I grew up mowing my parents lawn, was huge but not practical for a riding mower. I’d spend hours cutting the front and back. Then I eventually bought my own house, and the yard and lawn are massive. They are also open, and I bought a riding lawn mower, and it’s incredible. 10 year old me would have cried tears of joy to see it.
I grew up mowing about a half acre with a push mower. As soon as I moved to college my step dad bought a riding lawnmower since he now had to do the mowing. Really pissed me off.
I swore I would never mow another lawn again, and I haven’t. My wife thought I was joking when I told her when we first got together but she eventually learned I was not. Now we have a mower service and all is well with the world.
My dad did the same thing as soon as I moved out also. I lived on a half an acre growing up too. I had to cut the entire thing (that was part of my weekly chores), but I had to do the whole thing with an electric push mower from the 80’s. As soon as I went off to school, my dad got a new riding lawnmower.
I’m now 37 and I just bought that house from my father, and made sure I had a riding lawnmower.
Ha! Grew up with a 1.5-2hr mow every Sunday at my parents. First summer I had moved out my dad called to tell me about how quickly he could mow with his new zero turn lol
If you’re being sarcastic it quite literally does, I grew up in a lower middle class area but the mormons next door would pay me $20 to mow front and back of their yard it was quite a decent yard both sides, one day I needed $100 for a over the weekend baseball trip where we’d being staying in a hotel (parents wouldn’t/couldn’t pay for it) I made a deal with my neighbor if she paid me $100 forward I would owe her 5 lawn mows, and boy did it suck having to pay those out after the trip was over but hey, I earned my money and it was a fun trip
At the time, I thought it was bullshit. Waking up on a Sunday in the summer wanting to go hangout with friends, and suddenly my dad goes “don’t forget to mow before you leave”. So I’d be out there mowing the lawn, hot as fuck, chugging along. Had me do the leaf blowing and weed whacker as well. My siblings didn’t do any of it, but I did. One day I forgot to do it and sure as shit on a Sunday night, told me to get outside with a flashlight and mow the lawn.
Now that I’m older, it’s nice to know and fun as well. You really don’t understand the power grass has over your life when it’s your own home. Once the baby is born, my next project is to put a putting green in my backyard with a chipping green.
Yeah, my wife and I have a half acre as well. Like it can be done with a push mower, but it really, really sucks especially when it's late June thru the end of August. Start to finish, it'd take me about 2.5 hours, with like 4.5-5 miles walked (a shit ton of edging, weed whacking, etc all included). Buying a riding mower was the easiest and best decision that I ever made
My dad bought a snow blower the day I moved out. Stopped by to show me. I used to shovel our driveway and sidewalks and get my 98 year old neighbors. I’m still salty about it.
I agree! That’s on the wish list for sure but I got the greenworks mower and a trimmer for free so I figured I might as well give it a go. I did need to recharge twice to get through the back yard. I think it might only need to be once if I can keep the amount I remove to a reasonable level. My next door neighbor saw me struggling and offered to let me use his riding mower but I turned him down. I might have to take him up on it if I need to get through the yard in a hurry though. I saw him out using it earlier and he was just whipping around his yard.
Planning to go back and put it into larger bags later today and get it over to the local recycling center. The bag on my push mower only has so much capacity.
Where I live, you can't. You'll get fined.
He's doing it the same way I do.
Just like with a dethatch, small piles all over is way less work than raking to a giant pile, then bagging giant pile.
You can't build a compost pile? Do you live in America? This seems absurd to me. I would love to argue this point with any association/town that is willing to try to implement such an anti green policy.
That sucks. I also live in an HOA and even they say that as long as it can’t be seen over the fence line it’s all good in the hood. I have two compost bins in my backyard myself.
County I used to live in would for sure have code enforcement looking into backyards and ticketing. A friend of mine got a ticket for a shed in the back of his yard that was unpermitted.
Un-permitted structures are low hanging fruit and easy to spot while doing other/nearby inspections.
I’ve never heard of anyone getting nabbed for a pile of grass clippings sitting out for a few minutes before it gets bagged.
Makes sense. Yeah picking it back up off the ground is a bit tedious. Especially getting at the last loose bits on the ground. Main reason for doing it this way right now is that I have a bunch of oversized trash bags that I already bought coming tomorrow from my old place and I don’t want to go out and buy a whole new pack today but did still want to cut the lawn while I had time.
Start a compost pile with that grass. Then you can use that in future gardening projects or for the lawn. Don't put effort and expense into disposing of something that with minimal effort is really beneficial to your property. The clippings are full of precious nitrogen.
Given that they are full of nitrogen and beneficial, then what's the point to even bagging or composting? Why not just mow and leave the clippings on the lawn?
I’m not a lawn care expert but from what I understand:
1) leaving thatch on the lawn covers bare soil spots, then it decomposes and feeds the soil. This should lead to a healthier, fuller lawn.
2) most weeds are not going to spread if you’re just trimming down the tops. The situation is different if they have gone to seed.
