What's the best place to purchase a lawn mower and trimmer? I think these are the essential tools for the job? I don't need anything fancy, just a reliable regular joe's lawn mower + trimmer. I would like to keep it under $250, but I'm willing to spend a little more if it's worth it. What brands do you recommend? I'm interesting in purchasing this equipment today. I have a serious weed problem. I think if I purchase Scott's? something feed/weed killer that will be sufficient? I checked out the limited variety at Walmart last night and it seems that brand was the most popular.
Great timing. I was going to look into to this. I heard from a friend to hold off, because spring-time sales on lawn equipment is fixing to be announced. I need a lawn mower, week wacker, and blower.
This might be stupid, but what's a weed whacker? Is it that clamp like tool that you insert in the ground, squeeze the handles and pull out the weed? I've done a little research and it seems that Toro manufacture good lawn mowers. Their around $300 for a decent one and $400+ for a good one. Home Depot has 10% and 20% off coupons on ebay, but I read a thread and they said the 20% off coupons were fake. I'm considering this Toro which has excellent reviews. I'm not very familiar with the inner workings of lawn care, so this would be a fairly big step for me. This wouldn't be an issue if our current lawn mowing person showed up and did his job. Lately, him and his posse have been mia. I mine as well learn how to do it myself and front the initial investment which will save me money in the long run. Does anyone have tips regarding WEEDS? That's currently my biggest problem. Their everywhere! I'm thinking about strapping on some gloves and going outside to pick each and everyone out individually. This would take a looong time, there must be an easier way?
My wife spent a couple hours Sat doing just that. One thing to remember, grab them at the base and try to get all the roots with them or they will just grow right back. We normally use TruGreen ( a lawn service that puts down fertilizer and weed killer 4 times a year)...they seem to help some, but like anything, they arent foolproof. Weed wackers are long poles with motors on one end and a spool of very thick plastic line on the other that are intended for trimming the edges of your yard (base of fences, buildings, etc) where your mower cant get.
Does anyone know how to get rid of lawn fungus? I've tried the fungus killer from Home Depot for 2 years and the stuff keeps coming back. I've heard to use corn meal. Do I just buy a box from the grocery store and sprinkle it around? I've also heard that milk works for killing shrubs/tree fungus, anyone know anything about this? Thanks
Long time yard man here. Toro is an excellent mower. If you can afford it, it's a no brainer. Weeds. You can pick em. You can poison em (and other stuff). If you take good care of your St. Augustine, it will eventually squeeze most weeds out, but it looks crappy in the meantime. Next year plant some winter rye grass mid-November. It looks great, doesn't take too much extra time (I like to let mine go sorta long anyway), and it keeps the spring weeds at bay until the St. Augustine kicks in.
A cheap way to go about this is to wait for those sales that are "fixing" to be announced and then buy yourself a convertible trimmer. You can add a lot of components to this later. I did this once, and now I have a convertible trimmer, then I bought a blower, then a friend gave me the edger attachment. Now I have those three, and I paid for the engine and the first attachment only. http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...=LAWN&subcat=Line+Trimmers&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes Craftsman convertible for $129 @ Sears. Chow-Yun-Fat, it's too late by now, but you can pull the weeds if you learn to apply pressure at the root while pulling slowly... the roots will let go. Take as many as you can out right now, and sprinkle the WEED-N-FEED weed killer, water, and then come back in 4 days and you should mow the rest. Sprinkle the WEED-N-FEED again after four weeks and you should have maximum about 5% covering of weeds at the most. Good luck.
Don't worry about the brand of lawn mower as much as who makes the engine. Murray lawn mowers use Briggs and Stratton, which is an excellent lawn mower engine. You can get a Murray push mower for a hundred bucks at Wal Mart, or a self propelled for about $250. I like a gas trimmer as opposed to an electric one, because you can attach the trimmer kits which make changing the trimmer line really easy. I have a grass gator...
An important question would be how big is your yard? I don't have very much at all so I use a manual mower. TAMU has a very comprehensive site for taking care of your lawn. http://aggie-turf.tamu.edu/ I've been pulling the evil Canada Thistle out of my lawn and garden for several days on end now. There are some weeds that you simply have to pull and will not get pushed out by healthy grass.
This just came to my email inbox: http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...79103000&lid=trimmer_h&sid=ie34_BF7HuABASm3WD $99 Craftsman convertible trimmer (attachments sold separately) $99?!?!?!?
Believe it or not, some of us white boys like to take care of our yard ourselves. but if it makes you feel any better, I learned all I know about lawn care at the knee of my stepdad, who has owned and operated a lawn care\landscaping company for about 20 something years. HE is first generation Mexican american and his crews have always been mexican or central american..
Thanks for the tips. I was hoping there would be an easier way, but it looks like I'm going to have a field day tomorrow. When I checked Walmart online, they only have MTD and Black + Decker lawn mowers. The MTD mowers look decent, but I have a feeling I should stay away from the B+D's.
Randy Lemon, the Gardenline guy, strongly advises against using weed and feed. I try to stick to his fertilization schedule. You need to do more in the fall to help prevent the weeds in the spring: http://ktrh.com/pages/gardenline-lawn.html
actually it would be my advice to stay away from both brands. If it is featured at Walmart, they cant be that good. Stick with the known names in lawncare, the Toros, Craftsmans, etc. Even when Im scrimping for cash, when I need to buy something major like that, I never go with the cheapest one, they inevitably end up not lasting as long...and btw, dont ignore the recommended maintenance schedule, keeping up the maintenance goes a long way towards helping it last as long as possible. A little extra money up front will save you the trouble of prematurely buying a new one.
I bought a Honda lawnmower from sears. I hear the Briggs and Stratton engines that come with a lot of mowers are not built to last. I'll admit my Honda seems to be made of cheap materials, but the engine seems strong. One of my friends that manages a landscaping company told me to spend the extra money on a good trimmer and buy an Echo. I didn't listen and I bought a $50 electric one from Sears because I figured my girlfriend's son would get the gas/oil mix wrong and ruin it. I regret it. Dealing with the cord is terrible and the one I have doesn't hold thick enough line to last more than about 10 minutes. Spend some money and buy a gas powered Echo.
Our lawn has looked pretty good for years and I didn't recall going to this extent. I'm not knocking the guy. It just seems a bit OCD. I think lawns vary and it's possible that some of this might be too much. Again, it's just my perception. It just seems like a lot of chemicals. Maybe my lawn was blessed from everything, except weeds and chinch bugs.
For a lawnmower, as long as you don't get a cheapo, you should be ok. I would spend a little more so I can get one with an "ELECTRIC STARTER" and "Self propelled". I have a Briggs & Stratton for 10 years, the engine works fine but hard to start with a pull cord, especially on cold days or if you have not used it for a couple weeks. You have to maintain good spark plug and make sure the rotating blade's shaft is well lubed. Pushing the mower yourself is fine if you have a small yard but I'd would get a self-propelled one next time. Use any feed and weed on the schedule the bag recommends and you will be ok. If you keep your lawn healthy, once the Augustine grass comes back strong later, it'll crowd out the weeds for you.
