Prepare your lawn mower for winter

Storm Barbara is ensuring that the last of the leaves are coming down thick and fast now, and if you have a mulching lawn mower you can use this to shred the

leaves finely and use them to fertilise your garden over the winter. Leaving a carpet of leaves on the grass is detrimental to the health of your grass as it inhibits growth and can lead to soggy ground as the water cannot evaporate. Either mulch the leaves using your lawn mower or rake them up and add them to your compost heap – they are full of nutrients and as they decompose they will improve the quality of your compost ready for next year.

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If you don’t have a mulching lawn mower and will not be using it over the winter season then make sure you service and prepare the machine for storage properly so it will be in tip top condition when the time comes to start mowing again. Petrol should be emptied out of the system completely as it degrades over time and can cause corrosion inside the engine as well as condensation in the fuel tank. Once the fuel tank is empty run the engine to use up any remaining fuel in the system. If the fuel lines are easily accessible you can disconnect these to drain left over fuel instead. The spark plug should be disconnected along with the battery and any leftover petrol should be stored safely (if you have used a preservative) or disposed of. The oil should be drained and changed and the air filter properly cleaned or replaced with a new one.

The blades of your lawn mower should be sharpened every year, and if you did not sharpen them at the start of the season then now is a good time to tick that job off your list. We have written a guide to sharpening lawn mower blades in the past, which is a great starting point if you want to sharpen them yourself. If you don’t have the time or the inclination there are many places (including lawn mower sales and repair shops) that will sharpen the blades for you. Make sure the blades are coated with a thin layer of oil to prevent rusting once they have been sharpened. While the blades are off the mower and the spark plug has been disconnected and fuel drained out, take the opportunity to turn the lawn mower over and clean the mowing deck with a stiff brush to remove any dried grass and debris that could clog the mower or lead to mould growth. If you have a petrol strimmer this should also be prepared for winter using the same steps – the same goes for any petrol powered garden equipment you may own.

If that all sounds a bit boring why not take inspiration from Oisin Creagh, the “lawnmower man” who has flown from Ireland to Africa using a lawn mower engine mounted to a frame and a paragliding wing. It was not a non-stop flight, as the re-fueling of the engine had to be done on the ground, and the changing thermals he experienced flying over mountains and bodies of water made flying difficult at times. He left Ireland in late August, and landed in Africa in mid-September, flying via Scotland, Dover and Spain, completing the last leg from Gibraltar to Morocco all in aid of Gorta Self Help Africa, a charity that works in Ethiopia to support those affected by drought. It is certainly one inventive use of a lawn mower engine and makes Creagh’s lawnmower one of the best travelled models; instead of one end of the garden to the other his lawnmower has travelled across continents!