Watering your lawn and mowing it are just two of the steps you need in order to make sure it’s green and healthy. But like the hair on the top of your head, there’s more involved than just shampooing and trimming it. You need to devote a bit of time into bringing your lawn to its full potential, and if you take the steps now, it’ll be a lot easier than later in the season.

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Benefits of Mulching Your Lawn

Think of how you go about your day: you don’t just wake up, go to work, and then fall asleep again at the end of it, do you? Probably not. Instead, you take a shower so you feel good and smell clean, and eat a few meals so your body has enough energy to keep on ticking.

Your lawn is the same way in that it needs maintenance and nutrition. Mulching helps put back into the earth what others may consider lawn waste, and can save up to 25% of your fertilizing costs. Still not convinced? Mulching, when done properly, can help cut down on the weeds in your lawn because it cuts off one of most valuable resources they need: sunlight. A good layer of mulch keeps weeds shaded, preventing them from being able to suck the nutrients out of your lawn.

Mulching also acts as an air-conditioning blanket for your lawn by keeping the soil cool and shaded. You don’t need to be a scientist to know that the more sun exposed soil has, the more it can dry out. And the more it dries out, the less moisture there is for your grass to grow strong and healthy. By creating this barrier with mulch, you don’t have to worry about your lawn getting dried out or going out there constantly to water the grass.

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How to Mulch Effectively

This isn’t a hard or complicated process at all, and just involves the following steps:

While it’s best to mulch your lawn in the fall, it never hurts to do it any time of year that you mow your lawn. Maintenance isn’t something you can do in one day, but rather have to work at it a little bit so your lawn is always lush, green and healthy.

You’ve read up on awesome mulching techniques, so now it’s time to make sure you’ve got one of our awesome lawn mowers to do the job. You can take a look at our selection here to find the one that’s best for you, and enjoy two great benefits: no tax on anything (except in Minnesota), and free shipping to the lower 48 states.

With the exception of homeowners who live in very rainy or tropical areas, watering the lawn is a must if it’s going to look green and lush. It’s easy to get into the habit of splashing some water around or setting a sprinkle out there and forgetting, and both are quick ways to drown your lawn and kill it. Going about it the right way isn’t exactly high science, but there are a few things you should keep in mind to do the job as efficiently as possible.

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You’ve no doubt already gone out and mowed the lawn at least once this season, if not a few times. After such a long and brutal winter, the temptation to go out there and start sprucing up your lawn is too great to resist, but nor should you. Being outside and tending to your lawn is awesome on so many levels: the fresh air is invigorating, it’s a nice change from channel surfing, and you get to have a hands-on role in boosting your home’s curb appeal. But in your rush to start up the lawn mower, it’s important to remember these safety tips from Mower Source so you don’t end up a statistic.

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1. Keep Your Lawn Mower in Good Shape

when you get in your car, you want to make sure there are no gaping holes in the flooboard, brakes that are as soft as pudding, or a steering wheel that locks. It’s unsafe, and can cause catastrophic damage. But because your lawn mower is much smaller, it tends to get ignored for basic maintenance.

This is especially true for riding lawn mowers, because the last thing you want to deal with is a machine with hot oil and many moving parts going rogue on you. You don’t have to necessarily perform a full mechanical inspection every time you use it, but make it a point to eyeball the mower for physical damage and really listen to it when it’s turned on.

2. Clear the Lawn Before You Begin

One of the main characters in the movie Crazy in Alabama, Peejoe, gets hit in the eye with a golf ball that the lawn mower spit up (it’s the sixth paragraph in this link). Unfortunately, this type of thing isn’t an isolated incident and people get hit with spit-up objects from their lawn mowers all the time.

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While a lawn mower’s sharp blades can cut through things, they can also act as a surface upon which objects can bounce off. And if one of those objects is a stone or something else that’s not easily cut, that can shoot right back at you and put you in the hospital. Are potentially thousands of dollars of medical bills worth saving a few minutes to not check the lawn?

