A mower that fires up and then dies within a few seconds almost always has a fuel supply problem, not a dead engine. The usual causes are old fuel gumming up the carburettor, a blocked vent in the fuel cap,…
Clover takes hold in thin, underfed grass, so the real fix is a thicker lawn rather than a bottle of spray. Fork out established patches, rake and mow the creeping stems, and reseed any bare soil this early autumn while…
Stale petrol left in the tank over winter gums up the carburettor and corrodes the fuel system, the single most common reason a mower will not start in spring. A proper end-of-season service takes about an hour: sort the fuel,…
Summer lawn feed is loaded with nitrogen, which pushes soft leafy growth that struggles in cold, wet weather and falls prey to fungal disease. Autumn feeds drop the nitrogen and load up on potassium and phosphorus, feeding the roots so…
Look closely at the grass a day after you mow. If the tips are shredded and pale rather than cleanly sliced, and the whole lawn has taken on a yellow cast, the mower is tearing the grass instead of cutting…
If patches of your lawn have started lifting like loose carpet, or you keep finding turf ripped up and scattered across the grass in the morning, the cause is underground. Chafer grubs eat grass roots through autumn, and the birds…
Few things kill the momentum of a Saturday mow faster than a cloud of smoke rising off the engine. It looks alarming, and it is easy to fear the worst. The good news is that a smoking mower is usually…
A tired, patchy lawn at the end of summer usually points to one hidden culprit sitting right at the base of the grass: thatch. Early autumn, with its mild air and damp soil, is the window to rake it out…
A mower that buzzes hard through the handles after a full summer of cutting is not just uncomfortable to push. The shaking is the machine telling you that something spinning underneath it has gone off-centre, and left running that way…
A broken lawn edge pulls the eye faster than almost anything else in a garden. The grass in the middle can be thick and green, but a crumbling border or a scalloped bite out of the edge makes the whole…
