Did you overseed your lawn this fall? How does your grass look now? Did you fill all those bare spots your dog Lizzy so nicely caused this summer? If you planned ahead, purchased choice seeds, and followed a rigid planting strategy your grass probably looks fantastic. However, if you bought cheap seed, tossed it on the ground, and watered it a bit you probably have clumpy & patchy results. Researchers at Kansas State report that fall overseeding is a very common practice and that many may or may not succeed.
K-31 is known to be the most common seed on the market which also makes it the least expensive. One of the disadvantages to K-31 is that it grows fast and you’ll need to mow it a few times after planting. Under stress conditions, K-31 becomes clumpy and patchy and results can be poor.
Kansas State recommends planting at a rate of 50% the recommended rate for new establishment. You should measure the area to wish to plant and accurately calculate the amount of seed you need.
A recent article posted at TulsaWorld features a review of “Route 66″ — a new blend of top-performing Fescue grass cultivars for cool seasons. The name comes from the fact that Fescue grasses were introduced along many Interstate Highways as an important deterrent to roadside erosion. This article reminds us that such grasses are also valuable for the homeowner as well as the highway department. Impressive statistics are cited to demonstrate the powerful air conditioning and air cleaning properties of a healthy lawn. There’s vital energy in that grass!
Fall is the right time for seeding with these varieties, so right about now is when you should be selecting your grass seed.
Many of our customers have discovered that cutting the lawn with a Brill Reel Mower is a great way to relax and relieve stress. They like to put on an old pair of shorts, their favorite hat, and get a good bit of exercise while soaking up the sun.
Well, as it turns out, those feelings of calm and satisfaction they get from a freshly cut lawn aren’t all in their heads.
Scientists have recently discovered that a feeling of relaxation and contentment comes from a chemical released from freshly cut grass. The stress-relieving effect of this chemical is so powerful that researchers have decided to bottle it, incorporating it into a perfume they are calling Serenascent.
As of press time, we don’t know how much a bottle of Serenscent will sell for, but we do know that everytime you cut, you’ll be saving on perfume.
We will continually add to this list of Popular Reel Mower Questions:
What is the difference between old and new cutting technologies?
All reel mowers have curved type cylinder blades that create a cutting action against a fixed plate. The blades make a spiral around the reel axis, and as they spin, the spiral of blades forces grass past the stationary plate.
Contact (friction) Mowers
This is the “older” more conventional form of cutting method. The cylinder blades are in direct contact with the bed knife and scrape across each other very similar to scissors shearing together. There is generally more friction (hence the name) which causes these mowers to be slightly more difficult to push. The friction also causes noise which can vary depending on each model – some are more quiet than others. Friction mowers generally need to be sharpened every 2 to 3 seasons. If you have a yard full of weeds then a friction mower is the best choice.
Contact-Free (frictionless) Mowers
The newer more modern reel mowers use a contact-free or frictionless cutting system. The term contact-free is used to describe a small gap (usually around 0.05mm) between the reel mower blades and the bed knife. The gap is roughly the width of a human hair and small enough to cut grass, yet big enough to eliminate all friction and noise caused by friction. Contact-free reel mowers are easier to push then the older style making them more fun to use and less tiring. Contact-free mowers cut best when used on healthy turf with minimal weeds. These mowers also cut best when used at lower cutting heights. There are some models available today that claim to be used on 2-3″ cutting range, however, much of the grass is left behind. The best cutting height range is 1-1.75″. Contact-free reel mowers usually do not need to be sharpened for at least 5-10 years depending on use.
When Do The Reel Blades Need Sharpening?
Most mowers stay sharp between 2-4 years depending on use. This can vary from lawn to lawn and manufacturer to manufacturer. You can tell when your reel mower needs to be sharpened when much of the grass passes by the reel and is left uncut.
Contact-free mowers do not require sharpening. Instead, it is a best management practice to adjust the gap distance between the reel and the bed knife. This is very easy can be accomplished in less then 3mins and performed as frequently as needed.
Contact mowers require sharpening on the average of every 2 years. You can purchase do-it-yourself sharpening kit and sharpen your own reel mower.
What Is The Best Cutting Height?
This is a very popular question and a topic with a lot of misinformation – especially if you surf around the internet… Reel mowers cut best when the cutting height is set lower then 2″. When set higher then 2inches, some of the grass tends to get “missed” and multiple passes can be required. For more information please visit our section dedicated to Height Of Cut (HOC).
Should I Buy/Use A Grass Collector Bag?
Our general recommendation is no, however, below are list of the pros and cons. For more information please read about Grasscycling here.
PROs To A Grass Bag
-Grass clippings are good for the compost pile
-Can prevent weeds from spreading if cutting the seed stalks
-Slightly “cleaner” look is achieved when removing more then 1/3 the grass height.
-Wet grass clippings can smother together and will not filter down as easily.
CONs To A Grass Bag
-Grass clippings hold valuable nutrients which can be returned to the soil.
-Grass clippings less then 1inch will filter down to the soil.
-Grass clippings DO NOT cause thatch!
-Unlike rotary mowers, grass clippings are not blown into a pile, they are gently scattered (mulched) behind the mower
I have Emerald Zoysia at my new house and I own have a 4 year John Deere 21″ push mower that does okay but I want to buy a new mower. What type of mower should I buy?
If quality of cut is your top priority, then a good reel mower is the only way to go – a rotary, homeowner grade push mower should be your last choice. Zoysiagrass mowed by a rotary lawn mower looks terrible and you tend to get round scalp marks every time you turn the mower…
Check Out Eco-Lawn
The Ultimate Low Maintenance, Drought Tolerant Lawn!
