Some of you seem to absolutely adore mowing lawns. Send me a pm and I’ll pick one lucky winner who can spread the joy and come and do my lawn!

I went to give the lawn its first light cut last Saturday afternoon. Put on gloves without checking them and cue three full stabs from a hibernating queen wasp on my little finger. I was admitted to hospital on Sunday afternoon with a forearm and hand which were barely distinguishable from one another. I’ve just been discharged following a short stay with elevated arm and IV antibiotics with additional steroids and antihistamines.

I ‘usually’ check the gloves left in the shed, such was my excitement to mow the lawn I didn’t bother. Wish I had. Lawn still a shaggy mess and now wet again following the rain.

I need a new lawn mower for about 60m2 of a back lawn and 20m2 at the front. What’s good?

48cm self propelled jobby with collector and more importantly, a Honda engine. I went for a shiny red Cobra last year but rarely used it because last summer, the grass didn’t grow much – hence my eagerness to get it going on Saturday.

Like the pics CountZero. I don’t like weed killed lawns.

Assumed this was a new bike thread

It still could be…

First mow was during that warm spell in February. I’m currently walking 20+ miles per week whilst cutting grass, that obviously doesn’t include ride-on mower use. I should strava it all

How big is your lawn Houns?

Joking aside I used to do that working for Kirklees council. Fond memories of summers spent trimming hedges and mowing lawns whilst trying to avoid the nutters and mental dogs on the Walpole estate in Huddersfield/

This big

I’m a gardener/groundsperson at two large estates, one private and one NT. I’m also a volunteer gardener at another National Trust property, and look after my Nans sizeable garden

That sounds great. I do miss it, even when the weather is crap. That looks beautiful. Is it one of the estates or your Gran’s house? 😉

Ha! Not quite, she’s about 4 miles East (to the right of that pic) of the one above.

Yeah it beats sitting in an office! Got sunburnt last week, avoided the rain today by chopping wood indoors (an old boiler house)

What is the official STW method of sharpening your blade?

Grinding stone on a drill, quick and highly effective. Three most common mistakes of (non) lawn care:

1) Using a blunt blade
2) Cutting very closely/short
3) Not cutting often enough – twice a week when growing

yes 1 and yes 2

However I’ve had to overseed some thin patches which died in the hot weather last year (weather plus a goalmouth) and the seed is only just germinating. Do I try and mow round, cut long so it doesn’t cut the new growth (being a rotary blade it’ll probably blow all the seed all over), or just leave until it’s established in 3-4 weeks time?

For such circumstances I have an approach that works for me. After preparing the ground I make lots and lots of holes with a fork about 1ish cm deep, brush/drop grass seed into them then brush some top soil on top. Water well and avoid as best as you can. Within a while the seeds will germinate and do the bizz. Looks like a hair transplant for lawns but is highly effective.

I like lawns.

Not mown front or back yet, don’t intend to…stuff lives in it quite happily.

yep, forked and roughed up the soil in the barer patches rather than just laid on top, but didn’t top soil it. It’s only just started ti germinate, worth a quick sift, I think I have a bag or two of screened left over from where I reseeded the front a while ago.

Hopefully this shows what I mean..

Have to say last year’s hot summer did for my lawn and the moss this spring is the worst I can remember. Anyway it’s had a few cuts so far this year and I got some feed and weed on it on Monday evening before this rainy patch. My strategy this year is to not cut the lawn so short, especially if we get another long hot spell.

In the front garden this year the look I’m going for combines elements of broken trampoline, rubble sacks waiting to go to the tip, and an old toilet.
The misses loves it.

I need a new lawn mower for about 60m2 of a back lawn and 20m2 at the front. What’s good?

Man quotes lawn size, possibly expecting a few “how do you manage a lawn so big” comments, but really for a lawn that size anything where you don’t have to empty the box too often is the only thing you’re looking for, a small petrol by Mountfield will be more than sufficient and will last a life time when serviced correctly.

I use a bigger version for cutting some of the lawns round here (for bike cash) in the summer, some of them are frankly massive for normal residential lawns, I’ve clocked one at just over 4km of walking while cutting with a 19″ Mountfield.

One cut long so far, but it’s not really growing fast yet now it’s cooled down again. Feels too early to feed/weed/scarify. Prefer to do that when the soil’s warmed a bit and the grass plants are nice and strong to recover. Sad I know but I find it a relaxing 45 min and like the look once done. It’s not comparable to a decent blast on the bike though.

a small petrol by Mountfield will be more than sufficient and will last a life time when serviced correctly.

I have a lawn I need to start looking after, are the mountfields the petrol mower to go for? I was looking at the Honda Isy series.