ALl,
as the weathers been so good recently, ive been able to Much every single lawn cut for 2 weeks now, and thought Id share some tips and tricks to get a good finish;
- Add a rubber mat to the back of the mower, about 6 inches long, this gives a striped finish, but also helps work in any bits of mulched grass that are stuck on the surface and have not fallen between the grass.
- Never mulch more than 2cm of grass unless following the next tip, in which case if the grass is fine 3-4cm can be mulched.
- If the mulch is giving a poor finish, try lifting the front two wheels, this means the grass gets cut twice, once by the blade at the higher setting and once on the lower setting. (Lifting the back as you would do on a collection mower is counter productive as your still cutting the same length initially) This makes the particles being cut smaller to start with so the mulch is finer and easier finish.
-Never mulch with dew on the grass in spring and autumn this means mid morning onwards only for mowing.
Remember Mulching saves time - hours in fact over a week, especially on big lawns with a long drag for the waste. It also builds soil and fertilizes the soil. THe lawns which I have mulched for 2 years running are all lush, green and thatch free, collection lawns are now drying out, growth has stopped and the lawns have also needed two feeds to keep them in pristine condition (20g/m of 9-7-7, followed by 20gm of 4-1-1 3 months later)
The mulched lawns by contrast are all growing strongly, full sward, green and only a few have been given a booster feed (20g/m 4-1-1 in may).
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Replies
Darren
Any help in this dry weather is much appreciated. I love mulching I this weather both in terms of holding in any available moisture and nutrients and the time saved! The mower is so much lighter as well!
Darren :
Raising the back on a collection mower allows more air into the chute for ejection, helping reduce clogging, especially on damp or wet grass - more airflow = faster grass in the chute.
Mark - My main current one is a 21" 7hp Snapper Mulcher, and a fallback Pro46 with mulch kit for mulching if the snapper is out of use.
One word of advice for all mulchers - sharpen your blades weekly!
Mic - The matt is just a normal rubber car floor matt cut to shape, attached to the back bar of the deck of the snapper with wire - The snapper has a flat bar of metal acting as a stone guard at the back.
For the Pr046- I have to suspend if from the green flap that normally would sit over the grass box.
yes weather very hot n ireland to mulsh mowing is great down to earth gardening