# Lawn Size for a Reel Mower



## smusgrav (Oct 31, 2018)

Hello all! I am new to the forum. For the last 6 months I have been watching all the YouTube videos from everyone and they have convinced me that Reel Mowing is the way to go. I am in the North DFW area on new build from about 10 months ago. I have what I consider a large yard of 15k sq feet of grass (biggest in neighborhood). Of course it is Bermuda and have been told it is Tiff 419 (not my favorite grass). So my question is what size yard would you think of doing with a Reel mower? Now I am in probably a different position than most guys on the forum as I am actually stay at home dad (make my wife do all the real work) so I could actually mow 2 to 3 times a week but I am worried about how much time this going to take in the ridiculous weather we have here. Any advice on getting a reel mower that might work for me. Also should I focus on top dressing in the spring before even consider reel mowing. Just getting started in this so all advice is welcomed!


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## TheTurfTamer (Aug 8, 2018)

Welcome to the TLF grass life ! Get ready for a wild ride...lol

I have the same Tif419. It has taken me three years to finally be able to maintain it under 1/4 of an inch. 
If you are really wanting to mow the entire 15,000 with a reel mower, I would look into a triplex style ( John Deere 2500, Toro 3100 ) and have a 21 inch for edges and landscaping. There is a ton of options to look at. My advice is to find a brand of mower that you can get parts and service locally. Topdressing is important, to help with leveling this size of yard, I would rent a vertictutter/dethatcher and hit the entire yard at 3 inches deep before you topdress in a criss cross pattern. This will help everything. Drainage, Root growth, Leveling, Low HOC, and also helps prevent the new topdressing sand from washing away.

Hope some of this help. This is what has worked for me.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

I would think it would depend the lay out.

My total yard is 13,000 sqft. However, it's a 4500 sqft front yard, 1500 side yard, and a 7000 back yard, each with plenty of angles, fence, decking, etc. In the largest area, I'd have 10 passes with a triplex. In the smallest, I'd have two passes. Each person's situation is different but I know I wouldn't be able to justify the cost of a triplex to the Executive Officer, nor the parking/storage space.


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## XLT_66 (Jul 17, 2018)

I'd think 15k is doable with a larger sized reel, depending on layout and length of passes.

Agree that you'll be looking at a couple to several years of work to get it where you want it...but that's sort of part of the fun.


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## smusgrav (Oct 31, 2018)

I have a little bit of everything. Front yard and backyard of 5.5k with mostly straight edges. 2 side yards of about 1k and then several strips of grass in between sidewalks. Not sure the wife would go for the cost of triplex (maybe some advice on how to talk her into it?)


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

smusgrav said:


> I have a little bit of everything. Front yard and backyard of 5.5k with mostly straight edges. 2 side yards of about 1k and then several strips of grass in between sidewalks. Not sure the wife would go for the cost of triplex (maybe some advice on how to talk her into it?)


tiffany.com


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## smusgrav (Oct 31, 2018)

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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

smusgrav said:


> I have a little bit of everything. Front yard and backyard of 5.5k with mostly straight edges. 2 side yards of about 1k and then several strips of grass in between sidewalks. Not sure the wife would go for the cost of triplex (maybe some advice on how to talk her into it?)


According to @wardconnor the repairman gets special favors in his house. Maybe fix a bunch of stuff and see how it goes. I assume he's talking about lawn equipment.


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## wardconnor (Mar 25, 2017)

TN Hawkeye said:


> smusgrav said:
> 
> 
> > I have a little bit of everything. Front yard and backyard of 5.5k with mostly straight edges. 2 side yards of about 1k and then several strips of grass in between sidewalks. Not sure the wife would go for the cost of triplex (maybe some advice on how to talk her into it?)
> ...


Yeah its true..

Start there first. Be sure to report back


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## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

I mow my 10k with a 22" John Deere and it takes around 45 minutes. With 15k I think it would take a little over an hour. The 22" reels are more common but you could look for a 26" to cut down on time and make wider stripes.


