Brill Luxus 38 reel hand mower

Weighs 17 pounds. Cuts a 38 cm wide path, or 15 1/2 inches. Five blades. Silent cut blade design. Powder coat paint. Plastic wheels. 7 to 10 year sharpening interval. More information about this reel lawnmower.

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Brill Luxus 33 reel hand mower

Weighs 16 pounds. Cuts a 33 cm wide path, or 14 inches. Five blades. Silent cut blade design. Powder coat paint. Plastic wheels. 7 to 10 year sharpening interval. Almost identical to the more popular Luxus 38, except slightly smaller. More information about this reel mower.

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Brill Luxus 38 reel lawn mower with grasscatcher

Weighs 17 pounds. Cuts a 38 cm wide path, or 15 1/2 inches. Five blades. Silent cut blade design. Powder coat paint. Plastic wheels. 7 to 10 year sharpening interval. Catcher is the same for all Brill reel mower models. Attaches to the back of the mower. More information about this reel lawnmower.

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Brill ASM 380 cordless electric reel lawn mower

Weighs 29 pounds. Cuts a 38 cm wide path, or 15 1/2 inches. Five blades. Silent cut blade design. Powder coat paint. Plastic wheels. 7 to 10 year sharpening interval. 24V NiCad rechargeable battery included. Battery lasts up to 40 minutes per charge. Catcher is the same for all Brill reel mower models. Attaches to the back of the mower. More information about this electric reel lawnmower.

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Brill grasscatcher

Attaches to the back of all Brill reel mower models.

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Scotts Classic manual push reel lawn mower

Weighs 30 pounds. Cuts an extra wide 20 inch path. Five blades. Approximately two years between sharpenings, and you can sharpen it yourself with a do-it-yourself kit. Super tall 3 inch maximum cut and 1 inch minimum cut. Plastic wheels with rubberized tires. More information about this reel mower.

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Scotts Classic manual push reel lawn mower

Weighs 30 pounds. Cuts an extra wide 20 inch path. Five blades. Approximately two years between sharpenings, and you can sharpen it yourself with a do-it-yourself kit. Super tall 3 inch maximum cut and 1 inch minimum cut. Plastic wheels with rubberized tires. This package deal comes with a grasscatcher and sharpening kit. More information about this reel mower.

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Great States / American Lawnmower / Scotts Classic reel mower grasscatcher

American Lawnmower makes a single grasscatcher that is designed to fit all of their reel mower models, including the Scotts Classic.

Buy this reel mower grasscatcher.

Great States / American Lawnmower / Scotts Classic reel mower sharpening kit

American Lawnmower makes a single sharpening kit that is designed to sharpen all of their reel mower models, including the Scotts Classic. The kit includes sharpening compound, applicator brush, crank handle and complete instructions.

Buy this reel mower sharpening kit.

Great States 7 bladed bentgrass reel mower

Designed to cut low-growing, creeping grasses, although the various Brill models also do well with cutting low. Cutting Width 16". Wheel Height Adjustable in 3 positions. Cutting Height ½" to 2¼" with Adjustable 7-Section Roller. Shipping Weight: 27lbs. More information about this reel mower.

Great States Full Feature standard reel mower

This is one of the cheaper Great States mower models, but not the cheapest. 10" Diameter Tires with cast iron wheels and pinions. Five blades. Cutting Width 16". Wheel Height Adjustable in 3 positions. Cutting Height ½" to 2¼" with Adjustable 4-Section Roller. Shipping Weight: 32lbs. More information about this reel mower.

Great States Deluxe Light reel mower

This is a higher end Great States model, but smaller than the Scotts Classic. It is also sold under the Sears Craftsman brand name. Tempered Alloy Steel Reel and Bed Knife Blade. Five blades. Cutting Width 16" or 18", depending on the model. Wheel Height Adjustable in 3 positions. Cutting Height ½" to 2½" with Adjustable 7-Section Roller. Shipping Weight: 25 lbs or 27 lbs. More information about this reel mower.

Agri-Fab 18 inch reel mower

Also sold under the Sears Craftsman brand name. Frame: 12 ga steel. Reel: 6 austempered heat-treated blades Roller: adj. single piece poly. Wheels: 9"x1.75". Height Adj.: approx. .5" to 2.25" Shipping Wt.: 40 lbs. This is a very heavy reel mower, which can make it challenging to push. More information about this reel mower.

