DieselDaze

Guys, Im just looking for ideas on how to reduce/eliminate grass clippings.
I have 6' finish mower that makes quick work of mowing the grass.
However, it leaves a lot of grass clippings behind. So much that it covers most of the grass that was just cut.
In a day or two, the yard looks brown from all the dead grass clippings.

Ive tried to run over it several times with the finish mower. That just redistributes the grass without really doing any good.
Ive tried to (gently) drag a box blade over it in an attempt to scoop it away with no success.
Ive also tried to drag a heavy chain over it in an attempt to pull it away.

So far, short of buying a mulching mower of some sort, Im out of ideas.

Any ideas?
Rich

phox_mulder

Can you get a mulching blade, or mulching attachment for your existing mower?


phox

Begle1

Assuming that you can rake the clippings into a pile or pick them up somehow, or they'll probably just eat the good grass.

DieselDaze

Maybe, I'll have to check into that.

It would probably devour the flower gardent and trees first, then the grass. After all the good eating is gone and nothing was left but the yard clippings, it would move on to to the nieghbors house and start over.

Rich

dodgeguy71

My goats eat just about anything, tree bark, caught them nibbling on some fresh split wood(??) any kind of weed my fields can produce....but fresh cut grass...they don't care for it for some reason..Just cut them loose in the yard and they'll have that fresh cut grass look in no time and fertilize it for ya too!! Just don't get sheep, I here they pull the grass up by the roots and then you have good yard for some of the off road guys!!

Sorry Diesel, I was absolutly no help at all was I.....

Lary Ellis (Top)

Cut the grass more often so the clippings are smaller

GreatWhite91

Have you heard of Gator Blades? They are normal blades with "teeth" flared up opposite the cutting side. They cut the grass, and then shred the clippings up. We use them at work and they have eliminated alot of the clippings that lay on top of the grass, and piles that form.

Geico266

Beat me to the answer.......again.

Lawn care 101 says you are only suppose to cut 1" off at a time and no more than 1/3 the length.

carcrz

A few things to ask first - What is the cutting height? What is the frequency of the mowing? Are your blades sharpened & balanced correctly? Fertilizer Applications - Liquid or Granular? Since you are from Missouri & I know there has been very little rain over this summer.

I am cutting @ 4"'s right now w/ standard lift blades. In your case, mulching blades will leave trails & clumps because the grass is too thick to mulch. You may try Hi-lift blades as they may spread the blades more evenly. Also, you may have to mow a few times a week to get it under control. Starting w/ cross-cutting the first few times.

If you are using Chemlawn, they use liquid fertilizer that grows very fast at the beginning & then does nothing until the next application. You may consider using a granular next year w/ a liquid pesticide for broadleaf control. If you're in KC, we can get in touch for some options.

A sprinkler system may also be a culprit. Either the frequency is set too ofter or you may have a leak. Standing water or sloshy soil is a sign of a leak.

TRCM

Well, when I have a bunch of clippings sitting on the grass, the good ole leaf blower is recruited to 'spread it out', and it does a very good job. It actually blows the clippings back down in to the grass, like mulch.

But, I have the feeling that if you have a 6' blade, yer yard is just a wee bit larger than mine

Rhino

A few of the important questions have been asked already. I will add that if double or triple cutting the grass does not help chop up the clippings small enough so they disappear, you are cutting off too much grass at one time. You need to cut more often.

The other thing is is your grass weedy? are you cutting more grass than weeds? Some weeds do not cut well or disipate well when mowing.

carcrz

Gator Blades are good, but tend to leave clumps if it is really tall or wet.

DieselDaze

Yeah, yeah, yeah...
I just got the thing working againg and yeah, its been a while since the grass saw a good mower.

Rich

DieselDaze

Naw the grass isnt too bad regarding weeds. But yes, it was a while since I was able to cut down to that level. See HERE if your interested.

I did use a friends sit-down mower, but it was not able to cut down to the normal level. Now that the mower is running again, I went at it with the normal (for me) setting and it has left a lot of yard clippings.
Plus, this is the first time Ive had a considerably green yard as the fall weather has started in with some good rains.

Rich.

DieselDaze

The blades are part of a 6' finish mower that is only ~3.5 months old. Im guessing the thing was balanced from the factory as it does run smothe.
No fertilzer (that Ive added).
The grass was very dry and appeared dead in many/most spots until just recently when weve had some good fall rains. The grass came around good and green with a few good rains.

That is my plan right now.
The clipping I refer to is after I cross mowed the lawn. That is, mow diagnally one direction, then diagnally the other.
I may start doing this twice a week until I can get rid of the clippings.

No fertilzers and no sprinklers.

Thanks for the info.
I'll be checking around on some different blades.

Rich.