landscaping tips for toronto on: buying a lawnmower and mowing your lawn properly

April 28 2014

Spring Landscaping Tips for Toronto ON: !

Lawn Mowingbrought to you by eieihome.com

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Lawn Mowing

Lawn Mowing Facts:

The first lawn mower was invented by Edwin Budding in 1827 in Thrupp, just outside Stroud, in Gloucestershire. !!

Budding's mower was designed primarily to cut the grass on sports grounds and extensive gardens, as a superior alternative to the scythe, and was granted a British patent on August 31, 1830.!

Lawn Mowing Facts:

When preformed properly, mowing your lawn can help promote healthy Lawn growth. As well as providing a frame for your home.!!

A nicely cut lawn can make a basic garden look beautiful! The opposite is not always true.

How to Choose a Lawn Mower

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How to Choose a Lawn Mower

✤Three things to consider!

✤1) Size of Lot!

✤2) Are there hills!

✤3)What is your budget

How to choose a Lawn Mower: #1 Size of Lot:

✤ If you live in the downtown core and you have 50 square feet of grass, likely you won’t need a full ride on mower. Similarly, a 2 acre property may be difficult for you to cut with a manual Mower!

✤ The best practice is to decipher how long it will take to mow the lawn and to choose your mower based off that time.!

✤ Gopherhaul has a great calculator http://www.gopherforum.com/showthread.php?p=43299 to discover how long it will take for you to cut your lawn

How to choose a Lawn Mower: #2 Are there hills:

✤ You may have a lawn that is only 500 sq/ft, but the entire lawn is on a 40 degree slope. Or you may have two acres with a giant hill on one side.!

✤ In either case a Ride on mower would not be optimal as they are not designed to run on steep angles, you may run into problems with the wheels bottoming out on the top of the hill or the weight causing the mower to slide and ruin the grass. Ride on mowers often have kill switched where they shut off when they are on too steep an angle. The same applies for larger walk behind mowers (30” decks and above)!

✤ In addition depending on the size you may want to consider using a manual mower if the slope is steep enough where tipping of the mower would be a concern. A!

✤ A final option is to simply use your trimmer to reach any slope where it is unsafe to use a mower!

How to choose a Lawn Mower: # Your budget:✤ Lawn mowers are built on varying degrees of quality. The best practice

is to invest in a mower based on your needs. For a small lot (500sq/ft and less) going with a manual or electric mower is a great option. Once lots size start to increase above 1000 sq/ft you will want to invest in a higher quality Mower. Look for aluminum parts and components that won’t rust over time. Make sure the wheels are not loose and are firmly connected to the mower (Wheels are often on of the first components to break)!

✤ There is a wide range for the cost of mowers. Mowers direct has a great article on Lawn Mower Pricing: http://www.mowersdirect.com/stories/299-How-To-Pick-The-Perfect-Lawn-Mower.html

How Often should I cut my lawn?

How often should I cut my lawn?

✤ Now that you have the perfect mower for your property you need to make sure that you follow best practices for keeping your grass in the best shape:!

✤ Never cut more then 50% of the leaf at one time. Grass is similar to most plants in that when you take too much off at one time you can send it into shock (burn it). Best practice is to cut 20-30% at a time.!

✤ In the GTA grass is best kept at a length of 2.5-3 inches.!

✤ Use these practices to guide how often you should cut your lawn, judge by length, don’t simply assume once a week is enough, or if it is a slower season then leave it longer if need be.

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Should I use a Contractor?

Should I use a Contractor?

✤ Contractors offer many benefits. !

✤ Quality of Work: Contractors have lots of experience in the best techniques to make your lawn look as good as possible.!

✤ Quality of equipment: Commercial grade equipment will have more powerful motors and will create a more even cut of the lawn.!

✤ Time savings: In the busy world of 2014 Toronto time is a precious commodity and if you have larger property you may be able to claim back hours a month to spend on other tasks.!

✤ Consistency: A contractor will make sure that no matter how busy you are the lawn will kept from getting out of hand

Thank you for your time

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✤ Visit www.eieihome.com for more useful tips or to find Reliable Contractors in Toronto and the GTA