Our old electric lawn mower from Costco started to sound more like an egg beater so I kissed it goodbye and joined the ranks of modern push-reelers. It's a great feeling not to be trailing that power cord through the garden, knocking over my lettuces and onion plants. And now I don't have to answer any more questions about how much coal the local power plant is burning so I can cut my grass.
I took the plunge after I noticed more and more of my neighbors ditching their two-stroke mowers (terrible polluters) for good, old-fashioned muscle power. Just lowering the noise level in our neighborhood--replacing the horrible din of gasoline engines with the gentle rattle of the push reel--is worth the switch.
Did you know that more gas is spilled filling lawn mowers each year than all the oil spilled by the Exxon-Valdez?
I did a bit of research on the internet and found you can spend $250 on a European reel mower. I opted for this Sunlawn model with a 14-inch-wide reel priced at $142 at Amazon. It arrived two days after I ordered it (free shipping) and took about 10 minutes to attach the handle assemble to the reel.
The blades are said to stay sharp for up to 10 years. What I like best about it is, it only weighs 16 pounds. Cheaper mowers are heavier. Not only is this one easy to carry from one place to another on our urban lot, but it hardly feels like pushing anything at all.
The push-reel doesn't cut as neatly as the power mower. Thin stalks of fine weeds manage to survive several passes. But we've never attempted to have a perfect lawn. We've never fertilized (just let the clippings fall in place) or applied any herbicides (we make dandelion wine). The yard's full of all different kinds of grasses, weeds and clovers. I imagine if you stayed on top of your mowing chores, you'd hardly be able to tell that you'd switched from power to manual.
I noticed that every few minutes mowing our overgrown lawn the height setting on the mower needed re-adjusting. I attribute that to having let the lawn go too long between cuttings. On this particular model, the highest setting is 2 inches. I wish it were a bit higher. Some models will cut as high as 3 inches.
I don't think it took me any longer to mow the yard with the push-reel than it did with the electric mower. We have some steeply sloping areas that I was concerned about, but I managed. Edges also are a bit of an issue: I'll have to come behind the reel mower with our electric line trimmer. What I will miss are the clippings for my compost pile.
Yesterday we stopped by the hardware store and there were all kinds of reel mowers on display. Apparently we're part of a healthy trend. That's something to feel good about.
--Posted by Ed Bruske
One tip for a more even cut - rake your lawn before using the reel mower - that way it will "stand up" for your first pass and you may not have to do so many passes - also sharpen the blades periodically (though if yours is new, that should not be a problem).
I wish my neighbors would switch over to reel push mowers and also knock-off the leafblower use just to send a few grass clippings off their sidewalk - a broom would work just as well and probably quicker! The incessant wining on a beautiful spring Sunday morning is ride and intrusive.
Posted by: Kathy J, Washington Gardener Magazine | June 01, 2008 at 04:21 PM