LogFAQs > #973247055

streamofthesky posted...

I have allergies, and I never even wanted grass. I want to do as little maintenance as possible and mow as infrequently as humanly possible

Same for me. I've got mild hay fever when it comes to grass, and it makes mowing a real miserable experience. Fortunately I'm not severe, but it does mean when I mow I'm constantly blowing my nose for a while afterwards (and often during). Just oh so much snot.



streamofthesky posted...

Thanks for any tips/advice.

Two things:

First, what sort of mower you want kind of depends on what your yard looks like. If you've got a relatively flat level yard, a self-motivating mower might be great for you (or even a ride-on mower if your yard is large enough). But if your yard is very hilly and has lots of trees or other obstacles you'll need to mow around, that kind of mower will be terrible and you'll probably want something smaller and fully manual. Added to which, if your lawn grows relatively slowly, doesn't have a ton of weeds, and you're planning on mowing often an electric mower may serve your needs, but if your lawn is heavier, is prone to a lot of weeds, and/or if you want to put off mowing as long as possible (meaning the lawn is going to be much higher when you finally mow it), an electric mower might lack the power you need to really push through it, and you'd be better off with a gas-powered mower. No one mower is going to be perfect for every yard type - you need to judge for yourself what your needs are.

Second, if you can, try to look for a recycling/mulching mower. Those you can mow bagless and the mower basically recycles the grass clippings into fertilizer that goes back into the lawn. You want this, because emptying a bag full of grass is an absolute bitch if you have hay fever, and getting rid of the clippings can be a hassle if you're not just composting them or otherwise just straight dumping them somewhere. The average mower can run without the bag, but will tend to leave large clumps of grass that look like crap and can cause your lawn to look patchy - so you're better off making sure you've got one that will help break the grass clippings down smaller as you go.