Proper way to mow

Mowing 'longer' will reduce the amount of re-growth in a week. Are you being liberal with the use of fertilizer or water? Execessive use of nitrogen will result an 'emerald' green lawn and lots of growth. To maintain a 'formal' lawn in this way requires mowing at *least* every three days. Blocking the discharge will result in choking the whole show = bigger mess! Vac cleaning systems are expensive, maintenance intensive and a general PITA. The way I see it, to keep the clippings light enough to eliminate the need to 'rake' you have two choices. Mow more frequently or starve the lawn. Ken.

I can't speak for Craftsman, but my John Deere has a block when using the mulching blade. Keeps cuttings under the deck so they can get chopped up into smaller pieces.

Don't mow too short. If you keep the grass longer, say 2 1/2 to 3", it will be healthier, less weed, easier to care for. Ed

Proper? Any technique that makes the grass shorter in the smallest amount of time I would call "proper."

I try to mow a different direction each time to avoid creating ruts with my mower - granted that would take a long time, but I've been mowing this yard for 25 years. I mow the perimeter clockwise, blowing the clippings "in", two or three times to give myself "turn" room. Then just straight lines back and forth. I also cut fairly high: the grass looks thicker, and helps to choke out weeds.

On the subject of mulching mowers: hate 'em. Hate the bastards. If the grass if at all high they clog, and always make a mess in the garage when they're put up. Either collect or discharge the clippings, and forget the guilt.

- Wm

Clippings on the driveway/sidewalk will dry up and blow away. Clippings in the mulch may be caught and not blow away, but they will turn brown and blend in. Either way, it becomes a non-issue eventually.

Don't cut the grass too short: it will burn in the dry season. Longer grass will withstand drought better. It also shades out weeds better.

Mulching mowers need to be used fairly frequently so that the clippings are short and will fall into the grass. Longer clippings (more volume of grass being cut) will clump up and leave clods of grass on the lawn.

If you have two acres, do you use it all? How about cutting a quarter or half acre as a lawn and haying the rest? Then you only have to cut that part twice a year.

If he has two acres he could make a beautiful natural area with all kinds of native plants and trees.

Just because the area is natural does not mean that it requires no maintenance. Just different.

There have been several times in my life when I have had a half acre or more. This is the first time that it has all been in yard, and we are working on that. Lots of flower beds, etc.

Dwight Sipler wrote:

Every grass variety has an optimum cutting height, so I can't just reel off a number. But whatever grass variety you have, choose a cutting height at the top of the range for that grass. This will make the grass more drought resistant, reduce the need for fertilizer, chokes out weeds, etc.

Cutting taller will also reduce the cutting frequency required since a grass that isn't overcut won't have to grow as fast to get enough green blade area in sunlight to survive. Don't over-fertilize and don't over-water. Both will cause excessively rapid growth, and will promote poor root systems.

To convert a regular deck to a mulching deck, you have to block the discharge chute. An old license plate will do if you don't have the proper block off plate. Note that if the deck isn't designed to be used as a mulcher, there may be some clogging problems, but it is worth a shot. Every pound of grass clippings you remove from the lawn requires you to replace those nutrients in another way.

Gary

I think the real key to grass care is keeping your blades razor sharp! I sharpen the blade every three or four cuts and the mulching lawnmower works best that way. For your size lawn, how about one of those solar powered robotic mowers that cuts all the time the sun is out.

||I think the real key to grass care is keeping your blades razor sharp! I ||sharpen the blade every three or four cuts and the mulching lawnmower works ||best that way. For your size lawn, how about one of those solar powered ||robotic mowers that cuts all the time the sun is out.

I like those things! Check out the Husquvarna robotic on their website. Rex in Fort Worth

Mulching blades have to be kept sharp. Most folks don't sharpen any mower blade often enough. Do not block the dishcarge. Set blade height at 2.5" mow before it reaches 3.5"

Boustrophedonically.

On Wed, 14 Apr 2004 10:03:24 -0600, "Ken Davey" shouted from the rooftop:

1) Set the height of cut at 2.5 to 3 inches. 2) Run the engine at full throttle. 3) Use a slow speed- first or second gear only. 4) Cut no more than a 36" swath AT THE MOST! Yes, the deck is 48" wide, but most garden tractor decks are not able to make a full width cut. They clog. 5) Mow in a pattern such that you are not going through the fresh clippings- they will severely overload the decks' cutting ability. 6) With two acres of land, any 48" garden tractor is too small. You need to move up to a 62" zero turn mower or a used 72" commercial out-front deck machine.

-Carl "An honest man doesn't need a long memory"- Jesse Ventura

When mulching mow in a counterclockwise direction.

When bagging mow clockwise. This will leave the least amount of clippings on the lawn.

3" is the recommended length to cut the lawn to. Shorter is damaging to most grasses.

Make a pass or two one way, then do the rest the other way. Bag the first couple passes .. sounds like you're not bagging/collecting the grass.. such a shame, what a compost pile you could have ;-)

If you want to mulch, then you gotta cut more frequently, and at that

3" height, shouldn't be cutting off more than 1/4 to 1/2 inch I'd think if you truly want it to mulch, and have the cut off grass fall to the ground between the grass blades decompose and feed the lawn. Otherwise, you're just makin' thatch that will eventually kill off some of the grass and leave openings for weed seed to grow.

Mow a bit each night instead of a big mow once a week.. or hire someone else to do it if you don't have time.

Reduce your lawn area through landscaping. I'd imagine if you don't have time to mow, you don't have time to vegetable garden.. although that would give you a place to use grass clippings that aren't contaminated with herbicides.

Janice

you should be blowing the clipping where you have not mowed this gives them a shot to get cut again you should basically mow in a spiral from the outside in!

Wayne

Just hitch a yoke of oxen to the mower. They'll know what to do.

Dale Scroggins

Carl Byrns scribed in :

or, get two used engine driven push mowers and tow them behind the rideon, one each side, or both one side, so you mow a wider swatch. make sure they are the type with a grass box, and leave the box off so the clippings go out the back.

yes, you may have trouble in turns or the fiddly bits, but the majority will be much quicker

sure to be a lot cheaper than a new rideon, but you sure have a lot of grass there. considered leaving some of it long? I have an area of my yard that is hard to mow (steep slope), so I don't, it is just about a foot high and stays about that. no sweat. and the dogs prefer to shit there rather than the short grass (-:

swarf, steam and wind

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William Morris scribed in :

and pay for the fertilizer and water your lawn will now use more of. the mulch fertilizes the lawn the mulch retains water for you. I live in an arid climate and water is expensive. your milage may vary

swarf, steam and wind

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Sounds like a bad yoke to me.... Ken.

"Don't go into the tall grass" - Soon to be dead guy in one of those Jurassic Park movies

Joel. phx