Tools of the Trade: The Lawnmower
Using the right kind of lawnmower for your garden is essential in keeping a healthy lawn. Cut it too low and you starve the roots, leave it too long and weeds can encroach.
The best way to create a healthy lawn, even in Naples, is to mow frequently but not cut it too low. By cutting regularly excessive leaf growth is reduced while not allowing weeds and the coarser grass a chance to grow. The best lawnmower for your needs is one that is big enough to keep the lawn under control and small enough to be manoeuvred easily. Budget is a factor in any purchase, but there are lawnmowers of each type available for a variety of budgets nowadays.
The most popular type of domestic lawnmower is the rotary type. They are easy to use and can cut quite quickly which is why it’s so popular. They can also cope with wet grass, and the first winter cut when the grass may be longer. They come in two flavours, electric or petrol. The petrol version is more powerful and has no leads to run over, but is mainly suitable for larger lawns. The electric version is lighter and ideal for the smaller lawn.
The hover type mower is ideal for older gardeners as it is light and easy to use. Most of the weight of the device is supported by the air cushion it creates when switched on. They perform similarly to the rotary mower and come in the same petrol and electric varieties.
Manual lawn mowers are very cheap to buy and maintain but are much harder work to use. They are ideal if you don’t want to use petrol or electric. They are cylinder mowers which do give a good cut, but all of the momentum and energy needed to do the cutting comes from you. These are really only suitable for very small lawns.
The cylinder mower gives the best cut to any lawn. They come in the manual as described above, petrol and electric types. Petrol rotary’s are the most powerful but all will give a great cut. These mowers will give your lawn the traditional striped look if you wanted one.
Although they are the best, rotary mowers are also the most expensive. There are a couple of other choices to be made here too. The size of the cylinder should be scaled to the size of lawn. The average lawn in Naples would need a 16 inch cylinder with at least 8 blades to give a good finish. Larger versions are available but they mower becomes less manoeuvrable when you increase the cylinder size. Anything bigger than the 16inch would only really be suitable for exceptionally large lawns.
Sowing a new lawn
Early autumn is the ideal time to sow a new lawn while the soil is still warm but a bit damp. You can buy seed mixes which are tailored to suit different types of garden. There are ones for drought, shade or any kind of lawn. I use them all the time doing lawn and yard maintenance and can thoroughly recommend them!
Prepare the soil by removing stones and weeds and roughly leveling it. Clean it up the best you can then rake it. Firm the soil up by walking over it, then rake it again. A couple of days before you want to seed add a granular fertilizer to give your lawn a good start.
Mark your area out in to meter squares using canes and string. Then shake the seed box to mix it all up. Weight out your seed mix so you have approximately 50g per square meter of ground. If the type of seed mix you have says something different then go with that.
Split your meters worth of seed in two and scatter half in one direction, then take the other half and scatter in the opposite direction. Then lightly rake the area over and water. This will give your lawn the most even finish.
It’s important not to let the area dry out until the grass is well established. Seeds are very susceptible to drought so keep an eye out for the weather. If you find birds eating your seeds then you can spread netting over the area to protect it. This will also stop any curious cats or other animals from walking all over your newly sprouted lawn.
Once the lawn is at least 2″ high you can begin mowing it.