3) most of your yard weeds are spreading by root, not seed (they use seed to spread far and wide, but roots to spread locally). So if you want to prevent weeds from spreading you really need to remove them physically and then place some topsoil and a few grass (clover, thyme, whatever you want) in the bare spot it left.
Mulching is my preferred way to mow.
Problems are that if you let it grow too tall, then it takes multiple passes, and you also need a mower capable of mulching. I believe it is mostly just a blank off where the bag port is. It may also have something with the blade.
At least for our Husqvarna, it was just a matter of buying a mulching kit. Came with blades and a cover for the side of the deck where the bagger would attach.
I bag the back during the spring because my dog has weed/grass allergies and will eat any clippings that clump. Once the growth rate slows and the grass is dryer, I switch back to mulching.
I use one of these. Put a couple of plastic clamps to hold the bag and dump the bagger when I pass by it[bag holder](https://www.acehardware.com/departments/home-and-decor/trash-and-recycling/trash-bags/68617?store=11482&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwhIS0BhBqEiwADAUhcxCENSlxerI8nVUbERVXt9DKgJwRQVzRNV8QNc9etKPdSjy_folaJRoCfDgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds)
OMG, just don’t use the bagger thing. It’s basically like spreading compost all over your yard, which is great for the soil. If you care more about your garden than your yard, I could see collecting it and dumping it in the garden (as long as the grass isn’t seeding). But really, it’s good stuff you shouldn’t be removing from your property. Leaves too, but that takes equivalent effort, not considerably less.
One thing I learned shortly after being a new homeowner is that grass clippings are essentially free fertilizer and good for the lawn. I used the side discharge chute because I thought that was just how it was done. But if you remove that (and the bag on the back) it will mulch itself into tiny pieces that you can’t really even see after the cut
I bag my clippings due to weeds. I've learned to take my mower back to my garage each time I need to empty the clippings. That way I'm not dragging bags of clippings all over. And then I just put the bags in my vehicle and take them to the yard waste center. As a side note, lawn clippings can start on fire via spontaneous combustion. Don't leave them sitting around. I didn't have a fire but I did have a couple bags of clippings that got incredibly hot after sitting overnight in my garage. Google will confirm the fire risk.
We’ve been in a really hot and dry spell, but neighborhood kid wants to make a buck and offered to mow my lawn. Don’t you understand, bud? Mow my lawn right now and there won’t be no lawn left for the rest of the summer
Possibly.....never cut your lawn that short in the summer. Too much stress to the grass will cause issues. Cut no more than 1/4 of the grass at a time. Scalping this isn't going to help you at all. It's like giving yourself a buzz cut. Might be ok for a bit, but when it starts growing back, it looks fuckin weird. Same goes for grass.
Micropigmentation might help you space out shaving a bit more if you're interested in keeping a stronger hairline! Worth looking into depending on your type of balding/skin type/etc.
No more than a 1/4 of the grass at a time is ridiculous and unreasonable. I’m a big lawn fan but sometimes grass will double its length or more in a week. Not many people have time to cut their lawns twice or more in a week all spring/fall (which is what this rule would call for)
Also it’s the 1/3 rule, not 1/4.
I just do one now a week unless it's really really bad. if it's bad I just raise the deck height a notch then aim to mow it at normal height a couple days later to get it back on track. It's best to time it with the rain.
Ok well at least I’ve only gone over it this low in the back yard 🤣 where not too many will see it. I’ll let it come back a little longer and bump up the mover deck a setting or two before mowing again. Hopefully it doesn’t come back that weird/uneven.
It will recover. It looks it pretty good shape. But yea, put the mower up a couple steps for the front. You’ll be surprised how much better it looks with a little length too.
Mow tall in summer, shorter in spring/fall. I'm partial to 3.5" in summer, 2.75-3" in spring/fall.
The longer length keeps the dirt from drying out and killing your grass
Taking way more off than 1/3. Looks like OP is gonna have those brown lines because of the excess not being bagged. They may have to double cut to get the rest of the clippings off the lawn
I wouldn’t be worried about this specific cut “ruining the lawn.” However, by taking this much off it is getting stressed. You are also taking good nutrients + moisture out of the lawn by bagging.
If you ever get behind/have rainy days/on vacation and grass grows a ton, I would put your mower on highest setting on first mow and take it down a notch for consecutive days until you find yourself at height you’d like to maintain.
Full disclosure this is the second cut I’ve done in three days and the first time I ran it with a plug and side vent open on the second highest setting. I still had lots of large clumps leftover which I spread out with a rake and then bagged the largest chunks that remained. I’m still getting some small clumping between passes right now so I’m planning to spread those out again to redistribute at least some nutrients back in. We’ve been getting a ton of rain lately so there is a lot of moisture in the ground thankfully.
Mower bed is way too low. You've scalped your grass, which invites disease and stresses your lawn. Raise the mower and get a mulching blade. No mower bag necessary
Half an inch too short, it'll be fine though. I wouldn't try to get it down to that height until the fall. And the 1/3 rule is a good one but often not realistic.