Agri-Fab 16 inch reel mower, shown with catcher

Also sold under the Sears Craftsman brand name. Frame: 12 ga steel. Reel: 6 austempered heat-treated blades Roller: adj. single piece poly. Wheels: 9"x1.75". Height Adj.: approx. .5" to 2.25" Shipping Wt.: 38 lbs. This is a very heavy reel mower, which can make it challenging to push. More information about this reel mower.

Reel-type lawn mowers use blades on a revolving cylinder, called a reel, to cut grass. When the reel mower is pushed forward, the reel moves.

As the mower moves forward, the rotating blades come in sliding contact (or almost within contact if it is a silent cut design) with a stationary bar that is parallel to the ground. The stationary bar is called a bed knife. The grass is held up by the bed knife and is cut by the shearing action of the reel blades against the bed knife. The mower can be adjusted to various cutting heights.

Reel mowers can cut lawns shorter than rotary types because of their shearing action. That is why they are used on golf courses. The sheering action of reel mowers makes a cleaner cut than that of rotary mowers. Reel mowers also leave finer grass clippings than ordinary rotary mowers, but not quite as fine as mulching rotary mowers.

I am a firm believer in reel mowers. If you'd like more details about choosing and using one, please visit the comprehensive Reel Mower Guide site.

Regardless of the condition of your lawn, you will be better off to think ‘organic lawn’. There has been a lot of publicity about the damage that chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides do to the environment. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been enough publicity about why plants, including lawns, are healthier and more disease resistant without man-made chemicals. If you have been brought up with a typical chemical lawn and garden mentality, you may think this idea preposterous. It is not. Understanding how grass actually grows may surprise you. For more information, look at Organic Lawn Care Tips.

Even if your lawn has been doused with chemicals for years, you can convert it into an organic lawn. Some basic practices of organic lawns are still good advice for improving the health of any lawn even if you also use chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

I am a fan of organic solutions, but I also recognize that some people prefer chemically treated lawns and gardens. If you do use a chemical fertilizer or pesticide in your yard, please make sure to carefully follow the directions and avoid overuse, which can do serious harm to your lawn.

Here are some tips that will improve any lawn.

1. Water less frequently, but deeply. Most experts agree that an inch of water once a week is about right for most lawns. This will vary with climate, soil composition, and time of year. To find the best watering cycle for your lawn, distribute several cans or other containers around your lawn and water the lawn. When the containers have one inch of water, turn off the water. Note how long it took to fill the containers to the one-inch mark. Now you know how long to water. You also know which areas don’t get as much water and may need a sprinkler adjustment or change. It is time to water again when the lawn soil surface is dry to the touch. This insures that roots will grow deep. Exactly how deep the roots grow depends on the soil and type of grass. Here is more information on how much to water your grass.

2. Cut your grass to its recommended cutting height. Some people recommend setting your lawnmower to the highest setting, but I do not agree with this method. Different types of grasses have different cutting height requirements, so it is best to stay within the cutting range recommended for your type of grass. You can look up recommended cutting heights here.

3. Aerate your lawn. If you aren’t familiar with lawn aeration, it is simply poking holes in the lawn. This is done with a machine that pulls little round pieces of soil, called plugs, out of the lawn. These plugs are deposited on top of the lawn. Although unsightly, they break down and disappear in a couple of weeks. Aeration allows water, air, and nutrients into the soil and prevents soil compaction. Your lawn should be aerated about once a year.

Aerating tool from Clean Air Gardening.

4. Leave lawn clippings on the lawn. Your lawn needs the organic material they supply. Because the grass clippings will be pulled into the soil and decomposed by soil organisms, you will need much less fertilizer. The best kind of mower for this job is a mulching or reel lawn mower because they both leave finer clippings than regular rotary mowers. We’ll talk more about this in the lawnmower section. It is a myth that grass clippings cause thatch. However, if you already have thatch, you'll want to collect your clippings until you have solved the problem because clippings can make it worse.

5. The best fertilizer for your lawn is an organic fertilizer with a ration of approximately N-P-K: 3-1-2 (3 % nitrogen, 1% phosphorous, and 2% potassium). Follow directions when applying any kind of fertilizer. As an alternative, organic fish emulsion or compost tea will be a healthy treat for your lawn because they both add live microforms to your soil. You can find fish emulsion at your local gardening center, but may have to purchase compost tea on the Internet or make your own. Compost tea is water that has been soaked in compost.

For more information about organic lawn care, check Organiclawncaretips.com.