With days getting longer and blossoms starting to appear on trees, many gardeners will be preparing their gardens for spring by pruning and planting.
One of the most important jobs to do for the first time this year is mowing your lawn.
Most gardeners will have a go-to lawnmower they use to mow their lawns throughout the year.
However, there are certain lawn mowers that should not be used on extra-long grass, according to an expert.
CEO of The Green Reaper, Bob Macintyre, has shared the common mowing mistake many gardeners may be unaware of, especially those who may be amateur gardeners.
Bob said: “Even the best pedestrian, walk-behind rotary lawn mowers should not be used to cut extra-long thick grass over 200mm.
“Grass can be incredibly tough and it can hinder the blades from turning and put strain on the engine or motor, potentially causing the engine to overheat and seize.
“Large volumes of long grass can also work their way into the gearbox drive for the wheels causing the drive belt to come off of the pulley so it will lose drive to the wheels.
“Some mower decks have optional side discharge chutes which allow long, lush grass to be ejected away from the underside of the deck when cut, thus allowing the smooth progress of cutting to continue.
“It’s a good idea when tackling long overgrown grass areas to narrow the cutting width ‘swath’ to half the width of the mower, or even less if the grass is really overgrown.
“Also, set the height of the cut to a maximum setting and adjust the ground speed of the drive to the lowest to ensure the cuttings have enough time to discharge from the aperture in the side of the deck and that the engine is not overloaded.”
Lawn mowers need to be replaced, on average, every five to eight years.
Lawn mower blades need to be replaced every year. Sharpening mower blades regularly will prolong their life.
