Need help from all you PNW natives!!

starkiller

I would like to start taking care of our own yard work. Been having a lawn service taking care of it because:

1. Postage stamp size front yard..no grass in back yard so nothing done there. Did not want to buy the lawn mower/edger/fertilizer etc...just for a front yard.

2. One car garage with barely enough room for the one car..no roof for lawn stuff.


However, at $100 a month, for about a total of 1hr per month, tis too expensive. So, keeping a lawn mower and edger etc...stored is a big problem. Maximum of 5ft per side of house does not leave enough room for a shed that a mower will fit in. Can I just use a heavy blue tarp on top and use a piece of plywood for the base for the mower etc....??

Thoughts...tips....ideas..??

gdb

Buy the electric mower in the link and hang it from hooks on your garage wall when not in use.

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-LM175-18-Inch-Electric/dp/B00005AKZE/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1340747516&sr=1-1&keywords=electric+lawnmower

Edit: I had to post a review from Amazon !
"Your neighbors might make fun of you because you and your wife mow the grass together now - one of you pushes and the other one wrangles the extension cord. They'll ridicule you endlessly for being able to have an actual conversation with her over the low drone of this plastic (gasp) mower. Wave at them and know you are simply a being of superior intelligence who has no time for their guffaws."

cnh

If you have so little land why not a motorless push mower (200 or less), and a cheap nylon wire edger (24.95).

Something like this:

http://reviews.homedepot.com/1999/100019892/20-in-classic-reel-mower-reviews/reviews.htm

takes up almost no space!

cnh

BlueFox

gdb wrote: »

Buy the electric mower in the link and hang it from hooks on your garage wall when not in use.

A couple of years ago I bought an electric hedge trimmer. First time I used it I managed to cut the power code into two pieces. :rolleyes:

$100 a month sounds really high for what you describe. Aren't there any illegal immigrant yard service companies around? We have hundreds, if not thousands, here. Competition keeps the price down.

kcoc321

I bought a cordless battery powered lawn mower last year on CL for $100.
Came with 2 batteries and all the attachments, which included a string trimmer attachment.
it is a Newtron, I think

Our yard is bigger than your, but I love it.
No gas and noise and it would easily hang on the wall.

zingo

I was going to suggest push powered as well. They are real small, no much to break, and can be hung in the garage.

What if you and a neighbor split the cost of a lawn care company? Do you have any neighbor kids who you can pay to do it?

starkiller

Hanging on the wall will not work, there is no room, thus my comment about using a nice big heavy blue tarp. Most of the neighbours have two-car garages and do their own lawns. There are kids around but if I am going to pay i want it done "right", so would prefer to blame myself if something would get screwed up

mrbiron

If it's as small as your describing, why not just hardscape and flower bed the entire d@mn thing.
Then all you need is a small bucket in the corner of your garage with a spade, knee pads, and plant food.

starkiller

Covenants prevent that, must have lawn in the front...

mrbiron

Welcome Mats....they look like lawn, don't grow, and if your watch woot.com hard enough, maybe they will have a ridiculous deal on a thousand of them.

Mow it with a cordless weed-whacker.

starkiller

I was thinking of astro-turf:eek:

hochpt21

Get a "reel-style" mower as some have suggested. Not much bigger than a push broom. If you don't have room for that I don't know what to tell ya. I personally wouldn't keep any lawn equipment outside even with a tarp on it.

evhudsons

I have a reel mower too, works great, and it's kind of cool. Plus you get more sweaty bragging rights with the wife because you had to push the mower rather than letting the mower do the work. It sounds like you are doing more work than you really are doing with a reel mower.

gdb

The problem with the reel type mowers nowadays is that no one knows how to sharpen/adjust them anymore. (IMO) The electric mower that I linked is approx. the size of an upright vacuum cleaner and can live it's off-service hours comfortably inside the home. How hard is that ?

evhudsons

The electric can take up valuable space still even inside. I have my pushmower outside, and I lean it up out of the way, like my rake. The adjustment is easy, and sharpening is a once every five years or so task, and even then it's most likely not really needed. It's cordless, and uses no gas.

jephdood

We were at the spring fair this year, and the artificial lawns are VERY realistic now. Wouldn't cost much for such a small area to do. We actually considered it, but we've got a rather large grass-covered area in our yard. Would just be nice as hell not to mow and fight weeds and moss all the time.

evhudsons

I spend about an hour or two a week pulling out dead palm fronds and bannana leaves. I can't complain, as I'm sure lots of folks would love to have the life leading to those chores.