Eco-Lawn is a blend of carefully selected fine fescue grasses developed by Wildflower Farm. Eco-Lawn grows in full sun, part shade, deep shade and even under pine trees! Eco-Lawn is highly drought tolerant once established, and has a beautiful green color. Eco-Lawn does not require fertilizing and can be mown like a regular lawn or left un-mown for a free-flowing carpet effect.
Eco-Lawn produces grass blades that are very thin and thus don’t require the amount of water that typical, thick bladed lawn grasses demand. Eco-Lawn also creates roots that grow deep into the ground, so Eco-Lawn can seek out needed nutrients and water naturally, thus eliminating the need for watering. Eco-Lawn is perfect for areas where water conservation is important and is excellent for establishing new lawns, erosion buffers and bank stabilizations. Eco-Lawn grows in sandy soils, loam and even compacted clay.
In my opinion, one of the reasons many so called ‘experts’ recommend a three inch cut for rotary lawn mowers is that they know it is NOT really a three inch cut. The reality is that the length of the grass blade left after mowing with a rotary lawn mower set to cut at three inches will always be much closer to two inches…read more.
What is the best HOC for the grass plant? If you look around the internet you may find that three inches seems to be a favorite recommendation. Why? There are many reasons for recommending a three inch cutting height, especially when using a rotary lawn mower. Interestingly, three inches is not the best HOC for the grass plant for many agronomic reasons.
What is the best height of cut for the grass on your lawn? There is no perfect or exact answer to this question so let’s discuss some of the variables that will impact this decision and why longer is often not better when mowing your yard. The very first thing to consider is what type of grass you have. This will be directly influenced by where in the country you live. If you live in the south or the west, you probably will have what we refer to as warm season grass, most typically a Bermuda grass variety, although there are many non Bermuda warm season grasses as well. If you live in the north down through the heart of the country or the mid-Atlantic, you probably have cool season grass, most likely Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass or a blend, although others exist here as well. The growth habit and physiology of these two types of grasses differ dramatically and we will discuss the differences elsewhere, but for now the important thing to remember is that warm season grass can tolerate and actually thrive at a very short mowing height, while cool season grasses generally prefer to be mowed slightly higher. What is not true is that either likes to be kept at an excessively long length and excessively long can legitimately be described as anything above three inches and shorter for warm season grass. Grass plants develop chlorophyll, the property that gives them their green color and nourishes them through a process called photosynthesis. This process is encouraged by sunlight. That is one of the reasons you have such a hard time growing grass under those large shade trees in your yard, no sun. Three inch grass blades and longer only serve to shade themselves, like when we wear a hat and this shade inhibits photosynthesis. At two inches, you have 33% less shade and a better developed leaf blade…
How do you determine more accurately what the true reel mower height of cut is? On most residential and commercial turfgrass surfaces this is not an exact science. Using three very simple steps it is possible to make close approximations with any push reel mower.
Step 1.
The height of cut (HOC) must be measured on a freshly mowed lawn. Take a few minutes and push your reel mower using the height setting of your choice, or the setting of which you intend to measure.
Step 2.
Take out a ruler or a tape measure and push the end down into the grass until it sits firmly on the soil or on the thatch layer of the lawn.
Step 3.
While making sure the grass is standing upright measure to the top of a freshly mowed blade. The resulting number will be the approximate height of cut that you are actually mowing at. It is sometimes a good idea to measure 5+ grass blades using the average length as the final HOC.
Suggested Mowing Heights
Species
Normal Weather
High-Temperature
Stress Periods
Colonial bentgrass
0.30 – 0.80
0.50 – 0.80
Creeping bentgrass
0.125 – 0.80
0.188 – 0.80
Fine fescue
0.50 – 2.00
1.50 – 3.00
Kentucky bluegrass
1.50 – 2.25
2.25 – 3.00
Perennial ryegrass
1.50- 2.00
2.00 – 3.00
Tall fescue
1.75 – 3.00
2.50 – 3.50
Bermudagrass
0.25 – 1.50
NA
Bahiagrass
1.50 – 3.00
NA
Buffalograss
1.00 to unmowed
NA
Carpetgrass
1.00 – 3.00
NA
Centipedegrass
1.00 – 3.00
NA
Seashore paspalum
0.45 – 2.00
NA
St. Augustinegrass
3.00 – 4.00
NA
Zoysiagrass
0.50 – 2.00
NA
Source:
Christians, Nick, Fundamentals of Turfgrass Management: Ann Arbor Press, Chelsea, Michigan: 1998.
Mt. Vernon, Ball Bearing, Reel Mower
9 INCH DRIVE WHEELS, FOUR KNIVES, WITH GRASS GUARD
This mower is the same as the Mt. Vernon, but has ball bearings. The reel knives are made of oil tempered tool steel and shelf-sharpening. Knives are carefully ground to insure best of kind work positive ratchet and patent cone adjustment. For a medium priced machine it did excellent work and gave universal satisfaction. This machine was thoroughly tested with above results.
Mt. Vernon Reel Mower
9 INCH DRIVE WHEELS, FOUR KNIVES, WITH GRASS GUARD
This mower was built on the same lines as the Badger, but stronger, having larger and heavier driving wheels. The reel knives are made of oil tool steel and self-shaarpening. Knives are carefully ground to insure best of kind work and give universal satisfaction. This machine has been thoroughly tested with above results.
Rob Anthony, a nationally recognized and respected Horticulturalist and Turfgrass Manager recently joined our team to assist us with content writing! Rob currently serves on the reader advisory board for Turfgrass Trends Magazine, Athletic Turf and Technology Magazine and contributes regularly for the latter as well as the highly respected international publication, Stadia Magazine. His professional experience includes Head Groundskeeper for the Green Bay Packers, and Athletic Turfgrass Development Manager with two nationally ranked Division I Universities.
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