What width stripes?

Hi everyone, i'm not only new to this forum, but new to gardening as a whole!

I've recently moved to a new house, one that has a lawn (my previous house didn't). The lawn is about 3m x 7m (10ft x 20ft), so is quite small.

Having not owned a mower before I need to purchase one, pref one with a built in roller.

What width of mower would be best? They appear to range from about 34" to 44", I assume a 34" would be best (thin stripes rather than wide stripes), but would anyone be able to confirm?

Many thanks

Murdoch

 

Cheers Marley! Thats confirmed what I was thinking, small lawn = small stripes.

Are there any sites that review compare lawn mowers? As i've only got a small lawn i'm not prepared to pay out lots of money on a mower, however i'm still after decent finish. Some of the bosch electric mowers come with a plastic roller at the back, and these go for around �£130 which is my limit really.

It would be good to see some reviews before buying.

Thanks again!

Murdoch

 

Hi Murdoch, welcome

here is a link that seems to cover mlowers from top range to bottom, some with reviews, and other links ..
http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/lawn-mowers.asp


hth

M-L

 

There's some �£99 petrol mowers in the stores such as B&Q. A mate of mine (in the trade) bought one for general use and 3 years on it is going fine!! Don't know if they come with rollers though. IMHO and no offence MF I reckon mowing every couple of weeks in season is more than adequate to keep your lawn stripey .

I personally like the plastic bodied Honda mowers. I know they cost a lot more, but they last for ages - the body doesn't rot (an issue with aluminium bodies after about 5 to 10 years), the engines are superb, wonderful, a joy to use.

Murdoch I would suggest two things:

1 If you are reasonably healthy buy a mower without a 'drive' mechanism. They cost a lot and it isn't difficult to push a mower around a lawn the size of yours. They also are inclined to go wrong after a few years.

2 If you are going to get lawn obsessed (and some of us are) then you might prefer to buy a cylinder mower in which case a Suffolk Punch or somesuch might be a good choice. Others will have nore experience of these. They give a more 'polished' finish to the lawn, but are a right pain in other ways.

3 Yes I know - I have used a Black and Decker plastic rubbishy toy thing (rotary with grass collection) costing about �£47 ten years ago. It is still going though I gave it away a few years back. 5 years commercial use in tiny gardens where we didn't want to lug a bigger mower through the house. Indestructible! 10/10 to B&D

4 I have Irish blood

5 Light mowers make weak stripes. If you get a 'tonka toy' one (and why not - there's little to go wrong) then you can improve the stripes by putting a weight on it. Really!

Good luck and happy mowing

 

Very wise MF. They are a waste of time, but my clients love them (mostly) and grass must be mowed.

 

ps you can buy "striped grass" seed ..... dont know if this will help you!

 

Sounds like paint on wallpaper?! :D

 

I love stripes, spirals (v.difficult), circles, chequerboard, diamonds, yup all that stuff MF. They make no difference to the job, and they are decorative. Whether a garden needs extra decoration is up to the individual of course. I have one problem; if we keep reinforcing the struipes week in week out then the grass tends to lay with the mower, and the thatch can be problematic. In the garden whose photo is attached I am scarifying twice a year, but will up that to 4 times next year to get some serious improvement.