DIY & Home Improvement
Related: About this forumMowing and lawn mower question
Those of you with lawn care and mowing experience, please advise on the following situation: Later this month, I'll be starting a lawn on a flat ~3/4 acre--composed of several smaller areas, some with tight corners and turns--with bermudagrass seed. The idea is to establish the lawn in time to put the house on the market this fall. Location is SW AZ.
What would be the best way to mow for the ~6 months until I move? I've never done lawn care. If I do it, I'll need to get a mower or mowers, including a riding mower because the area is too big to use a walk-behind.
Options I can think of are:
1. Hire a lawn care service. The problem is that good service providers are scarce around here (reliability and competency issues). I want to make sure it's done right so that it looks as good as possible when the house goes on the market. Anyone who's good probably is already booked up. Also, because of the size of the area + the multiple corners, turns, etc. the cost of someone good will probably in 6 months exceed the cost of buying a mower.
2. Buy a used recent model big-box store type riding mower. However, there aren't many for sale around here, I'm not experienced at checking for mechanical issues, and if anything significant goes wrong with it, I would have to take it to a mechanic, and the options there are not good. The local mower repair shop won't work on riding mowers. There is an auto and tractor mechanic who might work on it, but probably the turnaround time would be long, I would have to pay to have it towed both ways (at least $300), and I would be unable to mow while it's in the shop.
3. Buy the least expensive new riding mower. The lowest price would be at least $2,000 for a low-quality imported mower from one of the local big box stores. Resale value around here would not be great--even with only 6 months' use, I'd be lucky to get a third of the purchase price. Not worth taking overseas. The advantage would be that presumably it would work well right out of the box and not have to be repaired while I use it.
4. Try to mow with my vintage Case 648 tractor (18 hp, ~1,000 lbs). I'd have to get the mower deck repaired (came with the tractor but I've never used it) and the problem is that even though this is a small tractor, it has a front end loader and is not very maneuverable. If I hit the property's perimeter block wall only once, the cost to fix that would exceed any savings from not buying a riding mower. I've been advised by several people in online tractor groups to not use this tractor for mowing.
5. Buy a classic garden tractor with a mower deck and take it with me when I move. This would be an e.g. Wheel Horse or John Deere from back when they were made in the U.S.A. and were durable, tough machines that were made primarily for mowing lawns and can be readily repaired. Ones in good condition sell for ~$1,000 and up with mower decks; with transport costs I could get it here for ~$2,000-3,000, and I'd have it delivered to the tractor mechanic for a thorough going-over before bringing it to my property, so it should work well for the next 6 months. The benefits are that they are worth repairing, keep their value, and can do other jobs in the garden--towing carts, dragging small harrows, etc. Wheel Horse was once a popular brand near where I'm moving so probably feasible to get repairs done in future.
Thanks for any help figuring out what to do.
Kali
(55,740 posts)bermuda will do fine in the heat but if you don't have it there already why start? lay some landscape fabric and get a few loads of gravel, a few heat hardy bushes/trees. I can't imagine starting a big lawn project in Yuma at this time of year. too hot outside!
other than purposely adding a hard to get rid of, water intensive grass instead of easy care gravel or other cover it sounds like you are leaning to number 5, and that sounds best to me too.
Journeyman
(15,147 posts)It's a fookin' drought throughout the Southwest these days. Look for ways to not use water. Any prospective buyer will appreciate this far above a thirsty lawn. Especially in SW Arizona.
SheltieLover
(59,617 posts)Bobstandard
(1,661 posts)It could be you have your own well in an aquifer that isnt under stress. If so , go for it. If not, if you rely on municipal water just about anywhere in AZ, planting a new lawn seems wrong. They squander water and the mower you use, if not electric, will pollute more than youd imagine. Im happy to be corrected on any of this
A better idea is that if you have to do lawn at all, plant a small one then develop the land around it with sparse plantings of drought tolerant natives. Pampered foreground, semi wild middle ground, wild background is a great motif.
PS. Having had a larger lawn on a riverside property in an area without water stresses I can say with some authority, a big lawn is a pain in the ass no matter how you do it.
Triloon
(506 posts)that the west is still in the worst drought in 1200 years and that lake Mead has never been lower... and you are planting a lawn? A lawn in the desert in the middle of a drought? This is foolish, although I'm sure a realtor would make an argument on giving the customer what they want.. If I were a buyer I'd be a lot more interested in some shade trees than yet another lawn that requires endless, endless watering...
But this doesnt address your question.. what sort of mower to get? A riding mower for sure, no one wants to push a mower around in the blistering desert heat. And a used one too, nice and cheap with a super inefficient motor that sucks up the $5 gas and trades you a cloud of noxious fumes in return. And you can just leave it for the new owner, so htat they can pump gasoline and water into that lawn forever more.
not fooled
(6,073 posts)Lawns sell properties around here. What the next owner decides to do is up to them.
Yuma has water for now (historical water rights). Don't worry, the lawns will be gone soon enough, once developers finish exploiting this place.
I'm on a private well on a good aquifer.
Any advice on mowing lol?
VarryOn
(2,343 posts)At my last house, I paid $35 for a third of an acre. These two guys could have it done before I got my shoes on. Plus, it was nice coming home on Thursdays to a manicured lawn.
not fooled
(6,073 posts)that should be the first thing to try. It's not rocket science. I just dread interviewing and hiring people around here--been burned too many times. But someone decent is out there; better than spending a couple thousand on a mower for 6 months.
Phoenix61
(17,649 posts)I know that seems a thing of the past but you only need one.
not fooled
(6,073 posts)plus they would have to bring a riding mower at least once a week which means they have to have a truck and flatbed to haul it around. Seems like more of a pro thing.
Phoenix61
(17,649 posts)work is good for a growing boy. Not sure if youd get any takers but mowing one big yard isnt any different than mowing 5 smaller ones.
Hotler
(12,175 posts)not fooled
(6,073 posts)the problem is getting it back and forth for several months. I ended up buying a small used riding mower for under $500 (Mowett Mustang, very cool). Now have to get it from the repair shop where I had it dropped off just to get checked over but where it has sat now for several months. Small town problem (no competition to inspire better service).