Will prices change your lawn mowing habits?

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Lawn mowing seems to be a matter of contagion in my neighborhood. There are some years when everyone is out there mowing and trimming their yards all spiffy clean and tidy every four days. There are other years when everyone is more relaxed and lawns go 7-12 days. This is year is a relaxed year. Part of that is because we've had so much rain that some people find it hard to get out there between showers.

But I've wondered whether the price of gasoline might be a factor. My lawn is tiny since most of the yard is garden, not grass, and it is a half lot to begin with. Others have 5 times as much to mow, or ten times as much if they have a double lot.

I have a non-motorized push mower that I can use, but it mows so short. I like higher grass to help suppress weed germination. But if push comes to shove, I'll choose PUSH.

[bjl584]

probably not. I have about an acre of grass, so i have to keep on top of it otherwise it becomes unmanageable. I usually end up cutting it about once a week or so

[glock35ipsc]

Nope. I have a quarter acre of grass around the house, about 1 acre of gravel road and parking, and the remaining 8-7/5 acres is retired wheat fields with some rye, so that gets cut and bailed every year. That is, if we have received enough rain to grow enough to cut and bail. If not, then it just gets brush-hogged.

[simpleyme]

mowing the grass is basic maintenance has to be done no matter what

my DH is out of state so I actually got to use my lawn mower for the first time in years yesterday its self propelled and about threw me through the fence ;-) its a powerfull little beast ;-)

[MonkeyMama]

No, because we have an electric mower.

Well, small yard, electric mower, and a gardener who does it all anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if he raised rates though.

[Aleta]

We mow but not as often. Sometimes just letting a few days go by won't hurt unless you're in a rainy season and then you have to mow when you can find a rainy day. We definitely are being mindful of the gas and the mower running unnecessarily while picking up other items in the way. We just move everything out of the way and mow until we finish.

[disneysteve]

No change here. We pay a service to mow. They did raise the price $1/visit and they come every 2 weeks. I've got no problem with that at all.

[PrincessPerky]

Nope..but thats cause we rarely mow before the grass 'seeds'...it gets really tall, and the tops look like mini wheat things. mowing then seems to help encourage more grass to grow. before that is just for the American notion of short grassy lawns. (you know plains were meant to have tall grasses..of a variety not boring single type)

Now if I had a green thumb I would just replace it all with garden..but I don't. (only thing still living are wildflowers, and the lilies)

oddly enough I have noticed more teens offering to cut the lawn though..maybe the economy is sending them out to earn their own ipods?

[momof1in150]

One of the last things that my DH would change is cutting the grass. His lawn is his pride and joy so he will continue to mow when he feels it is necessary. He is also teaching our son how to mow so it is a good father/son opportunity.

[Snave]

We have about 1/3 of an acre, so gas prices don't affect that much. Now the weather is another thing. I am going on about 9-10 days since the last mow and I don't see it getting done until Wednesday or Thursday at the earliest. It has reained the last 6 days here and the ground is sopping wet. At least my neighbors are all in the same boat (literally).

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Snave

We have about 1/3 of an acre, so gas prices don't affect that much.

That's true. When I did mow my own, I would fill my 1-gallon gas can about twice per season, so that would be a whopping $8/year at $4/gallon. Price of gas really is insignificant for us in the lawn care department.

[Scanner]

Being that I own a McMansion. ..no.

[GoodBuyGirl]

DH just bought a new riding mower. Between him and the kids joy riding I'd have to say it is costing us more but the lawn gets done twice as quick as it did with a push mower so more than worth the extra expense.

[myrdale]

Probably not. I have roughly an acre to mow. I believe I only filled up my 3 gallon gas can once last year. I got a weeder/edger this spring though and it sucks the stuff up.

I'd be more interested in if the government ever restricts lawn mowing because of gas supply. I am a dooms dayist though.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by myrdale

I'd be more interested in if the government ever restricts lawn mowing because of gas supply. I am a dooms dayist though.

I do wish they would ban lawn watering, though. It drives me nuts every night when I go out walking and see how many of my neighbors are wasting hundreds and thousands of gallons of precious water on their lawns. We have never watered our lawn and it always looks just fine.

[myrdale]

Watering bans is what actually made that idea come to mind. GA is in a drought and they will come take away your children, arrest you, then beat you severally if you so much as glance at a sprinkler. Err ok I jest but they have had a ban on outdoor water use for over a year now and do threaten fines.

[maat55]

I'll just grin and bare it. I don't water my lawn so that may help.

[cschin4]

I would like to see some leeway into the mindset of how one "must" maintain their yard. When we were in England, they didn't have postage stamp grass lawns but instead their lawns were covered with wildflowers, weeds and whatever else grew there. It was kind of refreshing and looked pretty.
This year my daughter was upset because her daddy mowed down her "pretty flowers" which were the dandelions. Funny that we consider them a weed. But, if they didn't grow naturally and were hard to cultivate, then they would be highly prized and wanted in the flower community!
Why can't we let our lawns go natural if we choose too? It is our property yet we allow govt to tell us what we can and can't do on our own property so in reality you don't own anything.
As for us, we mow but I am just letting it go a few days longer to save a few bucks.

[myrdale]

[quote=cschin4;174795]Why can't we let our lawns go natural if we choose too? It is our property yet we allow govt to tell us what we can and can't do on our own property so in reality you don't own anything.[quote]

You can, and people do. IMHO though your yard/house is the only thing a person traveling by will see and know about you. I am not suggesting you spend $1000's maintaining it or that you be overly concerned about what people think of you. But atleast keep it in good order. There are quite a few houses I've driven by in my life and though "What trashy people" because they never took the time to mow the yard or pick up their trash in it.

As far as owning land, I honestly don't believe we do. The government can take what they want for roads, development, etc. Also you pay land tax (rent) which if you don't pay they take your house (evict you).

[Mamaw]

I live in a community with certain restrictions one of them being how high the grass grows. Because I am handicapped I pay a grandson to mow. But we try to stretch the days. It is realy the crabgrass that makes it look worse than it is.