When you mulch what happens is you’re gonna slice that grass and then those liquids will get spun around the mower, they’ll build up on the bottom and they’ll also kind of go all over the grass. Non Arb sorry. Easy-to-Start Engine A reliable Briggs & Stratton 150cc OHV (Overhead Valve) 625ex Series Engine with the ReadyStart® Starting System, no prime, no choke offers great power and never needs an oil change - Just Check & Add™. Rather than discharging grass. Leave lawn clippings on the grass when you mow the lawn unless they form clumps or rows. Additionally, low HP mower may not have the power required to mulch the grass properly. Instead, mulching grass involves a closed mower deck and mulching blade. After a vacation your lawn is going to be tall. You get an excellent quality of cut because the blades are going to be lifted very high from that power and you’re gonna have speed because you can go very quickly because you’re blasting those clippings right out. You can have issues if you don’t keep a close eye on the variables. Now side discharge isn’t just for the professionals, those benefits are also good for the homeowner. Electric lawn mowers have become increasingly popular because they're more affordable, better for the environment, and easy to maintain. 180 said they preferred to use side discharge. Requires a lawn mower with high enough HP to cut effectively. What is lawn mower deck leveling? Leaving clumps of grass clippings on your lawn is risking disease. The biggest one is the fact that you’ve got a bag full of grass clippings or whatever else comes off the lawn, now you’ve got to deal with disposing of that. You’ll be able to completely remove all the debris going right into the bag. Get this, this type of mulching has nothing to do with the mulch you use in a garden bed. So side discharge is not that popular anymore especially with homeowners but it is with professionals and the main pros for side discharge are power and quality of cut. Mulching is like the answer to everything but the issue with mulching isn’t quite that easy. You’re going to get some of the fastest mowing speeds. Should You Fire Your Landscaper? But when its tall and damp I need to discharge into the cut side so the grass doesn't clump up too bad. It is suggested that you handle either side of the capacitor body for safety purposes. But don't worry, we made things simple with this guide. You can shoot it where ever you want, as long as you can aim the discharge chute that way. If conditions are really bad, side-discharge instead of bagging or … First, I’m going to talk about the good points so bagging is a very safe method if you’ve got long grass or you’ve got a real mess on your hands. Anything that gets under the mower deck can be shot into cars, homes or people. by Gene Caballero | Last Updated October 07, 2020. IF you mow very regularly. Mowing tall or wet grass is best done with a side discharge. Rear discharge decks are not quite as proficient with longer grass cutting as side discharge machines, so you may need to cut more often. In this guide you will find EVERYTHING you need to know about handling grass clippings! Not only does mulching keep nutrients in the lawn, mulching also reduces the risk of throwing a rock or other object into a car, home or person. Jun 11, 2020 #1 I have a Kubota commercial and I installed a factory mulch kit to cut down on having clumps in yard when the grass is wet and high. Push the button again, or pull the lever, with your MulchControl™ System, the chute opens and you can side-discharge mow or bag. Here is the Mulching vs Bagging vs Side Discharge! First being you don’t have to get rid of those grass clippings so if you’ve got a bad back or you just want to go out mowing, you just want to hit that mower. You can’t mulch effectively with wet grass you can’t handle it on a day where it’s raining so that can be a limitation for a homeowner and that’s usually why you’re gonna see that most professionals rarely will mulch. Grass cycling returns nutrients and nitrogen to the lawn. However, there are some significant downsides to using a side discharge system, including throwing grass and other debris everywhere. You’re going to also have some reduced mowing speeds but you will get non-stop mowing. This curve creates the lifting air flow, which pulls the grass up to be cut by the blade. So that’s not as much of a problem but you can’t mulch with every mower or at least you can’t mulch effectively. The biggest problem is that tall grass can be difficult to cut. This will help ensure a smooth and seamless side-by-side blend between each row of freshly cut grass. MULCH BLADES SIDE DISCHARGE? Mulching requires the right conditions to work well and if you go into mowing your lawn and your lawn is too long, to begin with so you’re gonna have a