We all make mistakes in the garden on occasion. In fact I do it on a regular basis. Usually my mistakes are those where I forget to do something or I intend to come back and finish something but run out of time to get back to it. My biggest mistake is typically taking on too much for what my time allows. Last night when I was out mowing I made a couple of mistakes that led to a lot of frustration with my mower. Let me be clear, the blame is on me and not on my mower!
I noticed my issue while beginning to mow the front yard. I turned the mower to go up hill when all of a sudden everything came to a halt. The blades would run but for some reason the mower’s transmission would not go. I was stuck. I looked around the mower and saw a stick poking up into the underside of the mower. It was leftover from a pruning I did the other day. I removed and and proceeded to look underneath the mower to see what was wrong when I noticed something wrapped around one of the wheels.
It was bird netting that was loose in the yard. Somehow I had run over it and it wrapped itself up into a very thick rope wrapped around the wheel. I thought maybe this is why it all stopped. So I cut and removed the bird netting with a knife and got the wheel clear.
I sat back upon the mower, turned it on, and … went nowhere. There was something still amiss. After reexamining the underside of the mower it was then I noticed that the drive belt was completely off. The stick that I had left lying in the grass had popped up into the belt area and leveraged the belt off the pulleys. I should have cleaned up my mess from pruning. I lowered the cutting deck and tried to realign the belt onto the pulley system with little luck.
After quite a bit of frustration my neighbor came to help and we watched a video on a cellphone about how to replace the belt under my mower. Gradually darkness came and flashlights were necessary. Apparently Troy-Bilt put in a handy little lever that (had I read the manual) could easily release the tension on the belt for me to wrap it around all the necessary pulleys. Manuals are given to us for a reason.
As complete darkness surrounded me I turned the mower on and it ran, it moved, and I began one last trip back to the shed with the mower to put it away. It was too dark to finish mowing but the flashlight would at least let me get the RZT mower back to its home in my shed. I looked down at the ground through the darkness and noticed that an unusually high amount of grass was shooting out of the mower. It took me about 15 feet to realize that I hadn’t raised the mower deck back to its normal height!
I managed to scalp a pretty nice little pathway through the front yard. While this might be a great technique to help remove an area of the lawn for a new garden or to actually create a real pathway with paving stones this was not what I wanted. Hopefully the grass will endure this disgrace and return to its former glory. Always mow the proper height for your grass and of course check the mower cutting deck…do as I say not as I do right?
What mistakes have you made in your garden lately?
How to Plant Potatoes in Raised Beds
Healthy potato plants About a month before the last frost date is the best planting time for potatoes in my zone 7b garden. That starts the planting season for potatoes here in Tennessee in Mid March. If you need a better guide than that think…
Mr. Tomato, Sphinx Moth, and a Garden Fresh Pizza
Please forgive the randomness of my title for today’s post. It’s hard to sum up a weekend in just a few words! Weekends are always busy times in the garden when the weather is as beautiful as it has been. Sunday’s humidity was a bit…
A Place of Serenity
At my parent’s house there is a small garden location where the contemplative gardener can go to relax. Nestled between the cherry trees the garden bench that my dad and I built for my mom several years ago. What I thought made this scene so…
Vegetable Garden Checklist for the End of March
Everyone is thinking about the garden right now, if not they should be! The vegetable garden is where you can really reap the rewards of your backyard. Sometimes though you don’t know what you should be doing and when or (if you’re like me) forget…
Guest Post From My Son
Hi there! I’m taking over dad’s blog today and giving you a bit of a tour of the garden. Or at least of the things I like about the garden! I’m not quite sure what he’s trying to do out there. He digs a lot,…
Images of the Spring Garden – March 2018
Spring and Fall are my favorite seasons in the garden. Fall because I love the changing leaves, the cool crisp air, and the feeling of closure that comes with shutting down the garden. Spring is my other favorite because of the rebirth. All the spring…
Discover more from Growing The Home Garden
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
The bird jetting dilemma… been there with rope. Cheap, nylon rope that embedded itself around the pulleys like chewing gum to longhair. As for a release lever our Husqy has a similar release feature discovered as well not by the machines 'bible' rather a desperate Google search for assistance. As for the path you burnished through your front lawn , I have to thank you. Not only for the giggle that overcame me but primarily for assuring me I am NOT alone in my subconscious yearning to remove well established turf in strips from my honey's f%into lawn.