Mowing Steep Slopes – A Complete Guide

It is important to develop strategies for mowing steep slopes whenever it’s time to cut the grass while avoiding accidents.

Not every lawn is perfectly leveled!  Having a slope in your lawn can be beautiful even though it can make mowing harder.

Mowing a steep slope can be dangerous if you do not take precautions.  Do not mow up and down the hill directly; instead, take a lateral approach, and run your mower parallel to the slope.  If you can use a self-propelled mower, the better!

Make sure you put it at the slowest speed, wear shoes that have good traction, and set the mower height to the highest setting.

Mowing a slope presents a challenge to many people.  Before undertaking the mowing, determine whether or not your slope is safe to mow.  Slopes that are steeper than a 1-foot incline for every 3 feet of horizontal width make them too steep to mow.  On such steep inclines, you can plant meadow grass for low maintenance and erosion-preventing landscaping.

Is Stand on Mowers Good for Hills?

Are stand-on mowers food for hills is a question that gardeners and homeowners want answers to. To get the job of grass-cutting done efficiently and effectively that is easy, stand-on mowers are actually quite good. These mowers have a compact design that makes them convenient to transport, use, and store.

If you have a large yard or field that needs mowing, transporting several mowers on your trailer would be possible if they are all stand-on mowers. This is also due to their size, which is not on the bulky side. I know that it can be a tough one when trying to decide if you should get a standing mower or a sitting mower for slopey areas. For hillsides, standing mowers are in great demand.

This is because these cutters are easy to operate on hills, as the user can counter a sloping incline by effortlessly shifting his weight when the machine is in operation. The mower also has a lower center of gravity which aids in reducing the risk of tipping the cutter over. Even through changing terrain, standing mowers are nimble and quick when in use. Mowing steep slopes with varying angles is possible when using this efficient garden tool. 

Best Shoes for Cutting Grass

The best shoes for cutting grass should be one that comes with ample protection. This is especially true when mowing steep slopes as it will avoid injury to yourself. Therefore, a lack of protective footwear can land you in problems that could have been avoided if you opted for the best shoes for grass cutting. Imagine using a mower that slices the lawn with precision while you’re barefoot or in your favorite flip-flops.

What happens when this efficient garden tool takes a turn and then runs over your exposed feet? I can tell you that aside from the pain caused by the injury, the sight of this type of disaster is not very pretty. Therefore, wearing heavy shoes or boots when doing any yard work should always be a priority. If you want to protect the grass and shoe you have on, then the ideal shoe covering for lawnmowing is a lawn aerator shoe.

These aerators have spikey bottoms that not only help with lawn aeration while you’re mowing but also protects your shoe. It resembles a strap-on sandal that fits easily over your existing shoe, which is convenient. If you have a hardened natural grass surface or elongated sharp artificial grass, then turf soccer shoes would be best in this case. Muddy grass pitches call for soft-ground football boots because it has firm studs that maneuver easily on wet ground. A great choice for soft ground shoes is Nike’s Anti Clog Tech football boots.

Here is a list of our best shoes for grass-cutting:

• The Michigan Neoprene Garden Boots
• The Muckster II Ankle Boots
• The Classic Crocs
• The Backdoorshoes Garden Clogs
• The Amoji Garden Sandals

Dangers of Zero Turn Mowers on Hills

What are the dangers of zero-turn mowers? Although these lawnmowers are quite efficient when cutting grass, using them incorrectly and without caution can prove disastrous. This is especially true when mowing steep slopes or grassy hillsides without being aware of the dangers of zero-turn mowers when used negligently. Listed below are a few insights on the dangers of using these mowers and ways to avoid them.

Zero-turn mowers should be used with caution:

– Speed, especially when mowing hills, is not recommended as it is likely to result in a tattered lawn. Aside from that, losing traction because of how fast you’re going when using the mower can cause it to roll over. 

– On slopes that are 15 degrees and lower, slow driving is recommended when using a zero-turn mower. In this case, driving the mower 4 or 5 miles per hour as you continue up and down the slope is best to provide tire traction and safety.

