by Joseph McCann

Created on: September 30, 2008   Last Updated: October 20, 2008

It use to take me about 4 hours to mow my 3 acres of lawn, and the rest of the day raking, and trimming. It would take at least, one day of my two day weekend, and on too many occasions, both days.

Then there was the maintenance, the sharpening - the cleaning of wet grass from underneath. The plain fact was, the care of my lawn was far too much for my little mower. And after the many struggles, pulling and pulling to get the mower started, I became convinced my lawn care was becoming too much for me, too.

Then I realized two things. In addition to having far more important things to do with my time, like spending it with my family, I needed the proper equipment to match the job I needed to do.

I also realized, there's not a suburban neighborhood or farm where you won't see the familiar sight of the green and yellow John Deere tractor. My research also indicated I might want to check out the Case IH Garden Tractor and the Honda Garden Tractor.

According to Consumer Reports and my other research, honda Garden Tractors have been discontinued in the U.S. Case IH, well that's a different story. What they consider their "Compact" Tractor, their Farmall(R) Series starts with a 31-50 HP diesel, beginning at $15,846 for the base configuration, plus $1539. for the 3 Range Hydrostatic transmission with cruis control and mid-mount PTO, and $1361 for Shipping Wheels. I found the Case IH, a little more than I needed for moving my lawn.

John Deere, on the other hand, has been the stable relating to quality, warrantees, parts accessibility, tires and pulling capacities since 1837. Rated "Best Buy" by leading researchers, John Deere has also the least repairs of all leading brands. But besides John Deere's famed reliability comes a selection second to none, to give you the proper Lawn Tractor or Garden Tractor requirements suited to the job you're asking of it.

There are two basic series of John Deere Lawn Tractors: LA100 and the X300 series, each suited to your need of attachments and capacities.

The LA105 employs a John Deere Briggs AVS engine that delivers 19.5 HP. All are gear driven for reliability and the 42" mower begins at an affordable $1499. The series climbs up to the LA175 with 26 HP, with a number of models between the two, depending on your needs, including California models.

The X300 series consists of heavier duty models when your needs go beyond simple grass cutting. The X300 series Lawn Tractor provides greater torque for added pulling capacity. Starting at 17 HP

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