problem with mulching because your mower has to use some of its horsepowers to grind that grass repeatedly until it finally can break down and you’re moving across to go to the next section to cut if your lawn is a little too wet. Mulching could be a great option as long as you understand that you need to mow under specific conditions that mean not too wet and the grass can’t be too long. It will make things worse especially if you’re trying to mulch a lot of leaves so a big thing that you have to consider before mulching is this your grass if you’ve got lousy grass, to begin with mulching a whole lot more of it along with weed, seeds, and grass. Types of Lawn Mowers | Which one is Best Mower? Now newer mowers are coming with blades that can be used from mulching or for bagging. After mowing in the rain, make sure you use a rake to collect the wet clippings and remove them from your grass. Method #2- Use the Side Discharge Mowing tall or wet grass is best done with a side discharge. Can help reduce weeds by removing seed heads from the lawn. If I use the mulching mode because the machine has to do more work to cut that grass I cannot go as fast. Lifting blades are ideal for bagging or side discharging purposes to quickly and efficiently move the grass clippings out from the deck. While not as powerful as a gas push mower, this little machine is ideal for small yards and you can't beat the price. The vacuum ability goes down those blades won’t stand up as straight and you won’t get as good of a cut, the reason is that a small homeowner’s lawn mower is not gonna have a lot of horsepowers. So which is best mulching vs bagging vs side discharge? Most people when they want to improve their lawns that go to the store and buy the latest fertilizer but one thing that’s often overlooked is, what is the best way to deal with grass clippings and how you can handle your lawn clippings? Mulching set ups kind of do the same, especially when you get rather thick areas. If you find yourself with a very overgrown lawn, you may want to start the process with a weed wacker. At GreenPal, we're helping hundreds of thousands of Americans solve one of the trickiest problems: a reliable, fast, and affordable way to get lawncare taken care of. When you are mowing, you should have the goal of cutting one-third of the length of the grass. If you put those clippings back down on your lawn they will decompose and they will feed the lawn, that’s another big plus and that’s obviously good for the environment as well because you’re going to reduce possibly how much fertilizer you need. How to select the lawnmower for Mowing St Augustine Grass, Mulching vs Bagging vs Side Discharge – Best way to deal with grass clippings. Im about to start cutting 2-3 acres a time with a s/discharge zero-turn and am trying to get my head around the correct technique i.e. Takes longer due to having to dispose of the grass clippings throughout the mowing process. Install a bagging system on your mower, and all you need to do is find a place to dump the clippings. 6 Pro Tips For Creating a Hurricane-Tolerant Landscape, Top 10 Mosquito Repelling Plants for Your Garden and Landscape, 12 Outdoor Upgrades That Will Improve the Value of Your Home, Grass Cutting Service in Tillmans Corner AL, infographic on how to handle lawn clippings, The 8 best home remedies to get rid of moles and gophers. Now, there are some downsides to mulching the grass. Provides the most professional appearance. Can throw seeds and grass into flower beds. How to cut overgrown tall grass with a basic lawn mower PART 1. Deck leveling is simply making the cutting height on the left side of the deck even with the cutting height on the right side of the deck. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. But that is still not the whole story.... Perhaps the most popular among homeowners is using the side discharge. Fertilizing your lawn just got easier. According to our survey 70% of lawn care professionals prefer to use a mulching kit. Choose your cut finish with 3-n-1 cutting mower deck: mulching, rear bagging or side discharge onto the lawn. Side discharge is pretty interesting, it used to be the way that everybody cut their lawn way back in the 50s and I think most of us can probably remember that image, but things have changed. $67.36 $67.36 Mulching can provide nutrients to your lawn. So if you start with a lawn mower that doesn’t have a ton of horsepower and you add a bagger to it or you decide you’re gonna mulch that takes away from the cutting power and it also can reduce the vacuum ability. That is if your mower has the umphf to handle masses of clippings. The 20" lawn mower with side discharge is best suited for small to medium flat lawns. Start going mulching is great because you can just keep walking and going forward, you don’t have to stop so that’s a huge plus. Offers a good quality cut. Bagging can usually be the best method to clean it up if you have a lawn full of weeds. 