3. Watch the Kids

While you be on top of lawn mower safety, your kids still have to experience the learning curve for themselves, which doesn’t have to be dangerous. Take time to talk to them about the potential dangers of a lawn mower, how they can treat it with respect, and to what degree they can be involved in mowing.

Kids are curious creatures and learn about their world by touch, so encourage that in a safe way. Let them be around the lawn mower when you are and don’t turn it on unless they’re a safe distance away. The great thing about children is they’re like little sponges: they’ll soak up everything you tell them, so make sure it’s good and safe information.

4. Don’t Drink and Mow

You may be thinking what a couple of cold ones has to do with mowing the lawn, but it’s just a better idea to avoid it. Your reflexes slow down, you’re more liable to take chances you wouldn’t when sober, and alcohol has a tendency to make its imbibers feel invincible.

Just about 99.9% of people reading this will never think anything can happen to them, that they’ve lawn mowed enough times to be able to do it in their sleep. But it’s precisely that complacency that can cause injuries, as accidents rarely just “happen”. Accidents — true accidents — are things that happen completely out of control, like a boulder dropping on your windshield when you’re on the freeway. What others think of accidents are lapses in focus, concentration and judgement, and drinking before mowing is one of the quickest routes there.

And besides, doesn’t an ice-cold beer taste much better after the physical part of mowing is over?

Whether you pull or push (safer) your lawn mower, have one that goes in both directions, or switched to electric to be eco-friendly, there are four basic safety tips you should always be practicing. Just because a lawn mower is small doesn’t mean it can do big-time damage, and it’s so easy to prevent it, too. Keep Mower Source’s handy guide close to you if you ever need a quick refresher, and our website even closer. We’ve got an amazing line of lawn mowers for every type of yard, and there’s free shipping to the lower 48 states on all of them.

Your lawn is the pride and joy of your yard, the very thing that gives rise to the saying “the grass is greener on the other side”. However, for that to be true, you have to actually pick out what kind of grass will grow green, lush and healthy because not all grass is created equal. Grasses need specific climates in which to thrive, so we’ll be taking a look at which grass you should be growing.

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Cool Season Grass

These grasses enjoy their peak growing in cooler weather, when you’ll see them grow the most. However, one thing to keep in mind is the difference between cool and cold: cool season grasses do best in temperatures between 65 to 80F, and cold is, well, colder than that.

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Warm Season Grass

Opposite to cool season grass, this family does best when the mercury reads 75 to 90F. Not much of the United States consistently gets these kinds of temperatures, but the southern portion does.

Now that you know exactly what kind of grass you’re going to get, the next step is maintaining it so it always looks good. Mower Source can help, with our line of top-quality mowers. But don’t just take our word for it, check out our lawn mowers and enjoy two awesome bonuses: free shipping to the lower 48 states, and a free blade with any Toro Super Recycler Lawn Mower.

Ideally, your Mower Source lawn mower will run fine every time because you’ve been taking great care in properly maintaining it. But lawn mowers are mechanical objects with moving parts, and they’re not immune from running into the occasional problems. Because you’re both a dedicated reader and fan of Mower Source‘s high standard of quality, this post on how to troubleshoot basic problems is just for you.

Lawn Mower Won’t Start

There are several reasons for this problem, each listed below:

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Lawn Mower Mows Unevenly

This is almost always one of two problems:

Lawn Mower Guzzles Gas

Lawn mowers that use gas aren’t supposed to go through fuel like a thirsty V12 Hummer, so the culprit is usually a clogged air filter. Clean it thoroughly, or replace it if it’s more than a year old.

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Lawn Mower Suddenly Dies

Uh-oh! You’re halfway through the lawn and it just quits on you. Here’s what to do:

Lawn Mower is Smoking

It’s easy to freak out when you see smoke coming out of your lawn mower, but this isn’t usually a complicated problem. Just make sure to turn the switch off before troubleshooting.

