How can you make your own lawn roller/striper for push mower?

baseball5

Has anyone made this before and do you have any ideas or tips? I can only find information on the web for making it for a riding mower. Thanks

Answer
Here's some basic rules to follow when you make one. You want to make one that rolls not one that you drag behind. You'll end up dragging the cut grass. It will need enough weight to bend the grass. It will need to be as wide as your mower's blades. Attach the roller to your mower's arms at the lowest point just above the deck with metal or wood bars, not chains. It could roll into the blades that way when you have to back up. your mower will have to have a bagger or mulching blades with the side covered. Throwing cut grass over the area you just rolled will loose it's look.

3" Schedual 40 PVC pipe filled with concrete with a 1/4" steel screw bar set in the center is a good way. 3" steel pipe thats 1/4" thick is also a good roller.

How to stripe your lawn with a push mower.?

Seth F

I know you can buy rollers for riders, is there such thing as a roller for a push mower. Or are there any other accesories out there to stripe your lawn with. Where can you buy them and how much do they cost? Thank you very much!
I found out a ghetto way to stripe your lawn. Tape two 5lb. weights on the back of your mower. I tried it today and the result was great. My lawn looks great, exactly what i want. Thanks for all the Suggestions.

Answer
The roller is the key to a good striped lawn mowing in different directions alone will only achieve an inferior and temporary effect. the use of what we call no8 wire mentality ie make up a roller with say a round post and cut it to the width of your mower,find a way of attaching it to the rear and weigh it down. If it is really that important and not for a one time showoff effect then my personal philosophy would be buy the proper reel mower you can get push models on the net.Good luck

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how should i care for my lawn when spring arrives?

best lawn mower with roller image

Pierre T

hi all,

i moved into a newly built house last year with the sod laid down on june of last year. as a new home owner i was unaware of the maintenance required by achieving a lush green lawn. i did not fertilize the lawn last year which i think i should have in the fall??? living in canada, the snow is all melted and now there tons of dead grass built up. i removed the dead grass carefully with a rake. some spots are green but i'd say 80% of my small lawn is brown. not sure what the grass breed is but i don't think its anything fancy like blue grass, probably good enough for the builder to be able to save money.

can anyone give me recommendations as to how i can achieve a nice green lawn?
do i water first to moisten soil?
do i water, aerate and fertilize or vice versa?
what kind of fertilizer numbers or brand would be recommended for my situation?

much thanks all!!! =D

Answer
I would be a little careful about aerating, certainly using a machine to do it, because your sod may not have settled, your grass may not have rooted, and aeration may just dig up too much ground (also, beware of companies that do this -- some create disasters).

If I were you, I would scrap off any dead grass and other debris -- which you have done -- and sprinkle the lawn with sheep manure, top soil, compost, or a combination of any two or the three. If necessary, use your mixture to fill any holes, dents or seam lines in the lawn. Water if you like, or just wait for a good rain. After a good watering, or a good rain -- but being sure a heavy rain is not forecast -- sow your grass seed. You can do this by hand -- there is no need for fancy equipment. After this, if you do not get rain in a couple days, water lightly, and do that regularly.

There is really not a great need for fertilizer -- if you sow grass seed regularly and water regularly, your lawn will be fine. Also, in place of fertilizer, sprinkle your lawn with a good manure or a compost twice a year. In a year consider using a roller after a good rain or watering, to level the ground.

Of course, if your builder's landscaper did a really bad job, you may need to consider a serious re-seeding, or laying of new sod, and/or a serious fertilizing.

Your lawn does sound in worse condition that long established ones like mine. I have a nice green lawn right now, and have had to mow and clip several times already. Still, give it time, your grass is new, and not fully established. Again, if you do not get a decent amount of rain, be sure to water, as well as doing all of the above, and you should be fine.

Take a good look at your lawn regularly, and it will tell you what it needs. To be sure that the sod has well and truly taken, make sure that there are no seams, and certainly no browning at the seams. If there are bald patches, you need to scrape and do a spot aeration with a rake, and then sprinkle with some soil/compost and seed the area, and keep it watered for several days. If the lawn is doing badly over-all you may need to take a serious corrective step.