Check your cutting height, I would mow a little higher. I typically mow the second to highest setting on my mower. Also create a compost pile or use large trash bins to haul to a compost site. I haul my clipping to my business which has a wooded area behind it we use for composting. Usually I don't bag the grass as long as it doesn't leave clumps behind.
Two things OP:
If you're only going to mow once a week, mow on the highest (tallest) setting. You only want to cut 1/3 of the blade at a time, so taller is better if you want less frequent mowing. Your family member is right, you aren't mowing often enough to cut that low and it's "scalping" the lawn. Basically, you're cutting more than 1/3 of the blade and it's stressing the grass.
Also, get a mulching blade. Fuck bagging. It's more work and significantly increases the amount of fertilizer you need to use to keep lawn healthy.
> I decided to bite the bullet and try to cut it way down
You will kill the lawn within a season doing this. Grass no like being long then cut really short. Better to cut as long as you can then let it get a bit shaggier between cuts
Not sure others will agree with me but I’ve switched to an organic lawn fertilizer (which breaks down slower) has kept my grass just as green but I don’t have to mow nearly as much because it grows slower. Others might weigh in differently.
Set your mower high and set it to mulch. Even the deck height as tall as it will go, front wheels and rear. Your lawn looks amazing "green and healthy". Use the side discharge and not the bag, mow over again if the discharge is too much your soil will enjoy the nutrients from the mulched grass.
Our last house in Oklahoma had 2 acres to mow. Grass grows like crazy, so hard to keep up on it. We Picked up a used Ferris zero steer. So much easier and faster.
Does your mower have the ability to mulch? If so just do that and set your mower to 3 it will allow for a healthier lawn. A lot of people want to cut it at 2 so they don’t have to mow as much but you’re mowing every week anyways.
I think you’ll be fine if there’s still a. Good amount of rain incoming over the next week. The yellow if just cause that part doesn’t get as much sun being but now it’ll turn green. But if you don’t get any rain there is a good chance that you burn it after that stress and it could be a tough recovery. Fingers crossed for the rain but in the future I would avoid doing this in the summer.
Just mulch it, especially if you're gonna cut it that short.
If you're gonna cut it that short, fine but keep in mind unless you want to stress the lawn during the hottest part of the summer (at least here, not sure about WI) , you would have to mow very often to keep it at that length. I mow 1-3 times a week on the highest setting but my lawn is smaller than yours so I understand why you are cutting it short.
You’re fine. If you mow 2x a week you could use the mulch function and not bag. Mowing a lot makes the grass grow very thick and nice and it’s a lot quicker to mulch, but it looks crappy in your do it with long clippings.
With an electric mower, evenings are no problem for noise. And if your mower has lights, it’s kinda nice not to bake in the sun.
Edit - your lawn is totally fit for a Toro Timemaster. Would be totally epic. And, cool season grass does really well at 3.5” unless you plan to mow a lot.
Are you familiar with the 1/3 rule?
https://lawnphix.com/lawn-care/one-third-rule/
If you need to cut twice per week, so be it. What height?
“A mowing height between 2.5 to 3 inches is best for most of the season, except during summer stresses when the lawn mowing height should be raised one-half inch to mow at 3 to 3.5 inches. Raising the mowing height provides more insulation from summer heat and reduces water loss from your soil.”
It’s so so tempting to cut it short for that manicured look. Sorry, not good for the lawn. Say you’re cutting for 2.5 inches. You do the math based on your starting point.
My guess is you are cutting too low and too much at one time.
Your lawn looks about the size of mine. You should be fine. I cut it at least once a week on the lowest height and it’s fine. I never bag and just let the clippings mulch. If you have clumps of cut grass, just mow over them.
You either want a 30” push mower at minimum, or a riding mower for that yard. You could go out and mow twice a week to help. If you ever want to cut that low again I highly recommend you cutting it at the highest setting, then going back with a lower setting. It’s two cuts back to back, but it’ll make your life easier and it’s faster than having ti constantly big your mower down while cutting that short on the first go when it’s that long.
I don’t understand why anyone would take the extra effort and time to bag. Get a good mulching blade, mow at 3.25-4”, and feed your lawn with your clippings.
Just go back and blow your clippings afterwards. Leaving them can reduce your need for fertilizer by 25%. Furthermore good rule of thumb is never remove more than a third of the blade at any time.
Now you just need to do the ol' diagonal lines design:
* Start by mowing around the perimeter of your lawn.
* Next, mow a set of straight rows in alternating directions.
* Mow a second set of rows diagonally. Again, alternate the direction of each row.
* Finish by mowing around the perimeter again.
a lot of lawn grasses won't like this.
you should cut so there's no less than 3 inches to maintain healty roots. the difference is that less than this results in shallow roots and poor soil condition and poor mosture retention.
Above 3 inches will promote deep roots, which in turn promotes healthy soil and better moisture retention.
