Department: Turf
Straight into the deep end with Turf. There is only James and Simon currently on the team. James showed me a Honda rotary mower, important things to remember when tipping it up to clean etc. to do away from and not on the fuel side, otherwise engine would flood.
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| Photo 1: Honda Rotary Mower. |
It has a four stroke engine. Need to check fuel, that spark plug is engaged before starting. Check oil dip stick. You have to start it up with a choke cord (choke switch needs to be on when this is first on). There are three bars one has to press down on the handle to get it moving. It's push 1, 2 (2nd one with a yellow press down button too to get the blade moving, 3 to start moving and go. The mower will start moving forward of it's own accord when the 3rd one is pushed down. It's good to start getting into stride when this happens, so that it is less of the mower tugging the person. Need to adjust height of blades, which work sequentially away from the middle. I set it on 2.
For the cutting, I cut around the outside first twice, then up and down to create stripes, overlapping a little to avoid a 'mohican' - tuft of uncut grass between the lines. To keep them straight I had to look ahead at a fixed point as much as possible. There is a roller underneath the cutter also. The lighter stripes are the undersides of the grass from how it is brushed whilst being cut. To finish the cut off I went around the outside one more time. Must remember to go around the same direction as when started. Can do the turning off path depending on the surface (some surfaces stains from the grass).
Everyone is assigned their own mower when they're on the department. Mowers have to have bags emptied, be washed or at least air cleaned when finished. My is currently 111.
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| Photo 2: Stripes. |
He has also inducted me on the ride on mower. Like a tractor there are 5 important checks before starting - fuel (uses red diesel like tractors and narrowboats), that vents and filters are clean, the oil and coolant. The pedals are thermostatic, so should technically not operate when not stepping on them. But I found I had to tap my foot in the opposite direction to where I was going to make it stop or on the brakes. Hand brake has to be on before it will start up. Handbrake cannot be left on or it will rattle to a halt. Turtle & hare to change speed. When not cutting it was good to make sure blade is lifted up. Best to put blade on when they are in this position before lowering down. The machine has a sucking action whilst cutting so all grass is captured in a container on the back. There are also different cut settings - must be careful not to go too low and scalp grass. It is often used behind the sidewinder cutter (the Toro) to clean up behind it. There was also a waggle stick I must move about every 15 mins at least, to make sure the chute between bag / grass collection box stay clear, so that grass doesn't start falling out or gets blocked.
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| Photo 3. Similar to a tractor - John Deere Ride On Mower. |
Turf refer to areas of the garden different to the standard names:
- Short Borders - where John Edgar's from Formal two strips of bedding borders are.
- Back of Seven Acres - refers to area where Japanese Pagoda is up to Glass.
- Pines Lawn - lawn opp. meadow bank adjacent to Pines building and in front of Foliage Garden.
