The real advantage Kubota mowers have over some of their competitors is the liquid-cooled diesel engine - that's right, I said 'diesel' - which offers 21 horsepower. Diesel engines are by far more efficient and require less maintenance than their petrol-guzzling counterparts. Plus, they work cleaner. For those who love their petrol powered mowers, Kubota can accomodate you with the G2460 model offering more grunt with their own 24hp engine.

Couple both these engines with the G-series large fuel tank and you will find that even commercial contractors won't need to refuel until the end of the day.

Kubota's G-series are constructed using their innovative ladder frame chassis while many of their competitors use C-Channel frames. While both are good, most reports tend to favour the ladder frame due to its increased torsion stability.

Comfort hasn't been missed either with electronic steering, onboard height adjuster and a suspension seat.

By their own admission, Kubota compares itself with John Deere's X485 and comes up a little short in the specs department. But when you consider the price difference between the two models you have to seriously ask yourself whether the X485 is worth all the extra attention.

In the past Kubota mowers haven't been pretty machines but they have certainly taken great strides in the aesthetics of this series.

Would I own one? The diesel model - no problems.

Sure, the engine's important and without it your mower won't work. But, try mowing your lawn with blunt blades and you will instantly recognise that sharpening is a key skill in your mowing arsenal.

Most brands carry their own replacement blades and these can be quite expensive if you replace them often. Some cheaper brands won't even offer sharpening as the blades are not tensile enough to warrant re-sharpening. But, for most brands they can be honed or at least replaced by non-genuine parts.

Obviously sharpening your own mower blades is a worthwhile skill so I thought I would offer a set of details for both rotary and reel mower blades.

How to sharpen rotary mower blades

1. Be sure to disconnect all the power sources before you begin with the process. In case that your lawn mower is a battery powered one, remove the battery or batteries, depending on the model. Check twice that all the power controls are off to avoid an accidental engine start.

2. Remove the blades totally from the mower. You might need external help to achieve it, using a couple of spanners may help however be sure that it doesn’t slip. Take care while doing this, because it’s easy to cut yourself if the spanner slips.

3. Once the blades are out of the mower, you need to number them in order to re-fit them later.

4. Fix the blade in a stable holding or a vice to work easily.

5. To begin the sharpening process you will need a grinder or file. Make sure to follow the blade’s contour and sharpen it to your convenience. Sharpen all blades the same and don't try to hone the edge at a tighter angle than what has already been set. This will weaken the blades and may cause a break if they come in contact with any hard objects such as stones or branches.

6. Time to refit the blades. Make sure to do it along with balancing, if it exists.

7. There is an option to sharpen blades without removing them from the mower, however it’s uncomfortable and more difficult. It will also require a flexible shaft angle grinder to reach a perfect sharp blade.

8. The last step is to check the blade balance. One clue in finding whether or not the blades are correctly refitted, is checking if the mower vibrates. If so, then blades have not been fitted well and will need more adjustment.

Sourced from Lawn Mowers & Garden Tractors.

How to sharpen reel mower blades

1. The first step is to take off the handle to get it out of your way, and then turn the mower on its side and pop off the side cover with a screwdriver. This will uncover the ring that holds the wheel onto the mower.

2. Pop off the C ring that holds the wheel in place. It's pretty easy to slide it off with a big flathead screwdriver.

3. Once you slide off the C ring, the wheel will come right off the mower. Take it off and set it aside.

4. Next, take off the gear that sits inside the wheel and allows the wheels to turn the blades. It just comes right off without any tools.

5. Next, take the crank that came with the sharpening kit, and slide it over the piece of metal where the gear was attached. This is going to allow you to turn the blades backwards, which is key to sharpening. You are sharpening it using the "backlapping method" when you use a sharpening kit. This is much safer than grinding the blades with a grinder, because you won't accidentally overgrind and ruin the mower.

6. Now you'll take out the paint brush and plastic container of sharpening compound that also came with the sharpening kit. Open up the plastic container, and put some sharpening compound on the paint brush.

7. Apply the sharpening compound evenly onto all five blades on the reel. After you do this, you'll be ready to start cranking the blade backwards and get going with the actual sharpening part.

8. Crank it! Turn those blades backwards and get to sharpening. If you get tired, take a break and get going again. You'll want to sharpen until you can see a smooth metal edge on all of the blades.

9. Are you sure you are finished? If so, take off the crank, put back on the gear, put the wheel back on, and pop the C ring back in place to hold the wheel on the mower again.

10. You've finished.

Sourced from Reel Mowers Info.