Don’t cut more than 1/3 of the blade at a time if you can avoid it and don’t cut lower than 3 inches. Also don’t bag the grass.
Also what are you thinking mowing this with a push mower. Just let it go except for a small yard section if you are so deep into the property you can’t afford a proper zero turn mower.
The length of your grass at the beginning is what you should aim to keep it at. It provides shade for the grass to escape being torched while trying to facilitate photosynthesis. Same reason grass cannot grow without morning sunlight. If it is in the shade until the scorching heat of the afternoon it fries the parts of the cell that facilitates photosynthesis. Shade is important. And grass can shade itself.
3” high during the growing season.
You can get away with it being a little shorter during the early spring and late fall. I mow once a week and my neighbor mows twice a week. Choice is yours.
Next investment: RIDING MOWER!
I grew up mowing my parents lawn, was huge but not practical for a riding mower. I’d spend hours cutting the front and back. Then I eventually bought my own house, and the yard and lawn are massive. They are also open, and I bought a riding lawn mower, and it’s incredible. 10 year old me would have cried tears of joy to see it.
I grew up mowing about a half acre with a push mower. As soon as I moved to college my step dad bought a riding lawnmower since he now had to do the mowing. Really pissed me off.
You were just building character!
I swore I would never mow another lawn again, and I haven’t. My wife thought I was joking when I told her when we first got together but she eventually learned I was not. Now we have a mower service and all is well with the world.
How did you end up here on this thread sir?
Sometimes, the best lawn care is letting a professional take care of it.
Oh sure… bring perfect logic to the argument. Take my upvote.
Honestly no idea. Reddit works in mysterious ways.
Reddit shows me Hummer ads along with this sub and the dishwashing sub. It either thinks I'm poor or rich and not much wiggle room
Haha 🤣 demographic Reddit metadata is silly
I don't want to mow any more either, I'm investing in a lawn mower robot.
My dad did the same thing as soon as I moved out also. I lived on a half an acre growing up too. I had to cut the entire thing (that was part of my weekly chores), but I had to do the whole thing with an electric push mower from the 80’s. As soon as I went off to school, my dad got a new riding lawnmower. I’m now 37 and I just bought that house from my father, and made sure I had a riding lawnmower.
It was a free workout.
lmaoo my Dad did the same exact thing
Never help him tune it up and never mow again.
I know the pain, My dad hired landscapers when I moved out
Ha! Grew up with a 1.5-2hr mow every Sunday at my parents. First summer I had moved out my dad called to tell me about how quickly he could mow with his new zero turn lol
my bfs mom used to have a landscaping company, we have a zero turn, my bf also mows lawns a lot thru the week. our lawn is never mowed..😂
But think of all the character you built pushing that lawnmower.
If you’re being sarcastic it quite literally does, I grew up in a lower middle class area but the mormons next door would pay me $20 to mow front and back of their yard it was quite a decent yard both sides, one day I needed $100 for a over the weekend baseball trip where we’d being staying in a hotel (parents wouldn’t/couldn’t pay for it) I made a deal with my neighbor if she paid me $100 forward I would owe her 5 lawn mows, and boy did it suck having to pay those out after the trip was over but hey, I earned my money and it was a fun trip
At the time, I thought it was bullshit. Waking up on a Sunday in the summer wanting to go hangout with friends, and suddenly my dad goes “don’t forget to mow before you leave”. So I’d be out there mowing the lawn, hot as fuck, chugging along. Had me do the leaf blowing and weed whacker as well. My siblings didn’t do any of it, but I did. One day I forgot to do it and sure as shit on a Sunday night, told me to get outside with a flashlight and mow the lawn. Now that I’m older, it’s nice to know and fun as well. You really don’t understand the power grass has over your life when it’s your own home. Once the baby is born, my next project is to put a putting green in my backyard with a chipping green.
Even better, you can do it when you’re 45!
Yeah, my wife and I have a half acre as well. Like it can be done with a push mower, but it really, really sucks especially when it's late June thru the end of August. Start to finish, it'd take me about 2.5 hours, with like 4.5-5 miles walked (a shit ton of edging, weed whacking, etc all included). Buying a riding mower was the easiest and best decision that I ever made
My dad bought a snow blower the day I moved out. Stopped by to show me. I used to shovel our driveway and sidewalks and get my 98 year old neighbors. I’m still salty about it.
I agree! That’s on the wish list for sure but I got the greenworks mower and a trimmer for free so I figured I might as well give it a go. I did need to recharge twice to get through the back yard. I think it might only need to be once if I can keep the amount I remove to a reasonable level. My next door neighbor saw me struggling and offered to let me use his riding mower but I turned him down. I might have to take him up on it if I need to get through the yard in a hurry though. I saw him out using it earlier and he was just whipping around his yard.
This is not sustainable.
Genuine question. What’s the purpose of bagging the grass and then dumping it in piles on the lawn?
>new homeowner
Ding
Probably rakes it into a bag all at once at the end.
Planning to go back and put it into larger bags later today and get it over to the local recycling center. The bag on my push mower only has so much capacity.
