Mulching Tips

Why Mulch?

According to research, a lawn of half an acre can generate as much as 4.5 tons of grass cuttings in a year! Without recycling, this can be an incredible waste of resources as collecting this grass is involves more effort and is time-consuming. The environmentally friendly alternative is to purchase a mulching mower.

Recycling or mulching the grass saves time as there is no more stopping to empty the grass collector - no more bagging up clippings and taking them to the tip, or having unsightly piles of rotting grass around your garden. The result is a perfect lawn finish that's 30% quicker.

Mulching creates a healthier looking lawn. When grass clippings decompose, they return valuable nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil. Lawn mulching improves the texture and content of the soil, thus reducing diseases and thatch, resulting in a fuller, healthier looking lawn.

Follow these simple steps to produce beautiful mulching results:-

For best performance, keep the mower housing free of built-up grass. Clean after each use.
The special mulching blade will recut the grass clippings many times and reduce them in size so that as they fall onto the lawn they will disperse into the grass and not be noticed. Also, the mulched grass will biodegrade quickly to provide nutrients for the lawn. Always mulch with your highest engine (blade) speed as this will provide the best recutting action of the blades.
Avoid cutting your lawn when it is wet. Wet grass tends to form clumps and interferes with the mulching action. The best time to mow your lawn is in the early afternoon when the grass has dried and the newly cut area will not be exposed to the direct sun.
For best results, adjust the mower cutting height so that the mower cuts off only the top one third of the grass blades. For extremely heavy mulching, reduce the width of cut and mow slowly. Setting the mowing height to about 1 1/2" to 2" for most lawns will develop deeper root growth and crowd out weeds. The one third rule also recommends that you should mow your grass before it is 3" high. A mulching cutter deck will have no problem chopping 1" of clippings into tiny particles and concealing them in the remaining standing grass. Leaving grass to reach 5" - 6" would make it impossible for any mower to hide 3" - 4" of chopping clippings in just 2" of lawn.
Certain types of grass and grass conditions may require that an area be mulched a second time to completely hide the clippings. When doing a second cut, mow across or perpendicular to the first cut path.
Change your cutting pattern from week to week. Mow north to south one week then change to east to west the next week. This will help prevent matting and graining of the lawn.

To convert to bagging or discharging:-

Simply remove the mulcher plate and store in a safe place. Your mower is now ready for discharging or installation of the optional grass catcher accessory
It is not necessary to change blades. The mulcher blades are designed for discharging and bagging also.