Now that you're tuned in, what if I went a step further and said that the recipe was developed by a former golf course greenkeeper? Would you be a little interested in at least finding out what the five ingredients were? Would you even consider trying the recipe and at least testing it on the neighbours patch of turf first?

Well, the suspense is over as Paul from Wise Bread lifts the lid on a secret tonic that will help your grass grow during the spring growing season. Here's the recipe;

* One full can of regular soft drink (any kind-no diet soda)
* One full can of beer (no light beer)
* 1/2 Cup of Liquid dishwashing soap (do NOT use anti-bacterial dishwashing liquid)
* 1/2 Cup of household ammonia
* 1/2 Cup of mouthwash (any brand)

Mix all this together in a hose-end sprayer and drench your lawn with it, applying every 3 weeks or so when the high temperatures hit.

How does it work?

• The liquid soap is a wetting agent, helping the formula penetrate the roots.


• The ammonia promotes growth and turns your lawn green.


• The mouthwash does something you would never suspect mouthwash would do. It kills the bugs and grubs.


• The soft drink is high in acid which invigorates new growth, and


• The beer is full of natural acids that will promote root growth and should stabilize the soil

So you might be able to walk past the fertiliser aisle this season without being tempted by all the green advertisements, confident that your secret lawn fertiliser recipe is doing the job.

The Sunlawn LMM series, including the LMM35 and the LMM40, are a couple of kilo's lighter and sport a lower cutting height. Their precision sharpened blades mean that this new range is even more capable of achieving a lower cut than their older brothers and other push lawn mowers on the market. Sunlawn is even touting that the blades should have a longer life increasing their range from 7-10yrs to 8-10yrs.

The LMM push mowers come with a segmented roller and optional grass catcher and are reasonably priced for a durable mower at US$159 for the LMM35 and US$179 for the wider LMM40.

If you're scaling your lawn down or you only have a postcard size turf, then this is a great option and should be as popular as last years offering.

And why shouldn't they? All five models sport the diesel Kubota engine (either 21hp, 26hp or the big 31hp) which is touted as using 30% fuel than similar sized petrol engines, with fewer emissions and much less noise. Yet, what they lack in environmental causing problems they make up for in performance and reliability.

The three homeowner models come standard with deeper mower decks, easy maintenance access and high-capacity transmission systems. The fully powered diesel engines prove more than capable of dealing with wet grass, slippery traction conditions and coping with slopes.

Even though wet grass can often become a problem for most mowers these Kubota zero turns seem to handle it with efficacy. Apart from their great traction features they are also able to cut wet grass and discharge it with a minimum of fuss.

For a great rundown of this series Deen Implement Co. carries the a blow-by-blow description with easy to see maintenance views.

Sure, even the robotic mowers we have reviewed here previously have been intuitive enough to return to their base plate and work out the perimeters of the lawn, but this product has a little something else. Not only can it achieve these now standard operations it is the first to offer this technology that can sense higher grass and respond accordingly - either mowing higher or lower.

Having been developed in Italy for more than 7 years by Zucchetti it's being imported by Kyodo America. Unfortunately there are no immediate plans to export these machines to Australia but at US$2,500 they might be a little expensive for our market anyway.

The Lawnbott Evolution has 3 separate channels allowing it to mow one area, return to its docking station for a recharge and then continue on with the next channel. It can even sense when the battery is getting low and return automatically for a recharge.

Like most robotic mowers it requires a perimeter cord to be dug under the surface of the grass outlining the lawn's boundaries. I'm sure it won't be long before the next wave of technology in these mowers will be GPS coordinated.

Lawnbott's range doesn't just stop with the LB3200. It's big brother, the LB2000 is the professional version weighing almost double that of the lesser LB3000 Deluxe Lawnbott. For those looking for something a little cheaper the LB3500 may end up entering the market for a smaller price but with most of the features that the other three enjoy.

One review from a customer went like this;

After researching every model on the market, I decided I would give the Scotts 2000-20 reel mower a try. My idea of lawn mowing has completely changed. What used to be a tedious, annoying task is now pleasant and relaxing, due to the ease of use and functionality of this mower.

Scotts push mower outshines most of its competition due to its oversized cutting height allowing the gardener to cut a little more than most push reels. The cutting width is also a full-sized 20" making it comparable to most powered lawn mowers yet it only weighs a mere 30 lbs (13.6 kg).

It's more versatile and maneouvrable than your typical powered mower as well which means it can easily access most smaller lawns. As homes and properties become smaller this will become a more sought after item.

