mulching lawn mower blades or regular blades??

[barnyardgal]

My grass is so thick with lots of clover and it never drys out enough to use the grass catcher without it ALWAYS plugging up the shoot...AND to much grass to NOT use the grass catcher as i tried that twice this year & its starting to kill the yard grass...

Was wondering if i get the mulching blades would this make that problem worse or some what better???

What are the pros & cons of mulching blades???

Thanks in advance!!

[fireweed farm]

If the mulching blade is a second blade(in addition the the original blade) it might help and is a cheap way to experiment.
Other tips- keep them sharp. And mow more often.

[jwal10]

The mower needs to be a high deck mower made for mulching to work good. My mower was made to do both, I bag every other time in the spring. Mulching needs done often enough so that you cut less than a 1/3 of the grass stem to work good. Sometimes I mow everyother day....James

[postroad]

I second the high deck for all mowers. This usually means buying the more expensive units though.

[mesa123]

I use a mulching blade and I love it. I'm not always the best about keeping the lawn as short as I would like. I mow about once a week. Even when the lawn is really long I just push on through. It cuts up the grass really small, so I hardly notice it. I have an adjustable deck. When its really long, I set the deck slightly higher. If I were not to adjust the deck, and the grass was really long, it would just stall out occasionally and I'd have to clear a clump of grass from the blade. Also, I replace the blade every other year, costs about $20.00.

[Wanderer0101]

I've used mulching blades for years and I wouldn't do it any other way, it makes no sense to remove biological material from your soil. Never had a thatch problem when using that kind of blade. I also keep my blade height at 4 inches which is much better for the grass.

[Two Cents Worth]

Not to be unkind, but it sounds like you need to mow more frequently. How many times per week are you mowing?

With K-31 Fescue 2 to 3 times per week is generally needed so as not to cut too much from the plant as per the experts.

An alternative might also be to walk slower as you mow so that the chute stays cleared and can handle the capacity as per speed.

[Betho]

We use a mulching mower, DH mows about once a week in the summertime and we don't notice piles of grass and it's really made an improvement in the quality of the lawn.

[MOgal]

I live maybe 80-90 miles from Barnyardgal and we've had way too much rain this spring. Grass growing far faster than usual is the biggest problem right now. The cool season grasses' growth rate should be slowing down soon because we have very high temps in the forecasts for the next week or so. In the meantime, my grass is growing like crazy, too. Mow it one day and it looks rough and uneven the next.

So, answer the lady's question. She's figured out the cause/effect of mowing frequency. And that's my 2¢ worth, Two Cents Worth. GRIN.

[Harry Chickpea]

Mulching takes a little more power. Not a whole lot, but if you are stressing out the mower as is, then it could be an issue.

Most mower decks are set too low. Raise the blade assembly up a bit and some of the clumping problems will go away. Here, where the purpose of a lawn is firebreak and keeping the ticks down, I have the mower set on the highest setting, and fashioned an old style metal chute for the cut grasses to exit. No thatch problem here either. THere are windrows where I bushhog, but no thatch.