AZBermudaman – posted 30 April 2007 10:51
We moved into a house about a year ago and I finaly have the lawn looking really good. It’s the usual AZ drill: Overseed with Winter Rye for cool weather and then let the Tiff Bermuda come in during the summer months.
Things are good to the point that my 21″ Craftsman Rotary stalls out because the grass is too thick unless I keep it tall.
Initially I thought I’d pick up a McLane Reel. The lawn looks wonderful when it’s a little shorter. I have about 1800 – 2000 sq feet.
2 important factors are clouding my decision: I have 3 kids who tend to kick my 1/2″ minus gravel into the lawn from time to time. Is that a problem with Reel mowers? Also – I get a lot of leaves in the yard from the various trees, plants & flowers. Would a rotary do a better job at cleaning that stuff up and handle the small stones better?
Any thoughts on brands etc? Tru Cut looks pretty cool but $$$ and I haven’t seen a ny used ones around.
tommy – posted 02 May 2007 10:04
If you want to stick with a rotary, you will need to scalp the lawn a couple of times a year. Use a thatching blade,(available at Home depot, Lowe’s, etc) Remove the regular blade…..slap on the thatch blade, and this will give you a way to have a good looking tif yard throughout the year. Also, you will have to scalp a little at a time, because the mower will stall if you try to remove too much in one pass. Also, make sure to keep your regular blade sharp for normal weekly mowing. A good time to sharpen the blade,is when its removed at the time you install the thatching blade. I had not heard that ‘Cal. trimmer’ was going out of business, but that would be a shame! They make a great reel mower!