Lawn Mowing ?

[Chris Walls]

Hello everyone.

I came in from the yard tonight and I was curious how much the price of fuel has changed the amount you mow or the frequency of how often it gets done. We have been having a cool summer ( it's after 9 pm here and it's now 61 outside, today was one of our warmer days so far at about 82-84 ) so it's not been bad at all as far as the grass going crazy but some years it really does seem to be more often in need of a mowing.

Any thoughts ?


Chris

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Lawn mowing hasn't been a consideration here. Lawns in the neighborhood are well kept and I don't want to feel the wrath of the neighbors or LOML. With a 3/4 acre, wooded lot I spend about 1 hour and 20 minutes when I mow using less than a gallon of gas.:) The JD is pretty economical I feel and the walk behind Husky is only used for about 10 minutes on an area where I'm not comfortable riding. If for what ever reason the grass gets too tall, I bring out the lawn sweeper--now that irritates me.:mad: The minimum 7 mile trips to the grocery, pharmacy, borg and hardware store are more well organized and planned than when gas was $2 a gallon.:( Sometimes that is a pain.

[Joe Pelonio]

I don't mow more than every two weeks and mostly in late spring, so gas is not an issue.

I think I've mowed 3 times this year so far. With our climate it really only grows that much in late spring, after the last snow. We only water in Late July and August, though it's supposed to rain tomorrow, and it stays pretty green all year.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

We start watering our lawns typically in late May or by late June they'd go dormant. We start mowing typically in late March.

The price of gas won't effect our mowing frequency. It's a weekly thing and takes about an hour behind a self-propelled mower. 6 gallons of gas will last us from March through late November.

[David DeCristoforo]

Well you can still buy lawnmowers that don't use fuel:

http://www.amazon.com/American-Lawn-Mower-Company-1415-16/dp/B00008IHSK

And here's another thing. I can't count how many people I know who will mow their lawn with a power (or even a "ride on") mower and then turn around and spend even more dough on an athletic club membership (to which they drive) so they will have a place to exercise.

Of course, I have a very small lawn which might be another thing to think about. Lawns take up a lot of land and require a lot of water that might be better used to grow something you can eat.....

[Jim Becker]

Use of my ZTR and tractor have not varied with the cost of fuel. They are tools for specific purposes and that will not change. However, the drier weather has not requred that I mow weekly...I've been doing that every 2-3 weeks so far this summer.

[Keith Outten]

I have reduced the number of acres I mow this year from just under six to about two and a half. I have also reduced the frequency from once a week to cutting only when it must be done. I have cut my monthly fuel consumption to about 25% of what I was using last year which was at least 20 gallons per month.

My home looked much better when I cut the entire lawn weekly but the cost of fuel makes hat just about impossible now.

.

[Jim Sears]

I mow about 4 1/2 acres not counting the area around the house. The way my property is layed out, when I mow, I have to mow everything or it looks really bad. With diesel fuel at $4.50/gal., I only mow when it starts to look shabby again.

[Russ Filtz]

I think I spend about $5,000 a year in gas mowing a 1/4 acre lot here in Florida. At least it feels like it! Stupid stuff grows like an inch a day in the growing season (about 9-mos a year!). I really should mow twice a week in the rainy season, but don't and it gets almost a foot tall in some spots in one week.

[Jerome Hanby]

Well you can still buy lawnmowers that don't use fuel:

[/URL]

Or alternate fuel, Woot had the [URL="http://www.neutonpower.com/"] (http://www.amazon.com/American-Lawn-Mower-Company-1415-16/dp/B00008IHSK)Neuton battery powered lawn mowers on sale yesterday for less than $300 and $5 shipping. If I had the spare change, I would have scored one of those. Other than unusual circumstances, all my push mowing is trim and that thing would be immensely lighter than my Honda behemoth.

[Tim Thomas]

My yard isn't that big and I can push mow it in about an hour, so the gas isn't a major concern. However, it is disconcerting to go to the gas station and spend $10 to fill a small 2.5 gallon can. Thankfully I don't have to do that very often.

Here in central Alabama, my mine gripe with mowing is still the intense summer heat and humidity. If it didn't bother my neighbors I would probably mow at 3AM. As it is I get started at 8AM on the dot and try to get back in the house by 9. Even doing that I am always just dripping with sweat. I think gas would have to get to $20/gallon or more before the price of fuel was more annoying to me than the heat. :D

[Bob Moyer]

I am cutting about 33% less; instead of every 5 days I am cutting it once a week.

[Matt Meiser]

My problem keeping the lawn mowed is not the cost of fuel but the time to do it. Mine probably needs to be mowed about every 5 days on average but I'm lucky to get it done by 7. I mow about 2-1/2 or 3 acres in about 2 hours and use about 1-2/3 gallons of diesel to do so this year. I switched to Bio-diesel this year and I don't know if I'm mowing faster or getting better fuel economy with the bio but I've gone from using over 2 gallons each time the past few years. I am mowing slightly less this year because I decided to allow an area that I was trying to mow that is usually too wet to go back wild but not enough difference to account for that.

[Von Bickley]

I am just getting a new lawn established. I put in a sprinkler system, bought 10 lbs. of centipede seed, sowed it last spring, fertilized it this spring, and I am cutting grass twice a week.

I have too much work and money invested in my lawn not to take care of it...

[Bill Arnold]

The cost of gasoline hasn't altered my mowing schedule. We have an acre at the end of a cul-de-sac that's about one block long. As you drive down the street, the most noticeable thing is our place, so it's important to us to keep it well-groomed. The other residents take good care of their places also. I use 3 to 4 gallons each week for the rider, walk-behind, weed whacker, edger and blower. The chain saw gets only an occasional workout these days.

Living in a small town has its advantages. I'm only a mile and a half from Lowe's and the gas station we use is on the way there. Nothing is more than four miles from home. I can drive all the way across town and back on less than a gallon of gas. I use less gas in my F150 each week than I do on maintaining our yard!

:confused:

[Jim Becker]

bought 10 lbs. of centipede seed

Seems like with all those legs available, the grass might consider mowing itself... :D

[Bob Ross]

Hi Chris,

I think I read that 5% of our overall fuel useage is for lawn care/landscaping. Emissions from these small engines are not regulated. I live in a rural area on an acre, 1/5 of which is a pond. We also have a lot of trees. IMO, it is still too much mowing. I would opt for some kind of ground cover if other family members would relent :D.

While the desire to own large yards and to keep them gorgeous is understandable, I hope some environmental consciousness will seep into our collective DNA. I proposed a similar thought on another forum last year and was strongly castigated for intruding into a sacrosanct area.

[Michael McCoy]

I cut mine twice a week but that's because I cut mine as high as the mower will adjust. One year old new construction, typical subdivision corner lot but I spent several months of digging up sod and replaced about two thirds of my lawn with planting beds. I put out cotton burr compost over the grass that is left and I haven't watered yet this year.