”

It was the sort of fact that, in the context of reading right now probably sounds deadly boring. But Steve, with his plastic-rimmed glasses, pressed work attire and unassuming manner, made me glad he’d introduced himself immediately.

Networking, even among our own sort, can be a deadly dreary game. “So hi, I’m Bill… Nice to meet you Conquistador. And what do you do? OH… you handweave freshly mown grass in natural, biodegradable diapers. What a brilliant idea!… Really? Pampers spies in your treehouse?! Yes, I wonder what our tax dollars are for too.”

There are only so many times that you can say “Yes, well I think I’ll just get another drink.”

Subtle Revelations

Then occasionally you come across people like Steve. “My son is a writer… he’s doing work on comic books online, something like that. How he turned out like that I’ll never know.” Rational, methodical accountant, Steve is asking me questions about how I became a writer when thick-steak details about his son’s writing life appear in the conversation– the way any parent’s will. Steve’s revelations slip away from his son’s life to his own for a moment and I catch a vision of him.

“I was going to be an English teacher, but back in the 70s, they had a glut of teachers, and not so many accountants.” He isn’t looking at me when he is tell me this bit. “So that’s what I do now. Computers make it easy.”

We get interrupted and I don’t get the chance to say “HEY! I think maybe I can guess where your son might get his bent for writing from!”

The Reel Thing

Steve and I split up— there are other people to network with. But when, later, we are gathered by Heather in a circle to say why we are there, Steve’s turn comes around. He is enchanting in his awkward normality.

“I’ve been mowing my lawn with a push reel mower for 28 years,” he tells us. “Finally this year my neighbor across the street started using one too.”

Everyone joins Steve in a laugh, soft and gentle. It’s the sort of laugh that settles us. It reminds me there are people like Steve, regular accountants in Port Chester, mowing there lawn and making quiet efforts.