Lawn Mower Starter Rope Requires the Strength of Hercules

You pull and pull on that thing, and you may as well be solving geometric proofs for all the good it’s doing. Never fear, it’s usually one of these things:

Congratulations, you’re now a mini-pro at keeping your Mower Source mower going all the time! And if you don’t have a Mower Source lawn mower, then check out our selection right now. Any lawn mower you have your heart set on, it’ll come right to your doorstep with free shipping. And if you place an order between Monday to Friday before 1pm CST, we’ll ship it that very day!

Lawns are essentially plants, which means they need regular maintenance to look their best. An ignored lawn may be okay, but it’s highly unlikely. Instead, focusing on it — and focusing on it the right way — means you’re lawn can be happy, healthy and pretty. In this article, Mower Source takes a look at different ways of mowing your lawn to achieve a variety of looks.

The Wrigley Field Cut

What lawn is nicer to look at than a baseball field, and especially the one at Wrigley Field? While the overall ballpark has a lot of positive aesthetics going for it, its lawn is one of the biggest components. It’s comprised of mainly alternating stripes, but there’s also a faint cross hatch pattern on it, too.

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How to get the look: Straight lines are a must (alternate the direction on each stripe), but to get the striped look, you have to bend the grass blades in different directions. To do that, leave your grass on the long-ish side and weigh your lawn mower down with duct-taped barbells (to adequately bend the grass). The only tricky bit is maximizing on how much sun can reflect off the grass blades: the direction that gets the most sun on your lawn should be parallel to the sun. For example, if your lawn gets the west sun, mow stripes in east and west lines.

Spiral

Want to make your lawn look like a small crop circle? It’s a lot easier than you think. You do have to make a concerted effort to focus on straight lines (making them curved is a lot harder), but using landmarks in your yard helps a great deal. Tip: use a weed whacker on the outer edges before you begin, so that way you can get cleaner lines.

How to get the look: Start in the middle of your lawn and move in outward concentric lines. Or, in less fancier terms, mow up one lawn mower width, turn, and repeat until you’ve done the whole lawn. Only turn in one direction.

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Quadruple Spiral

If you’re looking for a big challenge but something that’ll make your lawn look really cool, give four spirals a go. It can get a bit tricky keeping track of all the turns (62) and straight lines, but outlining it faintly in chalk first can cut out a lot of that.

How to get the look: Start on one edge and go from the middle spot. From there, you’ll be cutting into the first center of one spiral, mowing your way out of it and into the center of another spiral, and so on until you’ve done all four.

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Zig Zag Spiral

This is an identical pattern to the Spiral, except there are zig zags mown into every line. The result — if done correctly — is a lawn that looks like a completed jigsaw puzzle, with each puzzle piece the same shape and size.

How to get this look: Start in a corner (as opposed to the exact center as with the normal spiral), and turn your lawn mower 90 degrees every lawn mower width. Go from corner to corner in reverse concentric lines until you’ve reached the center.

Labyrinth

This looks like a tricky pattern to achieve, but that’s more illusion than actuality. If you don’t have a good eye for going at it with your lawn mower, outline the pattern first with chalk and then follow the lines.

How to get the look: You’ll want to start in one corner, mow down the edge, stop halfway and then begin the labyrinth. It can be a little dizzying to complete, but the finished look is so worth it.

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You’re set with a number of different patterns you can mow your lawn with, so the only thing left is making sure you’ve got the right lawn mower. Check out Mower Source’s selection of lawn mowers to settle on the one that’s right for you, and enjoy free shipping to the lower 48 states.

Mowing your lawn is simple, right? Not so much. Grass is a living, breathing organism, and has very specific requirements. For instance, cutting your grass too short can make your lawn look bald or patchy, while letting it go makes your property look like a scrapyard. The key is to find that happy medium where your grass looks healthy but isn’t overgrown, and Mower Source has all the answers.