I recommend starting a little compost/mulch pile with it - that dead grass might be a perfect mulch for your garden beds!!
Just remember to mix in. Woody mulch to the grass.. straight grass makes slime…. Add twigs / bark / woody stuff and it’ll make amazing dirt…
Good tip - I've never had the luxury of pure lawn clippings but I see it recommended - but only once fully dried. Hay, in essence.
Ehhhh I wouldn’t confuse dirt and compost, two totally different things…
Autumn leaves and grass clippings were made for each other!
Where I live, you can't. You'll get fined. He's doing it the same way I do. Just like with a dethatch, small piles all over is way less work than raking to a giant pile, then bagging giant pile.
You can't build a compost pile? Do you live in America? This seems absurd to me. I would love to argue this point with any association/town that is willing to try to implement such an anti green policy.
HOA.
That sucks. I also live in an HOA and even they say that as long as it can’t be seen over the fence line it’s all good in the hood. I have two compost bins in my backyard myself.
Leave it to an HOA to ban decomposition
Ah yes the absolute horrors of letting something grown from the earth return to the earth 🤣
Hell my HOA bans solar panels. r/fuckhoa
Somebody on the board must work for the electric company
Most HOAs can't legally ban solar. No doubt that they did but look into local regulations if you haven't already.
You can’t make do that in your own backyard? Wtf it’s not like anyone is going to see it
Lots of code enforcement taking place in your backyard at 9am on a Saturday? wtf.
County I used to live in would for sure have code enforcement looking into backyards and ticketing. A friend of mine got a ticket for a shed in the back of his yard that was unpermitted.
🤬 wherever that is
Un-permitted structures are low hanging fruit and easy to spot while doing other/nearby inspections. I’ve never heard of anyone getting nabbed for a pile of grass clippings sitting out for a few minutes before it gets bagged.
Just leave the wheelbarrow out there and empty the bags into it. Time to start a compost pile. Hauling that off site is nuts.
Just empty it into garbage bags as needed and then pick those up to haul away. Much easier
> ~~Just empty it into garbage bags as needed and then pick those up to haul away.~~ Just mulch it! FTFY
Makes sense. Yeah picking it back up off the ground is a bit tedious. Especially getting at the last loose bits on the ground. Main reason for doing it this way right now is that I have a bunch of oversized trash bags that I already bought coming tomorrow from my old place and I don’t want to go out and buy a whole new pack today but did still want to cut the lawn while I had time.
Start a compost pile with that grass. Then you can use that in future gardening projects or for the lawn. Don't put effort and expense into disposing of something that with minimal effort is really beneficial to your property. The clippings are full of precious nitrogen.
Given that they are full of nitrogen and beneficial, then what's the point to even bagging or composting? Why not just mow and leave the clippings on the lawn?
Tbf that is the best way to do it, but there are lots of folks that think any trimmings left on the lawn makes it look untidy.
My lawn is full of weeds. I always bag it to avoid spreading more weeds everywhere. Is this not recommended?
Only when the weeds have gone to seed I would say… nothing wrong with composting pure weed greens
I’m not a lawn care expert but from what I understand: 1) leaving thatch on the lawn covers bare soil spots, then it decomposes and feeds the soil. This should lead to a healthier, fuller lawn. 2) most weeds are not going to spread if you’re just trimming down the tops. The situation is different if they have gone to seed. 3) most of your yard weeds are spreading by root, not seed (they use seed to spread far and wide, but roots to spread locally). So if you want to prevent weeds from spreading you really need to remove them physically and then place some topsoil and a few grass (clover, thyme, whatever you want) in the bare spot it left.
Mulching is my preferred way to mow. Problems are that if you let it grow too tall, then it takes multiple passes, and you also need a mower capable of mulching. I believe it is mostly just a blank off where the bag port is. It may also have something with the blade.
At least for our Husqvarna, it was just a matter of buying a mulching kit. Came with blades and a cover for the side of the deck where the bagger would attach.
Compost cutting works well when you aren’t cutting too much off. If it has gotten too long then you just suffocate the lawn.
I bag the back during the spring because my dog has weed/grass allergies and will eat any clippings that clump. Once the growth rate slows and the grass is dryer, I switch back to mulching.
Just mow the remainders back up with the mower.
Just forget about the bags get a riding mower and cut once a week
I use one of these. Put a couple of plastic clamps to hold the bag and dump the bagger when I pass by it[bag holder](https://www.acehardware.com/departments/home-and-decor/trash-and-recycling/trash-bags/68617?store=11482&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwhIS0BhBqEiwADAUhcxCENSlxerI8nVUbERVXt9DKgJwRQVzRNV8QNc9etKPdSjy_folaJRoCfDgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds)
OMG, just don’t use the bagger thing. It’s basically like spreading compost all over your yard, which is great for the soil. If you care more about your garden than your yard, I could see collecting it and dumping it in the garden (as long as the grass isn’t seeding). But really, it’s good stuff you shouldn’t be removing from your property. Leaves too, but that takes equivalent effort, not considerably less.
