JC wrote:
X-No-Archive:yes

Lately I've been seeing lots of ads for old fashioned 'push mowers' -
light weight, 16". I have an average sized yard, sloped in several
places and was wondering just how good and helpful a push mower would
be. Does anyone have any comments about these mowers?
TIA

Although I'm not overly fond of grass, I have some. I used a push
mower for a while. Now I use a cordless electric mower. I liked the
push mower well enough -- no pollution, quiet, good exercise for me.

The reason that I stopped using the push mower was that I simply could
not get the cutting height I needed to avoid scalping my grass. It
matters what species of grass you're growing. I have tall fescue,
which wants to be mowed about 3" high. I could not increase the
clearance of my push mower higher than about 1 1/2".

I looked into buying another, taller push mower, or mounting larger
wheels on the mower I had, or even machining some new holes in the
frame of the push mower in an attempt to lower the wheels. Eventually
I gave up.

Push mowers are the preferred tool among people who maintain the
fussiest of lawns -- i.e., bentgrass. If you don't have bentgrass, you
might have a hard time finding a push mower that is right for your
lawn.

Good luck!

(ObGardenLocationInfo: San Jose, California; USDA Zone 9; Sunset Zone
16)

--
Rainforest laid low.
"Wake up and smell the ozone,"
Says man with chainsaw.
John J. Ladasky Jr., Ph.D.