Oh, one more thing: if the lawn is healthy enough, mow it regularly, so that the grass clippings can be mulched back into the lawn (as opposed to having to be collected). Grass is like any other plant -- reducing growth above ground encourages growth below ground, and that is what you want. If the lawn cannot tolerate having a power mower running over it, then get a push mower.

Good luck.

how do i get the "chess board" look on my lawn?

EpicRacer

i have a big, green, full yard. normally i cut it parallel to the road and go back and forth and it looks nice. for special occasions, i use the push mower and cut perpendicular to the travel of the sun to get the lines to show better. if i do this, then cut it again at a perpendicular angle, will i get the chess board effect? or will the line just end up running in the other direction?

just tell me what pattern to mow to get the nicest looking yard.

Answer
They use special mowers at the ball parks. They have rollers on the back that push the grass over after it is cut. It gives it that cherboard look. I don't know if you can get an attachemnt for a regular home mower.

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what are some cheap putting green lawn mowers?

best lawn mower with roller image

soCleen

im planning to build a putting green in my backyard this spring. Im going to use bent grass, and I need a mower. definitely looking to spend under 300$ for the mower.

Answer
Because it needs mowing everyday at 250 mm (3/16) you will need a greens mower with a heavy steel drum roller and grass catcher. It's a very expensive mower. Start calling golf courses to see if any have used ones for sale. Also call John Deere and Toro for refurbished lease greens mowers.

How do I get my lawn greener?

Katie

I inherited a home from a relative who passed earlier this year. The lawn has always been green but its steadily getting more and more brown this summer. I water nearly every night and keep it mowed regularly. Am I not watering enough? Do I need a fertilizer? Please help! I have a black thumb and this could only happen to me!!

Answer
First, let me say that I am a HUGE Jerry Baker fan..from WAY BACK in the "olden days". My favorite book of his is one I got in 1988 called "The Impatient Gardener", and he recommends some things that some people think are not "good for the environment", but if you look at the natural chemistry of things, there's really nothing that will hurt it! And when you take into consideration that what he suggests generally is very inexpensive and gets GREAT results, who can argue with that?!?

Start with easy--and maybe obvious--things first. Do you know what type of grass this is? If it's Bermuda and wasn't kept watered through the winter, you may be in trouble. However, if it's St. Augustine, it may just be choking itself out. (St. Augustine is used a lot in the south because it can withstand the heat and drought, and it can go dormant for a LONG time!) Ask some of the neighbors if the know what kind of grass it is. If they don't know, you may have to go to a nursery to find out. If you're watering every night, it may be getting too much water!! Water it "deep" about every 3-4 days at the most. If you set out some tuna cans (the shallow ones) and water until they're full, you will be giving your lawn enough water, and the water will soak into the soil deeper and encourage deep root growth.

Until you find out for certain what type of grass it is, there are some things that you can do to help the lawn--or at least it won't hurt it any. If the lawn has been mowed in a manner that "thatched" the grass (chopped it up really fine so it goes to the soil to decompose and "self fertilize") you may have too much thatch and that could be "choking" the lawn. There are "dethatching" hand rakes or blades you can get for your lawn mower that will help pull up all the thatch. If you don't want to go to that expense--and don't mind some manual labor--you can use a regular rake and get quite a bit of it up. When you do, DON'T throw it away!! Start a compost pile with it, and any other grass clippings, leaves, other plant matter, and even "kitchen waste" such as vegetable peels. (If you want, we can get more into composting later. I'm a huge fan of composting!)

Another thing that may be happening is that the soil is compacted and water is having a problem getting through the surface of the soil down to the roots. There are aerators you can rent or buy (it's a big roller with spikes that you put some water into to weigh it down, and the spikes poke holes in the ground) OR if you have some golf shoes, you can use those and just walk all over the lawn to poke holes in them. You could also do what I've done on several lawns--get a pitch fork (probably around $20) and casually walk around the yard dropping it into the soil. You don't have to go very deep, just enough to break up the surface. I did one backyard over the course of 3-5 days while my toddlers were playing in the yard. I just made sure they weren't anywhere near the pitchfork when I was poking holes! LOL Remember, you don't have to dig up the yard, just get some holes into the soil.