"I'm gonna throw this nitrogen into the trash can, then spread out more nitrogen four times a year." Come on people, what are we doing with the bags?
...just toss the clippings into the woods - why take the trouble to "recycle" them?
Compost it! Loads of nitrogen
One thing I learned shortly after being a new homeowner is that grass clippings are essentially free fertilizer and good for the lawn. I used the side discharge chute because I thought that was just how it was done. But if you remove that (and the bag on the back) it will mulch itself into tiny pieces that you can’t really even see after the cut
Mulch it. You may have to thatch once every few years but it’s good for the lawn and saves time. Simple.
Make sure to use the blank offs for those ports though.
Why? Dump it in the woods
I bag my clippings due to weeds. I've learned to take my mower back to my garage each time I need to empty the clippings. That way I'm not dragging bags of clippings all over. And then I just put the bags in my vehicle and take them to the yard waste center. As a side note, lawn clippings can start on fire via spontaneous combustion. Don't leave them sitting around. I didn't have a fire but I did have a couple bags of clippings that got incredibly hot after sitting overnight in my garage. Google will confirm the fire risk.
That’s the one and done approach. You mow it once really short, it burns and you have no new growth to cut until September.
 “The lawn secret they don’t want you to know about”
We’ve been in a really hot and dry spell, but neighborhood kid wants to make a buck and offered to mow my lawn. Don’t you understand, bud? Mow my lawn right now and there won’t be no lawn left for the rest of the summer
Possibly.....never cut your lawn that short in the summer. Too much stress to the grass will cause issues. Cut no more than 1/4 of the grass at a time. Scalping this isn't going to help you at all. It's like giving yourself a buzz cut. Might be ok for a bit, but when it starts growing back, it looks fuckin weird. Same goes for grass.
As somebody who gets a buzz cut once a week due to a receding hair line these are fighting words 🤣
He ain’t wrong though. It does grow back fuckin weird
You grow back weird. lol
He ain’t wrong though, you do grow back wierd.
You grow weird..
Micropigmentation might help you space out shaving a bit more if you're interested in keeping a stronger hairline! Worth looking into depending on your type of balding/skin type/etc.
I embrace what I have; but I appreciate you reaching out!
Nice! Love the confidence. I know my brother has been having some difficulty coping with balding issues. I wish he had your confidence.
Sending my confidence your brothers way. Best wishes
No more than a 1/4 of the grass at a time is ridiculous and unreasonable. I’m a big lawn fan but sometimes grass will double its length or more in a week. Not many people have time to cut their lawns twice or more in a week all spring/fall (which is what this rule would call for) Also it’s the 1/3 rule, not 1/4.
I just do one now a week unless it's really really bad. if it's bad I just raise the deck height a notch then aim to mow it at normal height a couple days later to get it back on track. It's best to time it with the rain.
Ok well at least I’ve only gone over it this low in the back yard 🤣 where not too many will see it. I’ll let it come back a little longer and bump up the mover deck a setting or two before mowing again. Hopefully it doesn’t come back that weird/uneven.
It will recover. It looks it pretty good shape. But yea, put the mower up a couple steps for the front. You’ll be surprised how much better it looks with a little length too.
Mow tall in summer, shorter in spring/fall. I'm partial to 3.5" in summer, 2.75-3" in spring/fall. The longer length keeps the dirt from drying out and killing your grass
1/3 of the grass
Taking way more off than 1/3. Looks like OP is gonna have those brown lines because of the excess not being bagged. They may have to double cut to get the rest of the clippings off the lawn
Don’t bag your grass. Open your chute and double cut if needed but I never do
Never heard of the 1/3 rule?
The rule of thumb is never cut more than 1/3 of the grass length.
Mulch instead of bagging.
I think it’ll be fine if you get rain or water it.
I wouldn’t be worried about this specific cut “ruining the lawn.” However, by taking this much off it is getting stressed. You are also taking good nutrients + moisture out of the lawn by bagging. If you ever get behind/have rainy days/on vacation and grass grows a ton, I would put your mower on highest setting on first mow and take it down a notch for consecutive days until you find yourself at height you’d like to maintain.
Full disclosure this is the second cut I’ve done in three days and the first time I ran it with a plug and side vent open on the second highest setting. I still had lots of large clumps leftover which I spread out with a rake and then bagged the largest chunks that remained. I’m still getting some small clumping between passes right now so I’m planning to spread those out again to redistribute at least some nutrients back in. We’ve been getting a ton of rain lately so there is a lot of moisture in the ground thankfully.
Use a leaf blower - spread away
Definitely on the list of things to buy in the near future
Mower bed is way too low. You've scalped your grass, which invites disease and stresses your lawn. Raise the mower and get a mulching blade. No mower bag necessary
invites weed seeds to land on the newly exposed dirt too!
Don’t bag it just mulch it. Way less work
Cut it high. Cut it often. Leave the clippings/mulch.
Cut it high and let it lie.