I'm going home to adjust my mower blades as this thread has reminded me they haven't been done for a while.

Better

I would find a neighborhood kid that mows and offer him 10 bucks a week and only mow it every 2 weeks(lowest setting on mower). 20 bucks a month no work involved and putting money back into your neighborhood is good too, just my take hope it helps ty

evhudsons

That's a brilliant idea! Now where to get an honest, hard working kid for that price, hmmm....that might be a toughie.

Drenis

What I think you should do is make a add on the local craigslist asking for your lawn to be cut once a week for $10-15. You'll have some one hired in no time.

Jetmaker737

Blue tarp roofs are problematic when it snows. You'll need a steep pitch to it and add lots of additional grommets for tie downs. I've learned this from experience when I had a tiny yard and no garage for my motorcycle. I had an electric mower and loved it. Also had a reel mower and hated the hell out of it. Never cut the grass cleanly... left bits sticking up all over even when cross-cut, and as was stated above nobody knows how to adjust/sharpen. If you have covenants then a blue tarp visible from street or neighbors may not be allowed.

tonyb

Better wrote: »

I would find a neighborhood kid that mows and offer him 10 bucks a week and only mow it every 2 weeks(lowest setting on mower). 20 bucks a month no work involved and putting money back into your neighborhood is good too, just my take hope it helps ty

On the surface, great idea....if it were 1988. You can't get a kid to get out of bed these days for 10 bucks.

See who's cutting your neighbors grass. Maybe someone within a few houses to either side of you will cut it. Could also be a senior in need of some coin,who knows.

On the other hand, you did say you wanted to take care of the lawn. 5 FT on one side is more than enough for a small storage shed like a rubbermaid, that you can store an electric mower in. Or even behind the house.

gdb

Hey !!! You could always cut that grass like Ringo did once, with a couple of sets of wind-up chattering teeth ! (Candy-1968)

Systems

Postage stamp size front yard..no grass in back yard so nothing done there. Did not want to buy the lawn mower/edger/fertilizer etc...just for a front yard.

Get a weed eater.
Sounds like thats all you need.

gudnoyez

Barley enough room for 1 car, but you can just squeeze in that garage rig you got, and a nice one at that. I guess good music is more important than a lawn mower. I would get a non motorized push mower and hang it in the rafters, just not above the garage rig. Some of those push mowers can be a little pricey.

txcoastal1

gudnoyez wrote: »

Barley enough room for 1 car, but you can just squeeze in that garage rig you got, and a nice one at that. I guess good music is more important than a lawn mower. I would get a non motorized push mower and hang it in the rafters, just not above the garage rig. Some of those push mowers can be a little pricey.

Great idea

http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/mower_compare.htm

zingo

Drenis wrote: »

What I think you should do is make a add on the local craigslist asking for your lawn to be cut once a week for $10-15. You'll have some one hired in no time.

Good idea.

markmarc

Look for a kid in the neighborhood mowing his own yard. Spot him $5-10 a week to mow. I made money that way every summer as a kid.

starkiller

Updates and clarifications..

I want to do my own yard, so parceling it out to someone else is not an option

Really no snow here to mess up the tarp, just a little bit of rain

No rafters in garage, no place to hang mower..and yep, tunes more important then cuts, said rig is in the very front of the garage, just have enough room for the car to pull in and park.

The Rubbermaid might be the answer so will be going to Home depot and they can schlep one of their electric mowers out to the shed to see if one will fit folded up.

I made an error in stating the side yards are 5ft wide, they are just about 4ft 5"...TONS of room I know!

mrbiron

I made an error in stating the side yards are 5ft wide, they are just about 4ft 5"...TONS of room I know!

Might i suggest scissors or a scythe?? I'd go scythe. Halloween prop / lawn maintenance. Dual purpose!!

or...

That's not even enough grass to worry about. I say let nature take it's course.

kcoc321

What about some Japanese golf green grass?
I think they have some that only grow "x" inches high and then stops..
that would be Cool... not cutting....

Or some kind of ornamental... depending on what the covanants say...
(damn commies anyway..LOL )