Another thing that will help with water penetration into the soil (and this is going to sound really strange) is to "wash" the grass! Invest in a hose-end sprayer (about $10-15, and one of the most useful garden tools you'll ever get) put some cheap, cheap, cheap dish washing soap (liquid) in it and attach it to your garden hose, then spray the whole lawn. Plants "breathe" (aspirate) through their leaves, and a blade of grass is that plants "leaf"! Between natural dirt and pollen, as well as human created air pollution that falls onto the grass, it may not be able to breathe!! Besides washing the dirt off the blades of grass, the dish soap also helps the water to soak into the soil more efficiently.

Those are basic things you can do to get started. If you have a used book store, see if you can get a copy of "The Impatient Gardener" by Jerry Baker. I did what he suggested without questioning it or thinking about it--and some of my friends and family members laughed at me...AT FIRST!! But once they saw the results I got, they all wanted to know what I was doing because the results are FABULOUS!!

Good luck!!

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How can you make your own lawn roller/striper for push mower?

best lawn mower with roller image

baseball5

Has anyone made this before and do you have any ideas or tips? I can only find information on the web for making it for a riding mower. Thanks

Answer
Here's some basic rules to follow when you make one. You want to make one that rolls not one that you drag behind. You'll end up dragging the cut grass. It will need enough weight to bend the grass. It will need to be as wide as your mower's blades. Attach the roller to your mower's arms at the lowest point just above the deck with metal or wood bars, not chains. It could roll into the blades that way when you have to back up. your mower will have to have a bagger or mulching blades with the side covered. Throwing cut grass over the area you just rolled will loose it's look.

3" Schedual 40 PVC pipe filled with concrete with a 1/4" steel screw bar set in the center is a good way. 3" steel pipe thats 1/4" thick is also a good roller.

I have Bermuda grass and a front roller mower, how can I make my grass putting grass (really short)?

Jose

I want to have a putting green effect on my lawn. Thanks!

Answer
Gradually lower the mowing height of the mower. Mow every morning when you reach the desired height. Usually 225mm. Regular rolling with a heavy duty roller, Verticutting and top dressing two times a year. It's alot of work to keep a putting green.

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How can you make your own lawn roller/striper for push mower?

best lawn mower with roller image

baseball5

Has anyone made this before and do you have any ideas or tips? I can only find information on the web for making it for a riding mower. Thanks

Answer
Here's some basic rules to follow when you make one. You want to make one that rolls not one that you drag behind. You'll end up dragging the cut grass. It will need enough weight to bend the grass. It will need to be as wide as your mower's blades. Attach the roller to your mower's arms at the lowest point just above the deck with metal or wood bars, not chains. It could roll into the blades that way when you have to back up. your mower will have to have a bagger or mulching blades with the side covered. Throwing cut grass over the area you just rolled will loose it's look.

3" Schedual 40 PVC pipe filled with concrete with a 1/4" steel screw bar set in the center is a good way. 3" steel pipe thats 1/4" thick is also a good roller.

I have Bermuda grass and a front roller mower, how can I make my grass putting grass (really short)?

Jose

I want to have a putting green effect on my lawn. Thanks!

Answer
Gradually lower the mowing height of the mower. Mow every morning when you reach the desired height. Usually 225mm. Regular rolling with a heavy duty roller, Verticutting and top dressing two times a year. It's alot of work to keep a putting green.

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how to replace torsion springs on craftsman mower deck?

best lawn mower with roller image

LoriNJess

I have a model 917.252530 craftsman riding lawn mower. I bought the deck cam roller kit for a 42" deck the kit is no.151785. It does not show how to replace these springs. I have looked all over the internet inc. sears web site and cannot find a picture that you can see! Can you help?

Answer
I looked at my sear's tractor and it doesn't have the same springs. I went to the sears parts site and the photo of the deck there is iffy at best. You couldn't even tell if both sides used the same type of spring. I know the springs on my deck don't provide a lot of tension on the brake arms but I couldn't find a good diagram either. I am lucky here because I have a local shop that would show me how they go. Hope you get it figured out. Sorry I couldn't help.

what are some cheap putting green lawn mowers?

soCleen

im planning to build a putting green in my backyard this spring. Im going to use bent grass, and I need a mower. definitely looking to spend under 300$ for the mower.

Answer
Because it needs mowing everyday at 250 mm (3/16) you will need a greens mower with a heavy steel drum roller and grass catcher. It's a very expensive mower. Start calling golf courses to see if any have used ones for sale. Also call John Deere and Toro for refurbished lease greens mowers.

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