Mowing Height

Different climates have different grasses, and each one demands a different height for optimal growth. At the most basic, grass and the height it should be cut can be divided into cool season height and warm season height (when it grows the most).

One tip to use if you have no idea what kind of grass you have and still want to get the height right is to cut no more than one-third of the leaf. The reasoning for this is so grass can grow at its optimal rate during its peak growing season. Cut more than that, and you’ll stunt the grass’s growth. Grass is a plant like any other, and cutting it the right amount will promote full, lush growth, while it can thin out and look patchy if you go too short.

It’s not absolutely crucial to know what kind of grass you have, as you can tell by how fast or slow it’s growing, as well as the climate you live in. But one good thing about knowing exactly what kind of grass you have is you can Google its tallest recommended height. By staying within those parameters, you’ll ensure deep, healthy roots, which means the grass can hold onto water more easily and space out so weeds can’t grow as readily.

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Sharpen Those Blades

It’s no good knowing the theory behind proper grass height if the goods don’t match that. The duller the blades, the more of a tendency they’ll have to just bend the grass blades instead of actually cutting them. Plus, dull blades making you feel like you’re working 10 times harder with a fraction of the result.

Other tips to remember include:

Mowing the lawn doesn’t have to be a magic formula known to few, although there is a bit of an exact science to it. Now that you’re armed with everything you need to know about grass height and other tips, let Mower Source take care of the hardware. Our line of lawn mowers and accessories have something for everyone, and shipping is free to the lower 48 states.

Now that we can finally say goodbye to winter and usher in more pleasant weather, the question of what kind of lawn mower to get inevitably pops up. No two lawn mowers are alike, but nor should be. Each one performs differently according to what’s asked of it, and come in three basic forms: walk behind mowers, zero turn mowers, and riding mowers. In this article, Mower Source will take a look at each one so you can get an idea of which one is best for you.

Walk Behind Mowers

By far the most common kind of lawn mowers used by homeowners, walk behind mowers only require you to start it up and get going. They’re best for small- or medium-sized lawns, as their limited performance can’t handle really big jobs. They also come in three different varieties, with the pros and cons listed beside each:

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Riding Mowers

If you’ve got oodles and oodles of lawn (more than 3/4 of an acre) and really don’t relish the thought of pushing a lawn mower around for a few hours, a riding mower gets the job done more efficiently, and in less time. You can get them in one of three forms—rear engine, zero turn (more to come on this one), or tractor—with each one varying depending on what you need to do with it.

Rear engine riding mowers are great to navigate large and narrow spaces, tackle small hills with a low center of gravity, and keep you comfortable. They don’t have a super powerful engine, so if you’re planning on really pushing it to the limits, you might find yourself a little out of luck.

For bigger jobs, tractors are the ones for you. They’re a little slow, but it’s steady that wins the race, not speed. Tractor riding mowers are a little like tugboats: they’re kind of small, but have a lot of heart that lets them haul really heavy stuff behind them.

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Zero Turn Mowers

These monsters are big, powerful, fast, and have great maneuverability. If you need to cover a lot of ground with thick grass and tight turns, zero turn riding mowers are the perfect ones for the job. They can be rather pricey, but the adage of “you get what you pay for” is particularly true here. Their two-handle steering mechanism has a bit of a learning curve, but it’s not steep and you’ll be able to go spinning in just about no time.

Get an early start on spring and mowing your lawn with Mower Source’s selection of top name lawn mowers. We’ve got mowers for all different lawns and requirements, and each one comes with no shipping charges to the lower 48 states. Take a look now, and get your lawn looking great in no time.

Winter is finally over, an event that many of us thought would never come. The constant wallopings of snow, ice, and generally bleak weather not only set multiple records, but made winter feel like a weekend guest that had long overstayed its welcome. But every season must come to an end and winter finally seems like its packed up its bags, which means spring is here and it’s time to get your lawn mower ready for the warm and sunny weather.

