How Do The Amish Mow Their Grass?

On a quiet Sunday morning in Amish country, the sound of someone mowing their lawn is probably going to be quite different from what most non-Amish Americans hear in their own neighborhoods. Instead of engines and gas-powered riding mowers, keeping the grass neat in Amish country often means having to push a traditional reel mower by hand. Mowing your lawn frequently is important for lawn health, and that is no different for a person living in an Amish community, so they have to work with what they've got to get that job done. 

But is this because Amish families are banned from using modern lawn equipment? Well, it isn't that straightforward — each Amish church district has its own rules which govern everything from clothing to technology. While some communities are prohibited from using powered lawn equipment, others allow certain types, and so the type of mower any one family might use will depend on their community's traditions.

For those in communities where modern lawn mowers are prohibited, reel mowers make a simple yet effective way to keep their lawns tidy. Reel mowers work by using a rotating cylinder fitted with several curved blades, and as the wheels turn, the blades spin against a fixed metal cutting bar to create a scissor-like action that simply slices through the grass. Unlike rotary mowers, they're quiet, lightweight, and certainly don't require any gasoline to get the job done, so they're often considered one of the best lawn mowers to use in smaller yards or for anyone wanting to reduce their environmental footprint. 

It's one thing to consider using a reel mower in a small yard, but what if an Amish family has an entire field to cut down? Well, that is where horses and agricultural machinery come into the picture — many Amish farmers use horse-drawn equipment, including traditional sickle-bar mowers, to manage their fields. And these work very differently from a reel mower. 

By contrast, a sickle-bar mower has a long metal cutting bar fitted with small triangular blades that move backwards and forwards through protective guards. Horses are used to pull the equipment forward, so it's much more of a continuous cutting action that's better for larger areas of grass or hay. It's a piece of agricultural history as well – horse-drawn mowing machines date back to the 19th century. Although modern tractors are available today, some Amish communities restrict their use, and so they continue to use horse-drawn machinery and, in a way, it's quite lovely to know that these more traditional farming methods are still alive in the modern age. If you're also curious about how the Amish keep weeds out of their garden, that's another interesting part of their approach to maintaining a productive homestead.