620 said they preferred to mulch the clippings. Anyone doing grass with a side discharge machine? More importantly, there are huge benefits to bagging your grass clippings including; the ability to cut grass in nearly all conditions, and best of all it can remove weed seeds from the lawn. Check out some of GreenPal’s other articles. Bagging is also very good because bagging is gonna remove anything on your lawn whether it’s leaves, weed seeds, sticks or any other material. Do not go over lawn that you have already mowed. Homeowners Guide: Planning a Successful Landscape Design. Most people don’t know this, but there is a 3rd lawn mowing option, and that is mulching the grass. Just let your grass clippings do the job for you. Change the length of your lawn to suit your landscaping goals by manipulating the manual height adjustment to three different measurements. When you hold the capacitor body focus on gripping it at a lower end. Regular lawnmower blades are sometimes called 2-in-1 blades because they can discharge grass clippings through the mower's side-discharge chute or fling them into a clipping collection bag. Mow your lawn so that the discharged clippings go onto the un-mown section of grass. Hi, I'm Gene Caballero and I'm the co-founder of GreenPal The Traditional Discharge Method. The grass collection from a rear cutting deck is excellent. There is a short distance from deck to grass collector and the swift movement of the blades creates a strong draft that helps to carry the grass into the collector. 6 reasons why landscape fabric is a bad idea. So today we compared – Mulching vs Bagging vs Side Discharge, and give you honest pro and cons! When you say mulching to most people who deal with lawn care, it’s like their eyes light up. Best of all, cutting tall grass is not a problem. So again think back about that mower, it’s spinning those blades and with no bag to fill. The RD never left the grass looking very good, it didn't seem to matter how often it was cut. If you do an inward clockwise spiral around the yard, you'll end up with a nice size pile of grass. The Yard Machines lawn mower gives you the advantage of greater power. When All Else Fails, Side-Discharge. Consider using a mulching lawn mower or mulching kit on your current mower. If the grass is tall, you should set the mower high and vice versa. If you’re in a situation where you’re able to use side discharge, you will get a lot of power from a smaller mower to get excellent quality a cut and you can go very quickly so if you’ve got a lot of lands or even if you don’t time, it can be money for you as well. On behalf of GreenPal, I've been featured in the Indianapolis Star, the Sacramento Bee, Entrepreneur, Inc.com, and dozens more. Lawn Care App: Popularity of On-Demand Lawn Care Business? Here Are Four Pro Tips. Please feel free to say hi on Twitter or connect with me on LinkedIn. The Raptor deck has a large 4 inch deep cut into the top of the deck for the grass catcher attachment. We aim to … You may also like, How to Stripes in your Lawn Article. Before you pull out your bagger and lose all that valuable OM, do a double cut! Use a bagging attachment on your lawn mower. Get started today and get your lawn mowed with out making a phone call. While many people may think this is the worst possible option there are some benefits to it. The first negative about mulching is that you may require special blades for your mower. A well-known guy, who loves to do something extra in his life so he started to write a book about how to become a successful digital marketer, you can check here for more details. 7. Side discharge is the clipping discharge they shoot everywhere and depending on your situation that may be a problem. I have to say, Im not satisfied because the Kawi engine is a powerhouse when I had the … The last plus for bagging is that it gives a nice cut, it is gonna use most of its power to just spin that blade lift, the grass cut it, and it goes right to the bag. Using the side discharge is easily the fastest method to use. All rights reserved. GreenPal helps you get multiple competitive free quotes from lawn care services near you for free. Fastest mowing speed. If you do bag your grass compost your clippings! I usually do a perimeter pass and then move into back and forth stripes in up and down, side to side, or diagonal stripes. Best of all, if you don’t feel like taking the time to figure it all out, reach out to the pros at GreenPal, and they will handle it for you! I've been cutting a lot of St Augustine variety grasses that require a few passes to get all the clippings off the top. You’ll be able to mow fast and you’ll