Taking care of your backyard and garden starts with taking care of your lawn.
You can plant the worlds most beautiful flowers and trees, let them grow and flourish, but without taking proper care of the lawn and mowing it regularly, your backyard will never look as good as it could.
This is exactly why choosing the best lawn mower for you is so important if you really want to elevate the look of your backyard or garden.
And when it comes down to this, there is a decision to make between two types of lawn mowers.
Both of the types can be further divided into smaller groups and we will take a look at some of those, but generally, we have to make the decision between automatic and manual lawn mowers.
So what are the most important things you need to keep in mind when choosing a lawn mower? And why do we recommend you choose a manual over automatic?
Let’s start with understanding what exactly you need and how that affects your decision, making it a bit easier.
Understand What Your Needs Are
One of the most important factors to take into account when choosing a lawn mower is the total area of the lawn you need to take care of.
You certainly don’t want to be using a manual lawn mower when mowing area at the size of a golf course.
That right there is a work for a lawn tractor, there is no doubt about that.
But when it comes to a regular size backyard or any area smaller than what certainly needs a lawn tractor to do the job, you probably want to be looking at manual lawn mowers.
The decision certainly comes down to fewer possibilities.
Another thing to keep in mind is the number of different objects and plants you have situated on the lawn area.
This is because when having different object and plants within the lawn, you need a mower that is easy to maneuver.
Also, in this case, you don’t want the lawn mower to be too wide because you won’t be able to get the mower in some specific tight places.
You might think that both automatic and manual lawn mowers would be well suited for the job if they are the right size.
But the truth is, there are some differences between the two that you might want to consider when choosing the right one.
Manual Lawn Mower vs. Automatic Lawn Mower
The greatest difference between manual and automatic lawn mowers is the lever on automatic ones, which, when pulled, makes the lawn mower slowly go forward.
Yes, in this case, we are looking at automatic lawn mowers that are otherwise known as self-propelled lawn mowers.
And comparing them to the classic manual lawn mower, which runs on an engine but needs to be self-pushed!
We are not discussing the reel mowers!
This is exactly why many gardeners and house owners prefer the automatic lawn mower over manual ones.
But there have been countless cases when these people have been too quick to jump to conclusions and make the final decision.
The problem with automatic lawn mowers is that they tend to be less reliable in the long term.
And the one reason for that usually is the mechanism that provides the lawn mower going forward.
In a lot of cases, these mechanisms are poorly designed which means they break down, sometimes, after the first season.
When this happens, you won’t be able to do the work manually, because the broken mechanism will create too much resistance.
Which means you will be late on doing this important work, while the costs of maintaining your backyard or garden will increase!
This makes manual lawn mowers a better choice with less problems that might occur in the long run.
They are also easier and cheaper to maintain.
Keep in mind that you can get a higher quality manual lawn mower for the same price as a cheaper version of an automatic lawn mower.
Also, because there is no extra mechanisms on a manual lawn mower to run, it uses less gas or electricity and this is yet another way to reduce costs of maintaining your garden or backyard.
The experience of many homeowners and gardeners shows that these seemingly little things can make a significant difference in the long run.
Of course, an automatic lawn mower might seem like an option that benefits you more than all the benefits from a manual mower put together.
But there are some more things to keep in mind when making a decision that influences your work in the backyard or garden.
Benefits of a Manual Lawn Mower
We can already see, that the manual lawn mower has some important benefits over the automatic one.
And these are the things you should always keep in mind.
A good quality manual mower costs less than a similar quality automatic mower.
What is more, the running and maintenance of the mower is cheaper when using a manual mower!
This is a highly important benefit when you look at it in the long term.
The manual lawn mower is also a lot more reliable, giving you the confidence to do your work without worrying about having different problems.
These two are without a doubt the most important benefits that manual mower provides.
Plus, remember that not only do you benefit from having a simpler and more reliable garden equipment, but also you don’t even have to consider all of the different drawbacks that automatic mowers have.
Get Something More Out of This Work
Gardening is one of those activities, that can be combined with different, seemingly unrelated things to create an overall great experience.
Get creative with how you do work in your backyard or the garden and you’ll soon find out that there is much more to gain from this activity.
This is where using a manual mower can come in truly handy if you look at using it the right way in different situations.
Teach Your Kids the Value of Work
If you have kids, we encourage you to take them outside and get them to help you out with work in the garden or backyard.
There is absolutely no doubt that this will benefit your kids in different ways and of course, it will give you more time to focus on what matters the most.
First of all, your kids will spend a lot more time outside, being active, which is a lot better than sitting inside by the computer all day long.
They might not like it at first, but when they see, just how relaxing it is to do some gardening, they will learn to enjoy it.
Using a lawn tractor or an automatic lawn mower might make things a bit easier. But it’s important that you teach them the values of hard work.
This is one of those life lessons that they will truly benefit from in their lives later on.
Plus, it gives them a reason to perform some activities, which is good for a developing body.
Show them the best example and do work, that pays off!
Exercise While Doing Work In the Backyard
There are different reasons for all of us to create beautiful gardens and take care of the backyard.
And our experience shows that one of the most common reasons is that people are willing to spend more time outside while being active.
Doing the maintenance work in your backyard really is a great way to exercise your body and get your muscles moving after spending the whole day at work.
And we try to encourage more people to give this activity a try.
Of course, nowadays we see more and more people creating simple home gyms or using most basic gym equipment to do workouts at home, in their backyard or inside the garage. Which is a great thing to do!
But even athletes have said, that besides all of the workouts and exercises they do on daily basis, they still try to find alternative ways to exercise whenever they can.
And this is where manual lawn mower becomes a top choice.
Some would say that this is not really an exercise. But the truth is that all activities are good for us and doing some work outside, in fresh air has never been bad to anyone.
It might seem like an unusual thing to consider when choosing a lawn mower. But there is no doubt that these seemingly little things are what make our lives better in the long term.
Especially if you want to get something more out of the gardening experience.
Keep Things Simple in Your Backyard
When it comes to maintaining your garden or backyard, there are many things to consider and always keep in mind.
This is exactly why we encourage everyone to look for simple and reliable solutions that you can truly benefit from.
Also, always keep in mind that you are doing this work for more than one season.
Which means you always have to consider effective work in the long run, when making any decisions related to maintaining your garden or backyard!
There is no doubt, that different modern solutions can come in handy at some specific tasks.
Therefore you always have to take into account all of the different factors you will encounter.
But when looking at the big picture of this activity and hobby, you should always concentrate on the solutions and techniques, that are simple and truly reliable.
What is more, you can see that some choices have to be made by thinking about how you can get something more out of the gardening experience.