– Zero-turn mowers are equipped with extremely powerful blades that rotate are very high speeds. If not used correctly or as directed, severe injury is imminent when caution is not implemented.

– Ensure that you maneuver the machine gradually when it comes to hard-to-mow corners. Impatiently turning your mower sharply can have detrimental results. 

What Does a 15 Degree Slope Look Like?

Knowing what a 15-degree slope looks like will give you an idea of the kind of lawnmower that would best suit that type of hilly area. This is because the difficulty of cutting grass on a slope boils down to the degree of the include, which can make your job easy or more difficult.  A slight slope has less than a 10-degree incline, while anything above that and up to 20 degrees is considered moderate.

Gradients that surpass the 20-degree angle are considered steep hills, while anything above 30% is extremely steep. To know what a 15-degree slope looks like, you would need to pay attention to the contour lines on the hill. This is because if they are spaced far enough, then the hill could be considered gentle or moderate. So, a defined hill with distanced contour lines is what a 15-degree slope looks like.

Strategies On How To Mow A Steep Hillside

• Set Your Mower To A Higher Setting Throughout.  If you set your mower deck lower, you will not be able to push it around and mow because it will be difficult to push.  The higher setting makes it easier for the mower to move over bumps and lumps in the lawn without bouncing off the ground.

• Mow In A Lateral Direction instead Of Going Up Straight The Slope.  This is a safety measure when mowing a steep hillside.  Pushing the mower straight up a hill can be very dangerous because you can easily lose your footing causing you to fall.  This fall could be fatal especially if the mower falls back on you.  Mowing crosswise from the left side of the hill to the right rather than pushing it up and down the hill is safe and gives you a firm footing.  It is advisable to use a push mower instead of a riding mower.

• Get A Pair Of Good Cleats That Give You Extra Traction.  The shoes you wear when mowing steep ground help you with better stability.  Getting a pair of cleats gives you the extra traction to remain steady when handling the mower.  The last thing you want when mowing a steep hillside is to slip.

• Finally, Buy A Special Mower For Your Steep Areas.  This may sound too costly but it is very important.  Small deck mowers are lighter and easier to handle thus fitting for steep areas.  Just like the way you have tools for specific purposes, it is best to have a lawnmower for a specific area.  This will help you get the task done fast and with ease.  Battery mowers are lighter than gas-powered mowers and using them for steep areas can conserve energy making work easier.

Find the 5 Best Lawn Mowers for Steep Banks

The Most Important Rule: Never Do It When It’s Wet

Mowing Wet Grass Is Not A Good Idea.  Even the best mowers can get clogged up and mulching the clipping becomes nearly impossible.  Mowing a steep hillside on a wet day increases the element of danger.  Wet grass does not cut as well as dry grass because it lies down under the mower blade failing to get cut.  It is best to mow when the grass blades are all standing up straight.  During or after a rain the grass blades are not standing tall and the suction of the blade won’t pick them.

The Best Mowers For Use On A Steep Hillside

The best lawn mower to use on an incline has special characteristics.  They include:

• A good rear-wheel-drive gives you better traction on slopes and inclines
• A very wide cutting deck to help you cut the grass fast
• Lightweight to make your movements easy so that you don’t exert too much energy

Find one that has all these characteristics for easy mowing on a steep hillside.  If you can’t find one that is cut out with all these characteristics, it’s best to choose one that is close to the perfect one.

Greenworks 40V 20-Inch Cordless Twin Force Lawn Mower

Mowing Steep Hills

Mowing a steep hillside is possible when you choose to use the right tools and do it right.  We fail because we do the right things at the wrong time.

Wet grass will always fail you whether you are mowing on flat or steep lawns.

When you do the right thing at the right time with the right tools, then you are bound to prosper.  And that’s what will happen with mowing your steep hillside with the right tools. [wp-faq-schema title=”FAQs” accordion=1]