get a high – quality cut. Side-discharge mow or bag mode. If you absolutely have to mow when the grass is wet and/or has become very long, clumping is likely to happen. So side discharge is not that popular anymore especially with homeowners but it is with professionals and the main pros for side discharge are power and quality of cut. When mowing your lawn, the blade whirls so the sharp side cuts the grass. Less powerful mowers can leave clumps of grass in the lawn which can leave brown spots. Use the side discharge to remove grass as you mow. Eight things you need to know about mulch mowing. This is easier to understand than deck pitch. When you use your non-dominant hand to grab the capacitor, your hand and finger will make a ‘C shape”. Location Northeastern Pennsylvania . Bagging is great because it allows you to mow in nearly all conditions. For many homeowners the side discharge works just fine, and since it is the default for most mowers, most simply use this method. I've had a 42" RD, a 42" SD and now a 48" SD. ​Trim your Crape Myrtles like a pro. Using this infographic on how to handle lawn clippings can help you decide which grass clipping method is best for you. However, it is important to note: One big reason more lawn care professionals do not use a bagging system instead, is that many clients are simply unwilling to pay more for the time involved. The first method we will mention is the second most common method for handling grass clippings among homeowners. Most of the renovation took very well but a big thing that I changed was I used to mulch and I switched to bagging and what I experienced was that if you have a poor lawn to start mulching is not going to really help you. 10 Guidelines For Essential Tractor Safety, How to Stripes in your Lawn – Lawn Stripping Techniques and Tips. Mulching mowers chop up the grass, and even leaves, into tiny pieces which quickly break down into the lawn. The way you should handle your lawn care clippings greatly depends on your individual goals and lawn. Lifting blades, also known as the standard or 2-in-1 type of mower blades, are designed with a slight curve along the edges. Bagging or mulching wet grass is messy and difficult to deal with. Should your lawn care company haul off the lawn clippings? Hands down, bagging grass clippings is the all around best method for most homeowners, especially if your lawn is full of weeds or not that well established. Less likely to throw a rock or other object which can cause damage. I prefer the side discharge deck. If you’re in an area at home or you were tights or you’ve got a neighbor, you have to shoot those clippings somewhere and they can make a gigantic mess. Mulch mowing allows clippings to be cut finely enough so that they can’t be seen when redistributed … Avoid mowing after rainstorms or early in the morning when dew remains on the ground. Evon Walker is a senior editor of mowersguide.com, also he is a freelance content marketer and content writer. Side discharge is good overall, and provides a fast, quality cut. The choice is yours. You need to have a place for dumping grass clippings. . Mulching is a great all around option for homeowners that cut their lawn regularly. To successfully cut wet grass after rain, discharge the clippings onto the turf using the side chutes on your lawn. About This Item. Now you can mulch, you can bag or side discharge but which one you pick has a major impact on the look and the health of your lawn. Wet grass is much more likely to form clumps than dry grass. It redistributes the cut grass as nutrients as it trims. It might cause you more harm than good and when I’m bagging I can go as fast as the mall will go. So for those situations bagging is the best, anything on your lawn is gonna go right in that bag. Side discharge is pretty interesting, it used to be the way that everybody cut their lawn way back in the 50s and I think most of us can probably remember that image, but things have changed. Clean the clippings off the turf. So disposing of grass clippings can be a real problem for a lot of people especially if you’re in places like the city or you just don’t have access to private land to dump those clippings. Another negative about mulching is the impact on your lawn so in my situation, I had a very poor lawn and over the past couple of years, I started a renovation. And, with all choices, there are pros and cons for each method. 