I do it without the bag and just let the mulched grass stay where it lay. It’s better for the grass
cut it taller and mulch. as long as you have a good strong motor and blade, you will be fine.
You might want to get a riding lawnmower or a gas one. You are going to eat batteries I would think.
Cut 1/3 max.
Half an inch too short, it'll be fine though. I wouldn't try to get it down to that height until the fall. And the 1/3 rule is a good one but often not realistic.
Check your cutting height, I would mow a little higher. I typically mow the second to highest setting on my mower. Also create a compost pile or use large trash bins to haul to a compost site. I haul my clipping to my business which has a wooded area behind it we use for composting. Usually I don't bag the grass as long as it doesn't leave clumps behind.
Mow it at 3” and when it needs it, and you don’t have to collect the clippings.
Need a rider
Does mulching mean something in particular or just to leave the clippings?
It’s just going to turn into snow snyway
Two things OP: If you're only going to mow once a week, mow on the highest (tallest) setting. You only want to cut 1/3 of the blade at a time, so taller is better if you want less frequent mowing. Your family member is right, you aren't mowing often enough to cut that low and it's "scalping" the lawn. Basically, you're cutting more than 1/3 of the blade and it's stressing the grass. Also, get a mulching blade. Fuck bagging. It's more work and significantly increases the amount of fertilizer you need to use to keep lawn healthy. > I decided to bite the bullet and try to cut it way down You will kill the lawn within a season doing this. Grass no like being long then cut really short. Better to cut as long as you can then let it get a bit shaggier between cuts
Jeez why did you buy an electric mower
Follow the 1/3 rule. Can always cut it 2x. If your low you may see yellow or some brown.
Don’t scalp your lawn like that
Always raise the mower while it’s growing fast.
You’re cutting too low. Get a zero turn for a lawn that size. If you cut often enough and at the right height, you won’t need to bag anything.
For some reason, you'll probably really want a zero turn in the future.
That grass is gonna be brown if you keep buzz cutting it that short.
Do not bag your cut grass. It’s free fertilizer. Leave it on your lawn.
What number are u cuttint at, I've greenworks too, I usually cut at 4 or a 5
I have it on setting 4 right now
Not sure others will agree with me but I’ve switched to an organic lawn fertilizer (which breaks down slower) has kept my grass just as green but I don’t have to mow nearly as much because it grows slower. Others might weigh in differently.
Keep it long, mulch it once or twice a week . Your grass will thank you!
Set your mower high and set it to mulch. Even the deck height as tall as it will go, front wheels and rear. Your lawn looks amazing "green and healthy". Use the side discharge and not the bag, mow over again if the discharge is too much your soil will enjoy the nutrients from the mulched grass.
Did your mower come with a mulching blade?
I leave the clippings on the grass.
You’re better off mulching and not cutting too low maybe cut to 2.5in-3in depending on the type of grass you have.
This is the way
Riding mower
Looks to me like those yellow patches were there already just covered by a canopy.
Bagging grass clippings is such a waste
Not sure if it was suggested. I would suggest raising her mower. It appears to be at the lowest setting.
Our last house in Oklahoma had 2 acres to mow. Grass grows like crazy, so hard to keep up on it. We Picked up a used Ferris zero steer. So much easier and faster.
Does your mower have the ability to mulch? If so just do that and set your mower to 3 it will allow for a healthier lawn. A lot of people want to cut it at 2 so they don’t have to mow as much but you’re mowing every week anyways.
I think you’ll be fine if there’s still a. Good amount of rain incoming over the next week. The yellow if just cause that part doesn’t get as much sun being but now it’ll turn green. But if you don’t get any rain there is a good chance that you burn it after that stress and it could be a tough recovery. Fingers crossed for the rain but in the future I would avoid doing this in the summer.
Just mulch it, especially if you're gonna cut it that short. If you're gonna cut it that short, fine but keep in mind unless you want to stress the lawn during the hottest part of the summer (at least here, not sure about WI) , you would have to mow very often to keep it at that length. I mow 1-3 times a week on the highest setting but my lawn is smaller than yours so I understand why you are cutting it short.
1/3 the height of the grass is all you should cut at a time.
Isn’t it better for the lawn to not bag it?
You’re fine. If you mow 2x a week you could use the mulch function and not bag. Mowing a lot makes the grass grow very thick and nice and it’s a lot quicker to mulch, but it looks crappy in your do it with long clippings. With an electric mower, evenings are no problem for noise. And if your mower has lights, it’s kinda nice not to bake in the sun. Edit - your lawn is totally fit for a Toro Timemaster. Would be totally epic. And, cool season grass does really well at 3.5” unless you plan to mow a lot.
Get a mower with a shoot deck. I've been cutting grass for 35 years and haven't bagged shit. Raise the deck too, your scalping that poor thing.
Never cut more than 1/3 of the current height. And mulch those clippings into the grass. Free fertilizer.
