Mowing Along Sidewalk/Curb Technique?

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Octallama
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Mowing Along Sidewalk/Curb Technique?

Post by Octallama » April 14th, 2016, 7:41 pm

Hello everyone! Although I'm 33 years old I only have one full year of mowing experience under my belt. Anyway, my house is on a corner lot with a sidewalk so I have some long stretches where the grass and concrete meet. My question is what is your technique mowing grass near the sidewalk/curb? Throughout the entire stretch my grass is anywhere from 1"-3" higher than the sidewalk/curb. I have a 22" rotary mower and what I have been doing is raising the front/rear wheels on the side where the wheels are on the concrete. Then I go the entire length and this keeps it kinda level. If I were to leave all four wheels the same height my blade will hit the ground in some spots. Other times I keep the mower lever and I try to ride the edge keeping all four wheels in the grass. Doing this I miss a lot of grass if I'm not perfect.
I know this sounds stupid but I have yet to figure out the best way to mow this area :banghead: My HOC is 1.5" on my bermuda grass. I really appreciate any help!!

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Ware
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Re: Mowing Along Sidewalk/Curb Technique?

Post by Ware » April 14th, 2016, 8:09 pm

Octallama wrote:Hello everyone! Although I'm 33 years old I only have one full year of mowing experience under my belt. Anyway, my house is on a corner lot with a sidewalk so I have some long stretches where the grass and concrete meet. My question is what is your technique mowing grass near the sidewalk/curb? Throughout the entire stretch my grass is anywhere from 1"-3" higher than the sidewalk/curb. I have a 22" rotary mower and what I have been doing is raising the front/rear wheels on the side where the wheels are on the concrete. Then I go the entire length and this keeps it kinda level. If I were to leave all four wheels the same height my blade will hit the ground in some spots. Other times I keep the mower lever and I try to ride the edge keeping all four wheels in the grass. Doing this I miss a lot of grass if I'm not perfect.
I know this sounds stupid but I have yet to figure out the best way to mow this area :banghead: My HOC is 1.5" on my bermuda grass. I really appreciate any help!!
Not stupid. My turf is like that next to the street in a couple places. That's pretty clever adjusting the wheels on one side, but probably not a long term solution - especially since you mention it varies from 1-3".

If your turf is well established, and you're more interested in a fix than a mowing technique, your best bet would probably be renting a sod cutter. Cut a couple passes, adjust the grade, then lay your sod back. Sod cutters are available at most equipment rental stores, and would probably cost you about $100 for a weekend rental. I should probably do this, but haven't. I mowed the last couple seasons with a Grasshopper and was able to 'float' the edge of the deck out over the area you're talking about, keeping the tires on the turf - so it really wasn't an issue.

When mowing with a push mower, I basically used your second method - ride close to the edge, keeping all four wheels in the grass. This just requires a surgeon's hand with a string trimmer.... or a Maruyama Landscape Blade. :D

tlinden
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Re: Mowing Along Sidewalk/Curb Technique?

Post by tlinden » April 14th, 2016, 8:47 pm

You can get the angle right with the mower and get more of a tapered edge. I'll out mine half on the road half on the grass and get it just right.

Also if you get a string trimmer (straight shaft) you can trim it at an angle and then go vertical with it and get a really nice edge.

[ Post made via Android ] Image

s3_buell
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Re: Mowing Along Sidewalk/Curb Technique?

Post by s3_buell » April 14th, 2016, 9:11 pm

I rotate my direction 45 degrees clockwise each time I cut and use this method at some angles:
http://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/topic/mowing ... lawn-edges

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Ware
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Re: Mowing Along Sidewalk/Curb Technique?

Post by Ware » April 14th, 2016, 9:21 pm

tlinden wrote:You can get the angle right with the mower and get more of a tapered edge. I'll out mine half on the road half on the grass and get it just right.
Most curb and gutter looks like this in our region:

Image

It is too tall and too deep (from the vertical face of the curb to the grass) to get an angle on it by hanging the mower out in the street - especially if you're cutting at 1.5".


ligrass
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Re: Mowing Along Sidewalk/Curb Technique?

Post by ligrass » April 15th, 2016, 10:12 am

Octallama wrote:Hello everyone! Although I'm 33 years old I only have one full year of mowing experience under my belt. Anyway, my house is on a corner lot with a sidewalk so I have some long stretches where the grass and concrete meet. My question is what is your technique mowing grass near the sidewalk/curb? Throughout the entire stretch my grass is anywhere from 1"-3" higher than the sidewalk/curb. I have a 22" rotary mower and what I have been doing is raising the front/rear wheels on the side where the wheels are on the concrete. Then I go the entire length and this keeps it kinda level. If I were to leave all four wheels the same height my blade will hit the ground in some spots. Other times I keep the mower lever and I try to ride the edge keeping all four wheels in the grass. Doing this I miss a lot of grass if I'm not perfect.
I know this sounds stupid but I have yet to figure out the best way to mow this area :banghead: My HOC is 1.5" on my bermuda grass. I really appreciate any help!!
It's not stupid. This is a common problem.
What I've been noticing is the uneven height levels out over time if you take a more aggressive cut when you do your edging. I think that removes more soil than normal and it settles a little lower each time. Only other option mechanically is to remove about a foot of sod and regrade it.
'float' the edge as someone else mentioned is another option. But this can be a little tricky, too, especially if you drop the side off the ground by accident.

I also tried mowing as close to the edge as possible. That is tough to pull off without missing some grass or letting a wheel drop violently and scalping. (although you could do this and go around the edge again with a string trimmer to get any missed grass)

What I do is just mow half on the sidewalk and half on the lawn and it gives it a tapered look. The KBG closest to the edge handles the lower cut well so I'm good with that. It beats having to raise and lower wheels every cut.

tlinden
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Re: Mowing Along Sidewalk/Curb Technique?

Post by tlinden » April 15th, 2016, 10:33 am

Ware wrote:
tlinden wrote:You can get the angle right with the mower and get more of a tapered edge. I'll out mine half on the road half on the grass and get it just right.
Most curb and gutter looks like this in our region:

Image

It is too tall and too deep (from the vertical face of the curb to the grass) to get an angle on it by hanging the mower out in the street - especially if you're cutting at 1.5".
Ah, yeah they aren't like that here. Gonna have to trim IMO

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BuckeyeChuck
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Re: Mowing Along Sidewalk/Curb Technique?

Post by BuckeyeChuck » April 15th, 2016, 12:58 pm

Not sure if this is an answer that works for you. I mow half on and half off. Then I mow one pass down a couple inches from the edge but on the grass.

If needed I edge and clean up afterwards. I have a sloped curb though without a severe drop. I use a walk behind not a rider.

Octallama
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Re: Mowing Along Sidewalk/Curb Technique?

Post by Octallama » April 15th, 2016, 6:10 pm

Thanks for all of the tips everyone! There are many subtle nuances to mowing the lawn that I'm still learning. This one just bothers me :) Buell that website is very helpful. I'm looking forward to spending time on it tomorrow while mother nature waters my lawn for me :) Thanks again everyone I really appreciate your help!

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