Mowing Grass via the Zamboni Method

My Father-in-Law suggested I write a post about how I mow my lawn. In his opinion, there are far too many people who have been going about this grass cutting thing the wrong way for a long time. In my opinion, just he has been going about it the wrong way. Nonetheless, here is what I do.

For any of you who are not from a state who loves hockey like we do in Buffalo, you may not have any idea what a Zamboni is. If that is the case, do a google search on the subject, then swing back by here to read the rest of this post....

Welcome back! Now that we are all on the same page, let me tell you that I leaned my "technique" from growing up on a dairy farm and mowing acres and acres of hay every summer. Also, this system is for a riding lawn mower. If you push mow your lawn, my method may cramp your style.

Do you ever find that your yard is covered in clumps of grass when you finish mowing? Do you struggle with your mower, jamming it into forward and reverse to catch those patches of grass on the corners you just can't seem to get the first time? Is your wife always telling you to pay for a lawn service so that your yard looks better? Do you dread Saturday mornings because the grass just can't be put off any longer?

Than I have a solution for you! With my simple 3 step method, you can kiss all your grass-cutting cares goodbye!

First, I make 2 passes around the perimeter of the yard, preferably in a counter-clockwise rotation so the grass blows out and away from the uncut grass.

Second, after completing these two passes, I make one cut down the center of the yard, or two cuts for larger yards, dividing the uncut grass into even quadrants. Be sure to focus your attention on a fixed object at the end of the yard like a tree, or a mailbox when making this cut to make sure your center line is straight, because every pass after this is based on the center line.

Third, mow the rest of the yard, making sure to blow the chaff away from the uncut grass. Also, use the space at the end of each row provided by the first two perimiter passes to turn around and return across the yard.

This will make longer, straighter lines in your grass, as well as virtually remove any need for you to decelerate your speed, or stop and back up at any time. For instance, I mowed this past week while pulling the girls in the trailer, and I only had to stop back that squirly thing up once over the entire yard. Basically, you can mow all day long with the throttle wide open.

Using my simple method, you will find that your yard looks beautifuler, smiley-er, and healthier, and you will finish your yard in a fraction of the time so you can get back to what you really enjoy doing - spending time with your family.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:55 AM

    Atlanta Lawn Maintenance - There are many factors that we should consider to be more effective when mowing the grass. One is the mower blade, it should be always sharp so that the grass will not be damaged as you mow them. When you notice that the blade is already dull, replace it. Also do not set up the blade too low because this will only result to brown patches in some sections of your lawn.

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  2. Anonymous7:01 PM

    You might also consider using a mulching blade to eliminate the chaff. I also use the Zamboni method mainly because I my tractor mower does not have a zero turn radius.

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