September Puzzler???

[wildbears]

Well, Summer is almost over as is lawn mowing season (at least up here in Ohio).

The grass grows pretty fast with the cool weather which can cause a problem if you let it get away from you.

Say you cut the grass at a #4 setting and it leaves a fairly thick layer of cut grass over the lawn.

How do you clean this up if you are planning on over cutting (run the lawnmower back over the cut area).

(The question applies whether you are mulching or side exhausting the clippings. Not if you have a catch bag.)

1. Lower the blade to the #3 setting (lower).
2. Keep the blade at #4.
3. Raise the blade to #5 (higher).

[Loggiebone]

[wildbears]

That would seem the most likely answer.

And although it helps some, it doesn't do the job well.

One option, but not a consideration in this puzzler, is to cut high enough to keep a layer from forming initially. Then come back and cut again at the next lower setting that doesn't leave a layer. Repeating as needed to get the grass to the desired height.

I like your idea of getting rid of the lawn!

[Lee]

One option, but not a consideration in this puzzler, is to cut high enough to keep a layer from forming initially. Then come back and cut again at the next lower setting that doesn't leave a layer. Repeating as needed to get the grass to the desired height.

!

About the only time the grass gets too high for me is when we get too much rain and the yard is too soft to mow.
I set the deck high and mow. A couple days latter I drop the deck a little and mow again. Repeat a couple days later if needed.
I normally have the deck set at three inches.

[Lee]

If we moved south we would miss the soft, dark green, Kentucky Bluegrass.

[Loggiebone]

[wildbears]

So a lawn mowing puzzler is perhaps not the best for a motorcycle forum.

The answer is to raise the blade to a higher setting (#5).

Apparently this creates a lower pressure zone above the grass that "sucks" the previous cuttings into it and then the blade mulches them further.

The advice to cut a little off at a time with multiple mowing works well and is, in my experience, the best way to prevent the problem layer of cuttings on the lawn.

Raising the cutting height also works for mulching leaves if the first pass doesn't give a fine mulch.

Note that dry conditions are required for both grass and leaves.

Well, Summer is almost over as is lawn mowing season (at least up here in Ohio).

The grass grows pretty fast with the cool weather which can cause a problem if you let it get away from you.

Say you cut the grass at a #4 setting and it leaves a fairly thick layer of cut grass over the lawn.

How do you clean this up if you are planning on over cutting (run the lawnmower back over the cut area).

(The question applies whether you are mulching or side exhausting the clippings. Not if you have a catch bag.)

1. Lower the blade to the #3 setting (lower).
2. Keep the blade at #4.
3. Raise the blade to #5 (higher).

[jpel]

[wildbears]

A Corollary:

Mulching may also be improved by raising the back of the mower.

So, for example, if the front wheels are set at level #3 and the back at #5:

a. The blade is tipped down in the front to do the cutting.

b. The blade is tipped up in the back, sucking the grass clippings up to be further "mulched".

This technique may also help when mulching leaves to limit the amount of air coming out of the front of the mower that pushes the leaves away from the mowing path.

Note that many mowers are engineered to have some of this bias built-in, but you can try increasing it.

[wildbears]

The tilt down at the front also is claimed to decrease strain on the engine as only part of the blade is doing the cutting.