I hate grass raking! How can i avoid it? do i need a new tractor?

[Hulk 101]

I use a B series kubota with a 60" belly mower with the blades it came with just replaced a few times. My yard is 3 1/2 acres and i have a field of 11 acres that i bush hog once a year with a older model B series tractor that was my uncles. All of it is pretty flat with a few trees.

It's only been 5 days since i last mowed the lawn and yet again i have grass all over the place just rows of it.

I asks my friends they say mow more often.......well it's only been 5 days and last time i raked the grass and it has not rained.

My neighbor never rakes his yard the only difference is he has a zero turn mower. So what is the difference? he mows every friday.

Only thing i can think of is mulching blades maybe?

I need to down size as i have

2 kubota b series tractors.
2 lawn mowers like the ones you buy at lowes. I use one to mow under the trees takes all of 10min.
A few b series attachments a rear 3 point snow blower, rear blade, front blade and a 5ft bush hog

I feel like i should trade both b series tractors in on a L series or the biggest B series and buy a zero turn mower and be done with it.

I do need a tractor to blow snow and bush hog but that may come to a end if i lease out the 11 acres to a farmer to plant crops.

I'm just tired of grass raking every year. Money is no issue i'm at the stage of live where it's more about convenience.

 

[Skeletor]

I’d probably unload the lowes mowers, trade in the two b series on a new bitchin tractor and get a nice zero turn. I wouldn’t rake grass either. I only have a small yard if it’s too long where it’ll need raking I bag it. I realize your not bagging 3.5 acres of lawn though. If I had that much lawn I’d absolutely have a big zero turn!

Last few years I’ve been buying stuff to make my life easier. Trying to delay my body wearing out as much as possible anyway.

 

[repete]

Do you have a deflector on the chute where the grass comes out? I removed it on my mower and it throws the grass as opposed to piling it up.

 

[4570Man]

I assume you’re using the deflector guard. Take it off and throw it away. And mow at at least 3” maybe more if it’s thick.

 

[KennyG]

Taking off the deflector will help some. I do that but only when I know no one will be within 100 feet of the mower discharge. Mulching Gator blades help a bit. I do all this and still get some build up in the spring. By mid summer I have mulched things enough the rows and piles have gone away. To get a completely clean lawn, get a cyclone rake or similar and mulch the clippings. A lot more work though with all the dumping.

 

[Have tractor did travel]

Expect to mow every four days. That's the short answer

Your big box mowers almost certainly cannot be made to cut 4", but that's the length you want. Don't rely on the setting - measure from a flat, concrete surface.

Long grass makes for long (deep) roots, which will better survive droughts. That's why you're cutting 4"

Keep the underside of the deck clean. That will help disburse the grass clippings. That likely means you'll clean the deck underside every other time.

Mow when the lawn is dry. That likely means after 1 PM. Be sure all the dew is gone.

If grass tips are shredded, that means the blades are dull. Sharpen them.

Have your soil tested. Treat according to recommendations. If you cut the grass every 4 days, to 4", and if the soil is right, the grass will push the weeds out, over years. You don't need Weed-B-Gone if you follow instructions in this paragraph.

Expect to over-seed every 6 years.

Stay away from Kentucky 31 Fescue

 

[oosik]

I have a JD X570 riding mower. I removed the deflector - first thing. Most of my two acres of "lawn" is meadow. I leave the grass 3" high when I mow it. I mow it all - at least 2X per week this time of year. I DO NOT rake grass.

 

[5030]

My wife does most of the mowing, we own 3 rentals next to the farm and she mows them as well as ours. She never rakes anything. Has her own zero turn with a steering wheel (dislikes the oars). She cuts it short (2" all the time and no rain equals no mow, turns brown and heck with it. We ain't 'yardies' and with gas at 5 bucks a gallon, will never be. Could be grass, could be weeds, probably a mixture of both. I don't much care and neither does she. I have my own zero turn which hardly ever gets used as she likes mowing. I'm all good with it. Besides, at 2", it flattens any mole hills too. I change the blades every spring when I change the oil and filter and clean the air cleaner element and grease it. Every years the backyards get a little shorter as I have one of my hayfields right behind the rentals.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I removed the deflector on my zero turn and use Gator blades which chops the grass finer and blows it further. In the peak growing season in CT of late May, early June, I mow every 4 days. I mow 5 acres and can do it in less than 2 hours with a 60" zero turn. I can go much faster if I mow more frequently so it is worth it to me to do that. I keep my lawn at 3.5" and my field at 4". The field grows faster and thicker than the lawn.

 

[dodge man]

I mow at 4” with my JD and 60” deck. I’ve never raked either. I also have always had a mulch kit on my mower decks.

