Little things in life that can be infuriating...

[ike]

I have (had) a 17 year old self-paced Toro mower. Went to mow yesterday and one of the gear/pace cables broke. I called my repair guy and he thought it might cost $40-50 to repair so I bring it to the repair shop. As we are unloading it we spot another gizmo that was broken so now my repair bill was heading north of $100.

Rather than put that kind of money into an old, but faithful, lawn mower I got a new Toro for $400. This thing even stores vertically!

 

[les24preludes]

Paint it, pave it or Astroturf it.

"If it doesn't move, paint it. If it moves, kill it and paint it...." (British Army)

 

[davent]

Actually, there is a natural alternative. Clover. Yep, white clover. Easy to grow, needs no herbicides, drought resistant and you only have to mow it twice a year. Popular in the 1950s, displaced by trendier grasses and folks selling lawn equipment.

Mac

Bonus with clover is it 'fixes' it's own nitrogen, no need to supplement. Gardening guru up here advocates that if you have have a lawn, seeding a lawn use a mix with 20% white clover to naturally keep it green. That and copious amounts of artificial rainfall should do the trick.
dave

 

[FarmerTan]

Actually, there is a natural alternative. Clover. Yep, white clover. Easy to grow, needs no herbicides, drought resistant and you only have to mow it twice a year. Popular in the 1950s, displaced by trendier grasses and folks selling lawn equipment.

Mac

This!

My dad bought this property in 1957, and we just kept beating back the woods ever since. I get compliments on my green lawn, even in drought years. Up close you can see areas that are nothing but "weeds" lol. Years ago he planted white clover, and the nicest thing about it is this: the rabbits and deer eat that and mostly stay out of my garden. Crazy.

 

[shavefan]

Xerascaping

 

[Ad Astra]

Decent Walmart mower, under $200.

Bought neighbor's for $75 when he moved. Three months old.

Happiest day ever when I gave away the cranky, dull-bladed old one!

AA

 

[John Rose]

There's a spring that pulls back a lever so the blade keeps spinning at top speed, it doesn't seem to hold it back. So i replaced the spring so it does (it worked for a month or so no problems)... but ultimately it still slows down. Even at the tallest setting.

The choke?

I'll probably end up buying a honda mower

.
I have a mower with a Honda engine. It's great. I bought it a few years go from friends who were moving to the Left Coast, and it has never failed to start on the 1st, 2nd, (or, rarely, 3rd) pull, even at the first mowing of the season.
I just have to make sure I don't put in gas that is blended with ethanol.

 

[John Rose]

Actually, there is a natural alternative. Clover. Yep, white clover. Easy to grow, needs no herbicides, drought resistant and you only have to mow it twice a year. Popular in the 1950s, displaced by trendier grasses and folks selling lawn equipment.

The problem is that some people (and/or Home Owners Associations) consider it an invasive species or pernicious weed.
Good for the bees though.