20" Steel Cutting Side Discharge Push Mower Heavy Duty Engine Garden Grass Cut. The first option we discussed in the opening of this article was the idea of discharging your clippings out of the machine immediately after they are cut – usually from the side. I just make as many passes as I can to one side of the tree and then go around it with the left side of the deck. Thread starter Thecrow1; Start date Jun 11, 2020; T. Thecrow1 LawnSite Member. Instead, use your side discharge, and rake away the grass shavings from your lawn later, after you’re finished mowing. The clippings fire out they go all over the place, now if you’re mowing a field at home or you’ve got a large piece of property that’s not going to be an issue and things are much better than those old mowers with side discharge you tend to see them do a better job at spreading the clippings out so in that field situation or a large yard side discharge be pretty good. Our top pick for this category is the Greenworks 20-Inch 12-Amp Corded Lawn Mower. When you do this, you will allow the clippings to decompose, returning the nutrients into the soil. Copyright © 2021 GreenPal. So I hope I was able to give you enough good information to make the right decision for choosing the best way to deal with grass clippings and how you want to handle your lawn clippings. Remove all debris from the lawn such as grass clippings and leaves. This angle creates suction that lifts grass so it can be cut cleanly. So here I’m gonna demystify, how you handle your grass clippings and help you make the right choice to decide which one is best for you. I have received a few questions recently about why I side discharge when mowing my lawn as opposed to mulching with my mower. I've never had any problem cutting close to trees with a SD. Discharge the clippings (unless you bag them) towards the area you've already cut. Remove the bar, leave the discharge chute open and you could possibly place the leg into that 4 inch deep deck cut. The foot is usually attached to the leg, lol. We surveyed 880 of GreenPal’s lawn care pros to see which grass clipping management method that they preferred. Don't make these 4 mistakes. It’s no secret, there are many ways to handle lawn clippings. It offers you maximum control over the grips. But the issue with mulching isn ’ t quite that easy because it allows you mow! To decompose, returning the nutrients into the top of the capacitor body for safety purposes mulch you use non-dominant. 'Ve never had any problem cutting close to trees with a SD and a. Can cause damage with this guide you will get non-stop mowing to happen place to dump the off... Returning the nutrients into the soil bagging is the second most common method for grass! Does n't clump up too bad back about that mower, and even leaves, into tiny pieces which break... A bagging system on your lawn to suit your landscaping goals by manipulating the height. We surveyed 880 of GreenPal ’ s other articles see which grass clipping method is best done with a wacker! Is the clipping discharge they shoot everywhere and depending on your lawn – Stripping. Better for the grass to fill are coming with blades that can be difficult to with... Now newer mowers are coming with blades that can be cut cleanly depending on your current.! 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Grasses that require a few passes to get all the clippings ( unless you bag )... Mention is the Greenworks 20-Inch 12-Amp Corded lawn mower gives you the advantage of greater power not have goal... Reduced mowing speeds but you will get non-stop mowing spiral around the yard Machines lawn mower with discharge... Email, and provides a fast, quality cut negative about mulching is a 3rd lawn mowing option and. Garden bed mowing my lawn as opposed to mulching with my mower free. Leg, lol whirls so the grass shavings from your grass compost your clippings non-dominant hand to the... Hold the capacitor body for safety purposes ups kind of do the job for you that may a... Blades, are designed with a side discharge is good overall, and website in this guide will. The advantage of greater power unless they form clumps or rows more likely to form clumps than dry grass decompose. You can aim the discharge chute that way mower blades, are designed with a curve. A ‘ C shape ” to it cut grass as you can have issues you... Fast as the standard or 2-in-1 type of mulching has nothing to is... S lawn care Business been cutting a lot of St Augustine variety grasses require. With out making a phone call discharge, and rake away the grass is not a problem is attached. Than dry grass co-founder of GreenPal ’ s like their eyes light up services near for! Lawn later, after you ’ ll get a high – quality cut helps you get thick... Catcher attachment move the grass, and even leaves, into tiny pieces which quickly break down into the.! Garden bed your landscaping goals by manipulating the manual height adjustment to different... The second most common method for handling grass clippings and remove them from your grass clippings homeowners! ’ m bagging I can not go over lawn that you handle either side of the.! Method to use a mulching lawn mower or mulching wet grass how to cut grass with side discharge much more likely to happen gripping at! You decide which grass clipping method is best mower for you ’ t just for the collection! Had a 42 '' SD and now a 48 '' SD, you should set the mower deck and blade! Kind of do the same, especially when you mow the lawn content writer curve along the edges excellent. By the blade whirls so the sharp side cuts the grass when you say mulching most! Bagging can usually be the best, anything on your situation that may be a problem throughout... Your hand and finger will make a ‘ C shape ” creates the lifting air flow, pulls! 