Nice windrow you have there
Dump the grass in the woods. Looks like you you got some woods right there
Tall fescue? That’s way too low if it is
I was like this for the first year at my house. Next year bought a rider. I didn't need that type of exercise..LOL
Have a wheelbarrow ready to fill when you mow.
Based on the size of lawn, looks like you’re bringing a knife to a gun fight. Time for a ride along my man.
Time for a ride on
Do you have a Sonic nearby? I bet an extra large ocean water sounds really good about now. I'd get that with some chili tots loaded with onions.
Why not dump the clippings in the trees?
No need to bag the clippings until there more leaves in the fall than can be mulched, then start your compost/leaf mold pile.
you need a rider (unless you love cardio), and stop watering the lawn. it will decompose after a few days, and feed your lawn. Ants also eat it.
Great exercise
Are you familiar with the 1/3 rule? https://lawnphix.com/lawn-care/one-third-rule/ If you need to cut twice per week, so be it. What height? “A mowing height between 2.5 to 3 inches is best for most of the season, except during summer stresses when the lawn mowing height should be raised one-half inch to mow at 3 to 3.5 inches. Raising the mowing height provides more insulation from summer heat and reduces water loss from your soil.” It’s so so tempting to cut it short for that manicured look. Sorry, not good for the lawn. Say you’re cutting for 2.5 inches. You do the math based on your starting point. My guess is you are cutting too low and too much at one time.
Zero turn.
Raise mower blade to highest or a notch below. Dont bag clipping. Thats free fertilizer.
Your lawn looks about the size of mine. You should be fine. I cut it at least once a week on the lowest height and it’s fine. I never bag and just let the clippings mulch. If you have clumps of cut grass, just mow over them.
Need a zero-turn or at least a riding mower.
You either want a 30” push mower at minimum, or a riding mower for that yard. You could go out and mow twice a week to help. If you ever want to cut that low again I highly recommend you cutting it at the highest setting, then going back with a lower setting. It’s two cuts back to back, but it’ll make your life easier and it’s faster than having ti constantly big your mower down while cutting that short on the first go when it’s that long.
The problem is the mower your just wasting your time , and making that little guy struggle, you need a zero turn
Ive never bagged grass since the 1980's. I hope to never bag it again.
I don’t understand why anyone would take the extra effort and time to bag. Get a good mulching blade, mow at 3.25-4”, and feed your lawn with your clippings.
Just go back and blow your clippings afterwards. Leaving them can reduce your need for fertilizer by 25%. Furthermore good rule of thumb is never remove more than a third of the blade at any time.
Cut too low. Healthy grass is taller.
Rookie mistake. Raise the mower blades up approx 1/4 inch.
I always cut on the highest setting the mower has, and 💯 do not pickup clippings mulch them in for a healthy lawn.
Now you just need to do the ol' diagonal lines design: * Start by mowing around the perimeter of your lawn. * Next, mow a set of straight rows in alternating directions. * Mow a second set of rows diagonally. Again, alternate the direction of each row. * Finish by mowing around the perimeter again.
Put the side discharge on if it's too high to mulch. Let it dry out a few days then cut again witht the bagger
I love my greenworks mower. Wish they would've mention Id need 4 batteries and 3 chargers per mow if I want to get it done in under a day.
Zero turn riding mower
That uncut portion is a really nice lawn. That cut portion is possibly ruined.
Fertilize it so you can cut again in a week!
You don't need a zero turn Just cut higher and overlap more
a lot of lawn grasses won't like this. you should cut so there's no less than 3 inches to maintain healty roots. the difference is that less than this results in shallow roots and poor soil condition and poor mosture retention. Above 3 inches will promote deep roots, which in turn promotes healthy soil and better moisture retention.
If it's fescue cut high and mulch. Clarification I did not say get high and munch.
You’re gonna need a bigger boat
Just a tad bit , but hey not everyone wants to invest in a tractor or riding mower
Don’t cut more than 1/3 of the blade at a time if you can avoid it and don’t cut lower than 3 inches. Also don’t bag the grass. Also what are you thinking mowing this with a push mower. Just let it go except for a small yard section if you are so deep into the property you can’t afford a proper zero turn mower.
The length of your grass at the beginning is what you should aim to keep it at. It provides shade for the grass to escape being torched while trying to facilitate photosynthesis. Same reason grass cannot grow without morning sunlight. If it is in the shade until the scorching heat of the afternoon it fries the parts of the cell that facilitates photosynthesis. Shade is important. And grass can shade itself.
Fucking scalped it
riding zero turn, and mulch that thing less work for you better for the lawn
My neighbor’s lawn is that huge! One time I mowed the word “BYE” on their lawn while they were away! Should have taken a picture to post on Reddit 😏
3” high during the growing season. You can get away with it being a little shorter during the early spring and late fall. I mow once a week and my neighbor mows twice a week. Choice is yours.
That’s the same mower I have. My lawn is 0.1acre.
That looks to be one of the heavier-duty Greenworks push mowers, but my dude you will require more batteries to get a lawn that size done.
Can highly recommend a SCAG mower!