[dragonfly]

i've read somewhere that its a waste of time bringing your UK lawnmower over - that our mowers can't cope with the nz grass- anyone any thoughts on this? we've a new(ish)petrol driven mower which I'd like to bring . sorry if it's a daft question but i'm a keen gardener..

Sue

[IanW99]

The grass seems the same to me :confused:

Yes, you can bring your lawn mower but it is a restricted item i.e. MAF will want to inspect it when it arrives. If it is not clean of all dirt, seeds etc then they will clean it and charge you for the cleaning. So it is recommended that you clean it thoroughly before you ship it.

Don't forget to drain all the petrol out as well.

Ian

[jackie m]

I think as Ian said you will have to get it cleaned but a petrol mower will cope with the grass over here. Our front lawn is like normal grass but our back lawn is a really thick grass that roots everywhere almost bouncy to walk on. But like yourself I love my gardening, be warned weeds in lawns aargh !!!! constantly having to weed kill them turn round & they have mulitplied. Anybody got any tips ?.
Jackie

[Tia Maria]

Its not so much that the grass is tougher it just grows a lot quicker and for a lot more of the year (in Auckland anyway) so you have to cut the grass more often, but if you are a keen gardener that won't be an issue for you.

As a result its quite common for people round our way to use a lawn service. There are at least 3 local guys that do it.

We never intended to use a lawn service but even though we had cleaned our petrol mower, MAF insisted on it being done again - which we had to pay for. NZ Vanlines then failed to tell us it was ready for collection which is apparently quite common according to the cleaning service. We were then given 24hours to collect it or they would bin it.

We managed to get it only to find some vital bits were missing and its proving hard to track down a replacement in NZ.

In total it was 6 months before we actually got the mower and since then its been sitting in our garage. The previous owners of the house used a lawn service and we just took it over, in retrospect I wish we had just bought a new mower when we got here!

Your mower should be fine here, once you've changed the plug, just make sure its very, very, clean!

Cheers

Tia

[Joanne100]

I was told the grass is much more coarse here in NZ and it still grows in the winter! i dont know if thats true i have no grass, but ur poor lawnmower may get over worked!
Joanne

[BkyMonster]

I know for instance that 'mulching' mowers don't work well in most of Western Oregon (where I live) because the grass is too wet most of the year for proper mulching.
We have to regularly stop the mower during a session and clean off the grass that is stuck to the blades. :laugh
Perhaps it is something similar with New Zealand grass?

[Familyofmonkeys]

As a result its quite common for people round our way to use a lawn service. There are at least 3 local guys that do it.



We were considering getting to do our grass while we are renting. Don't want to unpack lawnmower yet. Is it expensive?

[IanW99]

I was told the grass is much more coarse here in NZ and it still grows in the winter! i dont know if thats true i have no grass, but ur poor lawnmower may get over worked!
Joanne

Certainly our grass looks the same as the UK and just the same to cut, but there are several different varieties as there are in the UK. It does grow more in the winter but then seems less in the summer.

Not had a problem with cutting wet grass, unlike the UK you can wait a few days for the grass to dry.

I am sure that a half decent lawn mower from the UK will have no problems in NZ, but as pointed out by Tia, do check for spares / service for your model.

For Familyofmonkeys, check that the mowing isn't covered as part of the rental?

When we first moved to NZ our rental included mowing the lawns, which we only found out after just having mowed them! :(

Ian

[Tia Maria]

FamilyofMonkeys wrote:

We were considering getting to do our grass while we are renting. Don't want to unpack lawnmower yet. Is it expensive?

We get it done every 2 weeks and it includes cutting our front lawn and larger back lawn (well large by North Shore standards!) and edging also. It cost $25 ($50 for the month).

We are only charged when its done as obviously weather can prevent it being done on various weeks. For this reason also we don't have a regular day. He just appears when the sun is out, although I'm sure he would try to stick to a day/time if it was an issue.

He also offers other services like spraying, pruning, weed eating etc. But we've not used this so I couldn't tell you how much.

Check that the person is reliable and has been running their business in the area for some time as obviously they will be on your property - possibly when you are not there. Our guy was really well known in the area, so although not the cheapest I felt fine about him coming into our garden.

Cheers

Tia

[Steadybears]

Does anyone know the makes of lawnmowers so we could try and get a new one here before we leave. Can we actually bring new lawnmower into NZ or would we have to pau import duties.

Tks
Jayne

[Familyofmonkeys]

Does anyone know the makes of lawnmowers so we could try and get a new one here before we leave. Can we actually bring new lawnmower into NZ or would we have to pau import duties.

Tks
Jayne

Just remove packaging and check it works by turning it on. That way it is not new anymore.

[IanW99]

Does anyone know the makes of lawnmowers so we could try and get a new one here before we leave. Can we actually bring new lawnmower into NZ or would we have to pau import duties.

Tks
Jayne

Here's a link to a few from the equivalent of B&Q:- Lawn Mowers (http://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/power_garden_tools/lawnmowers/index.cfm)

If you don't already have a lawn mower then I would not recommend buying one before you arrive. As this item is restricted, MAF will want to inspect it and may charge you to clean it even if you haven't actually used it (shouldn't happen but who knows). And if you haven't used it and it is obvious that you haven't then you may also be subject to import duty (again shouldn't happen but who knows)

If you haven't used it then it may not actually work, or may get broken in the move, or warranty may not be valid etc. You may also want to use a lawn mower before the container arrives.

Unless you are getting a good discount or have a favourite that would be difficult to source in NZ then I can't see the point.

Ian

[dragonfly]

thanks for the info everyone! i'll have to give it a good clean when the time comes and flog it here if we can't get it clean enough... i like the idea of getting someone else to do the mowing tho!! mind you, thats usually rob anyway!!
Sue

[marcia]

My hubby did a grass cutting contract for Yorkshire water, in the uk and had some huge mowers called SCAGS - massive things, we brought both of those and two small petrol Honda mowers. Kev stripped them all down, cleaned them throughly, make sure you do the air filters, and the blades and also the tyres really well. (Give it all a good clean down with Jeyes fluid too - if the MAF guys can smell it they seem really happy! :)

We had no problems at all with MAF, we brought a lot of gardening tools too, (as well as a trailer, workshop equip etc etc, 3/4 of our 40 footer was kev's junk!!!) and he had a look and there were no problems.

As others have said there is no difference with the grass, except for the fact that it grows all year round and you will be cutting it more often that in the uk!

[Familyofmonkeys]

Every shipping company we asked, told us to use Jeyes Fluid too. We even put on our MAF declaration what we used to clean things with. OK, so they didn't ask for that information, but they also did not check most of our garden stuff either, do it probably helped.

[Steadybears]

Thanks for all the advise - think it will give OH something to think about. Can anyone tell me where I can find all rules and regs about MAF - not too sure where to swot up whats what.

Thanks everyone again
Jayne

[IanW99]

Thanks for all the advise - think it will give OH something to think about. Can anyone tell me where I can find all rules and regs about MAF - not too sure where to swot up whats what.

Thanks everyone again
Jayne

Try this link:- Personal Belonging & MAF (http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/personal-travel-belongings-and-mail/bringing-things-into-nz/your-belongings)

Ian

[Familyofmonkeys]

Here is another link to look at:

www.maf.govt.nz/

[Nick88]

If you end up buying a lifestyle block over here you won't be using a push mower, anyway. You get the have a ride-on, and then cutting the grass becomes quite enjoyable.

I believe the grass over here is stronger, at least it seems to affect some of the locals more. But then you don't use a mower on that type.