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Selecting the Best Lawn Care Equipment

Ann Sanders
A beautiful lawn enhances the beauty of the house or the building it is a part of. Deciding on the right type of lawn care equipment is the first step to have a perfect lawn. Use these guidelines to select the right tools for your lawn.

Lawn and Garden Equipment Described

Reel Mowers

This type of mower uses blades on a revolving cylinder and is powered by either engine or muscle. These make the healthiest, most even cut and are ideal for lawn mowing. However, the blades can be difficult to sharpen and should be taken to a professional to get sharpened.

Rotary Mower

This achieves green lawn mowing by using flat horizontal blades controlled by an engine mounted on the mower deck; sharpening of the blades is a fairly simple and can be done by using a mill file and a rotary bench grinder; however, if not kept sharp, the blade will rip the grass instead of cutting it.

Walk Behind

This is green lawn mowing at its best! The mower is powered by gas, electric, or by pushing the mower. The walk behinds are environmentally friendly, require little maintenance and one gets an extra workout with every use. The only drawback is that the user needs to be strong enough to push them.

Ride-On Mower

Available in an array of sizes, styles and having a variety of add-ons for convenience and ease of use; these are great for large yards. In addition they can be fitted with environmentally friendly engines or electric motors. Conversely, they are expensive and heavier than other mowers which causes soil compaction.

Additional Lawn Care Equipment

  • No-spill gas cans: Help keep one’s family, pets, and the environment safe and clean
  • Watering utensils: Hoses, rain gauges, sprinklers, etc.
  • Wheelbarrows: One of the simplest yet most useful pieces of lawn garden equipment
  • Rakes: A leaf rake, a metal rake, a bamboo rake and (optional) a landscaping rake
  • String trimmers: This is also an amazing equipment to trim the glass in your garden
Ear & eye protection: Keep your eyes safe from dust or debris by wearing safety goggles. The National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders recommends that one should protect the ears from sounds that are over 85 decibels — the majority of trimmers and mowers exceed this number.

Benefits of an Electric Mower

The majority of the lawn care equipment is, or can be converted to being, eco-friendly, as the choice for cutting grass is vital. Owning a green lawn mower is the best option.

If a gas powered motor is owned and one would like to make it environmentally friendly, there are conversion kits that will retrofit gas mowers to electric.
  • They are cleaner
  • They are quieter
  • They start with just the touch of a button
  • In some states, there are special rebates when a gas mower is traded in for an electric one

Quick Guidelines for Green Lawn Mower Selection

  • Powered or manual? If the yard is less than 2000 sq. ft., go for manual
  • Decide if it should be a mower with or without a bag for debris
  • Determine whether a rotary blade or a reel mower will best suit the situation
Lawn care equipment doesn’t have to be scary. Know what will work best for your needs and budget, take time to consider the choices, then go out and hit the green!