My Rotary Push Mower And Cow Grass

Toxic Air

When using a petrol powered lawn mowers, aren't we breathing in all the toxic fumes while mowing the lawn? That's the exact thought that I had one day about 10 years ago. Fearing for my wellbeing, I stopped using it altogether after that. Instead I started trimming my front lawn with tools that I had with my hands. A garden shears initially, then with a long blade after the shears got misaligned due to repeated use (more like abuse) by me. Hardwork most definitely, not to mention my aching back. Neighbours and passers-by must think I am mad too!

Falcon Rotary Reel Mower

Well, I am not getting any younger as the days roll on. Age is catching up. So this year I got about thinking of getting myself a rotary push reel mower. But will it work at my front lawn? Will it mow cow grass? Now that is the big question.

There's only one way to find out: go get one push rotary reel cylinder mower myself and try it out; and if it doesn't work get creative.

And that's exactly what I did this year in June 2018.

A big thank you to Lazada Malaysia for having their "2018 Hari Raya Sale" then as I managed to get my mower at a very good discounted price of RM346.50 (can't remember the exact non-discounted figure but I think it was something like 400 odd Ringgit then). The brand name of this mower - Falcon. And it came in a big box (picture above).

Warning : some assembly required (it comes with and instruction booklet, by the way). But it was not much of a problem for me. It's just a matter of assembling the handle and then slipping it into the stub on the mower's body (see picture below). Likewise with the plastic grass catcher bin (which I do not use).

Not sure where the mower is made though. None is written on the box, nor on the mower itself. But irrespective, the mower is well built and sturdy, even after 6 months of use.

Will it work?

So the big question: Will a human-powered rotary push reel mower cut cow grass? My verdict: Yes and No.

• Yes, if the lawn have soft succulent leafs at something like 2" in length or less.

• No, If the grass is fibrous and overgrown.

My solution to the latter: whack it with a long blade if you have the time and muscle, or employ a freelance gardener with a motorised mower to trim it down to size first and mow the lawn yourself about a week or two later with the push mower.

Regular Mowing

Now to have soft succulent cow grass leaves means having me to mow the front lawn something like every 2 weeks or so. I got lazy one month not too long ago and mowed the lawn some 25 days after my last. The outcome: certain sections of my lawn was impossible to cut. So out came my long blade again and whack, whack, whack.

And by the way, the blades are no scalpel sharp. I tried cutting a piece of paper with my mower like what I could see on some Youtube videos but I was never successful. But still, I can get my lawn trimmed.

Conclusion

I am quite happy with my purchase of this Falcon push reel rotary mower. Maintenance is minimal compared to what I had previously, a petrol powered lawn mower. The only maintenance that I do now is to adjust the gap of the cutting blades and to clean and wipe the body of the mower with some engine oil after use to prevent rust. Some oil too on the moving parts from time-to-time.

A far cry from what I had to do with my motorised mower. So, no more engine oil, spark plug or air filter change. And no more broken prime buttons or broken pull cord to replace. And no more breathing in toxic carbon monoxide gases. Now that's green living!