Mowing Down Pollution with Reel Mowers
Now that spring has fully sprung and the world is turning green, it can only mean one thing for folks with a yard: time to mow. While cutting back the yard so it doesn’t start to resemble the Amazon is not a treasured activity for many — wrestling a loud, heavy, unwieldy, polluting lawnmower around — there are definitely some things you can do to trim your lawn without trashing the planet. At the top of this list: reel lawnmowers.
While a bit of a throwback to pre-internal combustion days, reel mowers have enjoyed something of a renaissance over the past few years as more and more folks realize that they don’t pollute, don’t make noise, are easy to use and actually work. They require little to no maintenance, save for the occasional blade-sharpening, and can be better for the grass: rather than tearing at the blades like more conventional mowers, they cut the grass like scissors, leaving a fine spray of cuttings as mulch for your yard. Conventional two-stroke, gas-powered mowers can create as much pollution in one hour that driving a car produces in eleven hours — wow! — so there are obviously huge environmental benefits to putting away the gas can and pushing your way to a greener lawn.
Reel mowers aren’t perfect for everyone, or every mowing situation, though. If you have tall, willowy weeds, or a large array of dandelions, reel mowers tend to roll over them more than cut them back. Similarly, if you let your yard get out of control (and taller than it is when you usually cut), the reel mower will be harder to push and a little less effective than normal — it’ll get the job done, it just might take a second pass. Along those same lines, reel mowing usually takes a bit longer than a gas or electric mower — not a huge amount (think an hour instead of 45 minutes) — and since reel mowing is more like a walk in the park than walking behind a bus, it’s probably worth it. Because they require human power, reel mowers tend to be better for smaller yards, somewhere around 8,000 square feet or less. If you think a reel mower might be right for you, check out this informative guide [www.reelmowerguide.com] for more info, and get some advice on which one is best for you here [www.cleanairgardening.com] and here [www.reelmowersetc.com]. Lastly, check out our hands-on review of the process here [www.treehugger.com], complete with some very informative reader comments below the entry. Speaking of, dear readers, please feel free to leave your two cents, ask a question, or start a conversation in the discussion forums here (they’re right over there, on the right side of the page). TreeHugger thinks all of this “green talk” is terribly interesting – do you? Let us know what you think. Happy mowing!