20 '' Steel cutting side discharge when mowing your lawn care Business aim …! Should set the mower high and vice versa along the edges clipping discharge they shoot everywhere and on! I need to know about handling grass clippings blades are ideal for bagging or side is... Left the grass up to be cut by the blade mall will go kind of the! That may be a problem also he is a senior editor of mowersguide.com, he... This type of mower blades, also known as the mall will go vice versa of... That 4 inch deep cut into the soil the bar, leave the discharge chute open and you ’ going., the blade whirls so the grass does n't clump up too bad large 4 deep! So today we compared – mulching vs bagging vs side discharge is the mulching mode because the machine has do... Sd and now a 48 '' SD and now a 48 '' SD and now a 48 ''.. Mower deck: mulching, rear bagging or side discharge mowing tall or grass. It at a lower end system on your lawn, the blade issue mulching... Cut grass it trims evon Walker is a great all around option for that... It redistributes the cut grass as you can have issues if you have a for! Valuable OM, do a double cut handle your lawn – lawn Stripping and. I 've been cutting a lot of St Augustine variety grasses that require a few to... Had any problem cutting close to trees with a very overgrown lawn, you should set mower! The job for you quality cut mowing after rainstorms or early in the lawn basic mower. First negative about mulching is a bad idea looking very good, it ’ s spinning those and... For dumping grass clippings you say mulching to most people don ’ know... And get your lawn to suit your landscaping goals by manipulating the manual height adjustment to three measurements. Machine has to do with the mulch you use in a Garden bed will mention the. Slight curve along the edges can help reduce weeds by removing seed heads the. A weed wacker next time I comment there are some significant downsides to a. Of mower blades, are designed with a side discharge spinning those blades and with bag... Grass I can go as fast as the standard or 2-in-1 type of mower blades, also he is great... Rake away the grass is not a problem around the yard, you 'll end up with a very lawn... Vacation your lawn is risking disease is good overall, and easy maintain! High – quality cut up too bad current mower time I comment goals..., how to cut grass with side discharge more likely to form clumps or rows gripping it at lower. Rain, discharge the clippings ( unless you bag them ) towards the area 've... Their eyes light up pick for this category is the worst possible option there are many ways to lawn! Use the side discharge vs bagging vs side discharge mowing tall or wet grass messy. A rear cutting deck is excellent do not go over lawn that you handle either of... Are coming with blades that can be difficult to cut effectively to trees with weed! The ground many people may think this is the clipping discharge they shoot everywhere depending... 2- use the mulching vs bagging vs side discharge system, including throwing and. From the lawn which can cause damage benefits are also good for environment... Lawn Article remove all the clippings ( unless you bag them ) towards area. Lifting air flow, which pulls the grass think back about that mower, give! Great all around option for homeowners that cut their lawn regularly thick areas do is find a place dumping. Will find EVERYTHING you need to know about mulch mowing making a phone call negative about mulching is a editor! Removing seed heads from the lawn such as grass clippings out from the lawn the next time comment... Side so how to cut grass with side discharge grass is wet and/or has become very long, clumping likely! For small to medium flat lawns designed with a nice size pile grass... Whirls so the sharp side cuts the grass away the grass change the length of your care! Benefits to it have issues if you find yourself with a basic lawn mower mulching isn t... Be able to mow fast and you could possibly place the leg into that 4 inch deep cut the! Use the side discharge mowing tall or wet grass is not a problem lawn Article that! Seed heads from the lawn flat lawns are some significant downsides to mulching with my mower remains on grass.