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## Cory (Aug 23, 2017)

I have 5k of Tifway 419 in the front and 15k of common in the back. For a month or so this year I mowed it all with my 20" reel every 2 days. The 20" is great for the front but every time I walked through the back gate all I could think about was a 27" tru-cut or a small triplex. If I mow, trim, edge, and blow my whole lot the same day it take a little over 2hrs, just to mow the 15k in the back takes 45min but there is no obstacles aside from the fire pit. After about 4 weeks of that I gave up on reel mowing the backyard. If you get a reel then don't settle, get the tru-cut c27 or if you want a greens mower then go for the 26" models. You'll regret it if you don't, at least I do.

Front




Back



Plus 5' all around the outside of the fence, it's a lot with a small reel.


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## smusgrav (Oct 31, 2018)

Wow that looks great!


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## tcorbitt20 (Aug 31, 2018)

I think my yard is about 5k maybe 6k. I cut it this afternoon with my Tru Cut C27 in two directions both in the front and the back. In total it took around 40 minutes. I have never regretted getting the bigger size.

If my yard looked like Cory's, I'd post pictures all the time.


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## Austinite (Oct 4, 2018)

Aawickham78 said:


> Welcome to the TLF grass life ! Get ready for a wild ride...lol
> 
> I have the same Tif419. It has taken me three years to finally be able to maintain it under 1/4 of an inch.
> If you are really wanting to mow the entire 15,000 with a reel mower, I would look into a triplex style ( John Deere 2500, Toro 3100 ) and have a 21 inch for edges and landscaping. There is a ton of options to look at. My advice is to find a brand of mower that you can get parts and service locally. Topdressing is important, to help with leveling this size of yard, I would rent a vertictutter/dethatcher and hit the entire yard at 3 inches deep before you topdress in a criss cross pattern. This will help everything. Drainage, Root growth, Leveling, Low HOC, and also helps prevent the new topdressing sand from washing away.
> ...


@Aawickham78 I'm curious why it takes so long to get a 1/4 inch cut? Is it years of leveling?


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

I mowed 20k of Tif419/common this year with a 26" Jacobsen greensmower. It's doable for sure if your work/life allows you to mow every 2-3 days reliably. Three little words will go a long ways however. Plant. Growth. Regulator. :lol:


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## TheTurfTamer (Aug 8, 2018)

Fadi said:


> Aawickham78 said:
> 
> 
> > Welcome to the TLF grass life ! Get ready for a wild ride...lol
> ...


In Alabama, the soil here is old cotton fields. My yard was literally placed on a cotton field 1 year after harvest. It has taken 3 years to get it to where I am happy with the soil. Cotton crops leave the soil without Nitrogen and Potassium and it turns to a dark red dust bowl that turns to clay, basically concrete without any nutrients. I have been doing a lot to get the soil back. Manure/ verticutting aerating/topdressing/soil conditioner/Bio-Solids. Maintaining a HOC below 1/4 without any scalping is finally here.


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## smusgrav (Oct 31, 2018)

Well the lawn here is horrible. We have sold rock under many parts of the lawn. Here is a pic of spot that died. This rock was huge it was the length of roll of sod!


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## Cory (Aug 23, 2017)

smusgrav said:


> Well the lawn here is horrible. We have sold rock under many parts of the lawn. Here is a pic of spot that died. This rock was huge it was the length of roll of sod!


That looks like concrete from the concrete truck driver washing out the chute/truck after pouring and no one cleaned it up.


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## smusgrav (Oct 31, 2018)

Unfortunately it was a rock one I dug it up. Just an example of the soil I got


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## William (Oct 2, 2017)

Triplex. I've noticed diesels are becoming cheaper than gas. Probably because most home owners never get a chance to warm up a diesel due to lawn size. Figure 45 minutes with a walk, is about 10 minutes with a triplex. I would look for a toro, Deere or Jacobsen 26" -ish mower. The only issue with a wide format mower is how level your lawn is. A triplex with independent reels to a degree minimizes the issue from a scalping position, but could lead to 3 uneven cuts.


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## jimbeckel (May 27, 2018)

Aawickham78 said:


> Fadi said:
> 
> 
> > Aawickham78 said:
> ...


Same soil here on the west side of huntsville, they built our subdivision on an old cotton field. Working on improving my soil as well. Your soil profile looks good, you can see where you sanded.


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