 

[JWR]

No shortage of opinions...Some observations:
-- 3.5 acres is big lawn to be mowing and there is no way I would get roped into doing it every 4 days. Has to be a better solution.
-- As people have said -- pull the discharge chute (actually I block mine pointed upward higher than normal) which works very well. Takes some playing with the chute and blocking angle innovations to get it optimum.
-- As one data point: I have a neighbor with a large JD riding mower who uses mulching blades. We alternate who mows a common area in a cul de sac. He can let the grass grow 3 or 4 more days and nearly twice as high as I can without causing any "hay rows." I have a Kubota BX2200 with 60" mid mount mower but standard plain smooth blades.
-- I am no fan of ZT mowers but that may be the fastest way to do the 3.5 acres (which I assume you want to look like a well kept lawn, not a meadow you mow once in a while.) No matter what you choose stay away from the big box store variety. There are several good brands of ZT (such as a Scag) and, with not so much $ concern, get a seriously good one with a wide deck like 72."
-- Seems like a good plan to wait and see on the B series compact tractors until you lease out the 11 acres (or know you can.) Then it makes sense to keep your attachments and replace the two B series compacts with a new one. I'd keep the 5ft rotary cutter too since leasing the 11 acres can have on again off again times in the future. You might also consider a 72" 3pt hitch finish mower when/if you trade up in tractors -- I hesitate to say that though because to me the MMM does a better job.

 

[shooterdon]

I have the height on the ZT set to 3”. Cut 1-1.5” off per cut. Never have clumps of grass. Use Gator blades. One hour to cut two acres.

KISS.

 

[workinonit]

Mulching blades don't do much without a mulch kit on your mower. I've run mulching kits on my mowers for 30 years and never have this issue. I cut at 1.5" so I don't cut but every two weeks or so.

 

[Hulk 101]

I do use the discharge chute and i do cut the grass very short! I work 11 hour days 6 days a week so it becomes a hassle to mow in the summer time, i don't get home until 6:30 pm so i eat dinner jump on the mower and try to be done before dark.

It seems like the ZT have deeper decks to. I don't really care how the yard looks i just don't like it tall and grass rows all over the place.

 

[Thomas]

If you can mow when grass good and dry,raise deflector guard more than half way,will take longer but mow little more than half deck....lawn sweeper???

 

[CH4Ohio]

I do use the discharge chute and i do cut the grass very short! I work 11 hour days 6 days a week so it becomes a hassle to mow in the summer time, i don't get home until 6:30 pm so i eat dinner jump on the mower and try to be done before dark.

It seems like the ZT have deeper decks to. I don't really care how the yard looks i just don't like it tall and grass rows all over the place.

There's the problem then. The discharge deflector takes 60" worth of clippings and lays them down in a thin strip. I've had several B mower decks and all of mine have had hinged spring-loaded deflectors. Just fold yours up and give it a try. I only use mine if I'm mowing an area where I'm concerned about throwing a rock, etc. Otherwise, mine is always folded up. (It's a safety device -- use it when needed.)

By the way . . . It doesn't matter whether it's zero-turn, etc. If there's a deflector it's going to windrow the clippings. I use a bungee cord to hold the deflector up on my ZT.

 

[RalphVa]

I've never raked grass unless I want it for mulch somewhere. Use all mulching mowers. Latest is a Ryobi ZT480e, 48v lead acid batteries. Will mow up to 2 acres on a charge. If you got an Ego with extra batteries, you could do 3 1/2 acres. However, gotta ask why you're mowing that much. Mow trails and then brush hog maybe once/yr.

Before the Ryobi ZT, we bought a Ryobi 40v "cross cut" 21 inch mower. Wive mowed our grass with it. With the ZT, I can do it (have neuropathy and a reattached left quad that has never stretched out).

Before going electric, we had an old JD self propelled mulcher and a Honda self propelled mulcher.

 

[deezler]

Don't cut your grass so low, is the simple answer. On my daily commute to work and back I pass a ton of nice estates that are mostly taken care of by the homeowners themselves. Some guys just insist on mowing at 2" high, scalping areas, throwing hay and clumps of grass everywhere, then not raking - frankly, it looks like **** and dies and turns brown easily. Taller grass is better for you, your yard, and the planet. Also guys, please don't mow 3+ acres every week, thats just an incredible waste of your life and gasoline.

I've only mowed my main "front" yard 3 times this year. My soil is sandy, but I mow at ~3.5" and let it get up to the ~6" range before mowing. It stays nice and green during droughts.

Other tips:
sharp blades (like, razor sharp)
keep your rpms up!
take the deck chute off like others said
never plan your yard paths so that you double down and re-mow past clippings - always blow away

There's no reason a Kubota mower deck shouldn't be useable - keep tweaking things until you sort it out. Yes, a zero turn has more blade speed and power, but you don't need to blow 8 grand when you already have a good mower deck. Sounds like you just need to change your perspective and approach more than your equipment.

 

[Ken45101]

Would a rear discharge rear mount mower help?

Ken

 

[newbury]

Rent a good sharp Manual Walk Behind Push Reel Lawn Mower (no bagger). Next time you need to cut grass use that for 1 hour. Use that to determine the size of your lawn.