1. Do a General Walkaround First

Your lawn mower has been sitting in the garage or shed for months, and it’s highly unlikely you looked at it a couple times a week to keep tabs on it. As much as we’d like to say it’d never happen, mice, squirrels, raccoons, and other unwelcome critters do find lawn mowers an excellent place to hole up during winter.

Set your lawn mower out on your driveway and take a look at it. Are there remnants of animals’ homes, and have they left permanent evidence in the way of chewing, biting or urination? Is there rust on the body? Are any parts in need of repair or replacement? Now’s the perfect time to put an order in because in a few weeks, everybody will be calling in and the time it takes to receive a part will be greatly lengthened.

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2. Give it a Little Maintenance

You don’t have to perform any great mechanical acts in the second step, only a few top ups. Start by changing the oil, as it’s been sitting in there for months without use. You can do this at home (just remember to recycle the oil), or you can take it in and have a professional whip it up in two seconds.

Next up comes replacing the fuel. It’s tempting to leave a full tank in so you’re good to go, but after about 30 days, fuel starts to become unusable. Moisture has a tendency of creeping in, and the fuel and ethanol starts to separate. It’s just easier and safer—and cheap—to just start fresh.

After that, take a look at the three filters (that probably need to be replaced):

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3. Get a Little Edward Scissorhands on Your Lawn Mower

It’s basic science: the sharper something is, the better it can cut something. If you’ve got dull lawn mower blades, you’ll veer more towards compressing the grass down instead of actually chopping off their little heads. Now, it is entirely possible to sharpen the blades at home, but it’s a pretty technical process and probably better left to someone who’s done it thousands of times and has the—pun intended—hands for it.

4. Lubricate the Moving Parts

Finally, the last step involves knowing that all moving parts will move as they’re supposed to, and not chafe dryly against each other. Some of the parts you’ll want to use a light-duty lubricant on include: wheel bearings, height adjusters, cables, and anything else the owner’s manual advises.

Never lubricate anything that’ll touch the drive belt once you’ve got the lawn mower going.

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Now that the trees are growing back and grass is just as green on this side as it is on the other, it’s time to make sure you’re taking care of your lawn with one of Mower Source‘s top of the line lawn mowers. If you don’t have one, take a look at Mower Source’s selection now, and enjoy free shipping to the lower 48 states.

As the mowing season winds down, it’s time to think about how you’re going to keep the driveway clear when snow flies this winter. If you’re looking for the best deal on a snow blower, head over to SnowBlowerSource.com, our partner store, for can’t-miss deals on Ariens and Toro snowblowers. See below for details!

Ariens Snowblower Promotion

Any Ariens 2 stage snow blower purchased between August 1 and November 15, 2013 will receive a free 5 year warranty! This is an upgrade from the standard 3 year warranty offered on Ariens snowblowers.

Details:

• Warranty Extension to 5 years on Ariens snowblowers
• For a limited time only, receive a free warranty extension from Ariens from the standard 3 year warranty to an unbelievable 5 year warranty!
• All Ariens 2 stage Snow-Thro® models qualify (Sno-Tek™ and Path-Pro™ excluded).
• Includes all qualified, registered purchases from August 1, 2013 through November 15, 2013. Customers must purchase and register their snow blower during the promotion timeframe.

Toro Snowblower Promotion

Afraid that you’ll buy a snow blower and then it won’t snow much this winter? Put your fears to rest with Snow Blower Source’s Toro promotion.

Details:

• If it snows 10% or less of the average for your area, you will receive the promo price of your machine back!
• If it snows less than 50% of the average for your area, you will receive a 10% refund of the promo price.
• Any Toro snowblower purchased and registered between August 1 and November 15, 2013 is eligible for the promotion.

Snow Blower Sale at SnowBlowerSource.com

You can’t lose with these promotions from SnowBlowerSource.com! Get the best deals on Ariens and Toro snowblowers, plus extended warranty or money-back promotions. Free shipping on all orders to the lower 48 U.S.! No tax on any orders shipped outside of Minnesota.