Two questions of interest to prospective purchasers are: How much do riding mowers and small tractors in the various classes cost and how long can I expect one to last?

Walk-behind rotary lawnmowers can handle clippings in one of three ways: they can mulch them, bag them or discharge them to the side. Some mowers can do any of the three with minimal adjustment. Any of the three modes can be useful in some situations.

Walk-behind home lawnmowers are covered by safety standards and regulations, but the real responsibility for safety rests with you, the operator.

If you have a small lawn and are willing to get a little exercise while mowing, a good manual push mower can be a good alternative to a powered mower.

Many people use a rotary cutter (often referred to by the copyrighted name “Bush Hog”) to cut grass and weeds, but, in too many cases, the implement is not correctly adjusted. This can cause premature wear, poor quality of cut, and an excessive power requirement.

Mid-mount mowers for lawn, garden, and compact tractors typically have (two or) three blades and are designed for quality mowing of turfgrass. They are not designed to cut tall, weedy grass. They have multiple gage wheels and rollers that allow a relatively low cutting height with minimal scalping.

Finish (or grooming) mowers typically have (two or) three blades and are designed for quality mowing of turfgrass. They are not designed to cut tall, weedy grass. They have multiple gage wheels and rollers that allow a relatively low cutting height with minimal scalping.

When you buy a walk-behind lawnmower, you benefit from safety standards and regulations from two sources: The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

There are three primary transmission systems used in riding mowers and the various classes of mowing tractors.

Maintaining quality turfgrass sometimes requires that lawn waste be picked up. This trash can include leaves, pine needles and grass clippings as well as twigs, seed pods from trees and pine cones.

One of the factors that most affects both the capability of a lawn/garden tractor, and the price, is the engine.

You will save money in the short run at discount stores and mass merchandisers. You will pay more but get better quality equipment and service with dedicated lawn and garden dealers or farm equipment dealers.

Mid-mount rotary mower decks are common on lawn tractors, garden tractors, subcompact tractors and smaller compact utility tractors. There are two ways that these decks can be mounted, and the mounting method affects adjustment and operation.

Varying your mowing pattern can cause you to spend a little more time mowing, but the result will be a greatly improved appearance in your turfgrass.

Riding mowers, lawn tractors, lawn and garden tractors, and garden tractors are covered by several safety standards that are designed to protect you, the operator.

Finishing (or grooming) mowers typically have (two or) three blades and are designed for quality mowing of turfgrass. They have multiple gage wheels and rollers that allow a relatively low cutting height with minimal scalping.

Do you get what you pay for when buying a mowing tractor? There is certainly a wide range of prices; in fact, you can easily pay twice as much for a lawn tractor at a major farm equipment dealer as you would pay for a lawn tractor with the same horsepower and mowing width at a discount store. What do you get for the additional money?

Many people use a rotary cutter – often referred to by the trade name Bush Hog – to cut grass and weeds. But in too many cases, the implement is not correctly adjusted. This can cause premature wear, poor quality of cut and an excessive power requirement, warns Dr. Dick Parish, an engineer at the LSU AgCenter’s Hammond Research Station.

A power lawnmower requires regular maintenance if it is to provide reliable service. Most of the maintenance steps are easy and can be done by a reasonably handy homeowner.

Power lawnmowers are available with a wide array of features. Some of the features are helpful; some less so. It can be a challenge to optimize both features and price.

You might think that riding mowers and lawn/garden tractors are small and low to the ground so overturns are not a problem. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Riding mowers and small tractors can overturn to the side or rear fairly easily.

It seems obvious that a wider or faster mower will cover a lawn faster than a narrower or slower mower, but this is not always true - and seldom will the increase in cutting rate be proportional to the increase in width or speed.

All rotary cutters are inherently dangerous. The thrown object hazard is not fully recognized by everyone, yet it can cause injury, blindness or even death.

Riding mowers, lawn tractors, lawn and garden tractors, and garden tractors are large and powerful. They can be dangerous if not used safely.

A mower deck can’t cut grass unless it is connected to the tractor engine. This is usually done in one of two ways, with some possible permutations.