The Scotts push mower features quick adjustable height settings, the minimum 5 cutting heat-treated blades and the popular loop style handle with foam grip. And, if you live in the USA it even comes with a 2-year warranty.

All this for a little over $100. Sounds too good to be true...

Able to mow 14½ acres per hour with its three engaging decks and adjustable cutting widths from 8½ - 16 inches Toro's professional mower is useful for city councils, contractors, large schools and even greenskeepers.

The beauty of this machine lies in its maneuverability as it inches itself around corners and getting into places that many smaller mowers struggle with.

From the manufacturer's own website;

The remarkable agility of the Groundsmaster 580-D means you can trim less than an 18" circle around trees, around a 90 degree corner, or turn back 180 degrees with no uncut grass remaining.

One of the other benefits which stand the Groundsmaster out from its competition is its Breakaway Decks which will instantly swivel inwards if the operator misjudges any obstacle. These swiveling decks also make it possible to mow in confined areas with the same machine.

The plethora of attachment options will keep the boss perplexed in decision making mode for some time and include the ROPS Hard Cab or Canopy instead, Atomic Mulching Blades, Diagnostic Tools and a Rotary Broom to name a few.

As a professional piece of equipment don't expect much change from US$75,000 for one of these though.

Tom from Home Improvements Depot has produced a great guide with 9 handy tips to winterizing your lawn mower. These tips are extremely practical and will serve you well as you put the mower away.

I would add on comment though, and that is it would pay to put a cover over your mower during the winter months. Don't use plastic as this will store condensation and eventually rust your mower. Instead, cover it with a clean cloth cover that can breathe but won't let any dust in.

As most lawn mowers are stored in the shed, sawdust, grime and other dust particles can build up on your machine and cause a heap of problems when you go to use it in spring.

Otherwise, stick to Tom's guide and you will find your mower starts first time and keeps running well when it is most needed.

But once you get into the professional series the FS 85R is the baby of the family. It's big brothers the FS 90R, 110R, 120 and 130R much meaner machines but they all carry their weight as well. The FS 120 carries an extra 2 kilograms more than the baby in the home series and almost double the kilowatts.

The FS 85R is still a solidly powerful unit touting .95kW of engine power and 5kg weight. The 85R is fitted with the loop handle while the FS 85 is supplied with the bull handles, so it depends on which operating feature you prefer.

Metal cutting blades are all standard on the pro series so spending time setting up trimming line is not necessary. The down side is obviously that you are unable to get into the tight areas or along fences with the one unit. If you are wanting one unit to do large areas plus trim fences and hard-to-get-at-areas then the best option would be the FS 55R.

The FS 85R will set you back about US$420 (A$540).

Regardless of some people's abhorence to growing lawns I find that they are a integral part of family life and are complementary in landscape design. Therefore, you will never find me beating the drum for either viewpoint but I enjoy challenging those that vehemently make a stand.

Then I came across Lose the Lawn, a US business helping homeowners replace their postage stamp lawns with landscaped gardens. This is a great idea, insofaras it helps people get into and enjoy the garden more than have some contractor come and routinely maintain their lawn.

Many people would prefer to have gardens anyway and the small scrap of lawn that adorns their house is a remnant ideology from the 50's. People are now replacing the lawn with paving, beds filled with native plants and reducing their watering, fertilising and pesticide use.

The only disadvantage to this notion that I see is that people might become too obsessed with the paving aspect and replace beds with container plants. This creates a whole plethora of problems including water drainage and the inability to suppress heat.

Provided these problems don't emerge I take my hat off to Lose the Lawn.

Scott's have now produced a new crabgrass killer under the Ortho brand name which is guaranteed not to harm your lawn (if used as per the directions) but will destroy not only your crabgrass but also dallisgrass, barnyardgrass, goosegrass, sandbur, vaseygrass, bull paspalum, foxtail and other grassy weeds. It comes in a handy trigger spray that doesn't require mixing and can be safely stored in your garden shed.

Applying Weed-B-Gon Crabgrass killer is a matter of aiming to the centre of the weed and spraying lightly. Within 5-7 days the crabgrass should be completely dead while more established weeds may take a second application. It's best to apply in spring and summer and the warmer the temperature the faster the result will be.

Those gardeners with bigger crabgrass problems than a mere 700ml (24oz) spray bottle can purchase Weed-B-Gon in a 480ml (1pint) concentrate that should do about 640sqm (2100 sq.ft) which can be mixed up in a tank sprayer and applied in a similar way.