I power raked and plugged the lawn after watching your last video, I have not been mulching correctly. Did not know until your videos showed me. Thanks.
And thanks for another awesome vid, I’ve stopped mulching after getting into a horrible thatch problem, I mean dead grass, this last season. After bagging for a few mows it was amazing how much “stuff” was being left on the lawn
Nothing like a good power rake and clean up! am i right!?..... who am i kidding, worst job ever. But it sure pays off in the end. It is amazing how much comes out that's for sure. Thanks for the comment.
Hello mister Ginja I want to thank you again really important information. I was trying to go on the landscaper business but I was no lucky with the costumers I get. I told this so many times to people but they was calling me when the grass was 3 to 4 feet tall and I have to bag everything. Many homeowners don’t believe when you say this important things. Now I just try to keep learning the much I can. Thanks again
@@wilvertperez Time = money. The routine weekly cutting prices fall to the side when you figure in the amount of physical labor is involved. I mow my neighbor's law and she always complains about the service she used. She has tons of lawn furniture and other obstacles I mow around. I go around them. I know why they raised their price. The guy needed to hire someone to move crap and put it back. If you spend more time moving things than mowing the price goes up. Same with tall; double the price to cover the physical labor end of it. Too bad if some don't like it. I move 3 chairs and a drain pipe at my house so I never get off the mower.
In Massachusetts I mulch every weekly mow (or more often if I can), but I typically bag every third mowing. I also dethatch every April before applying preemergent. This schedule has work well for the last three years. My neighbors pay for TruGreen and a mowing service, and the guy gets mad when his wife compliments my lawn.
Man its really good to see the Ginja approves of my toro recycler mower. I always bag but I’ve been eyeing a CubCadet CC600 38” walk behind lately. 7500sq ft soon to be 10k of lawn so my little 22” cut is going to take a while.
cubcadet has a lot of decent options. take you an hour and half to cut that 7500ft2 with a 22". I know because I did it hahaha. The worst. Got get that beast of a mower already!
Pest and Lawn Ginja and best of all is we do a lot of business with that vendor at work. He said wait till the end of the season and they’ll give me a good price break because the owner doesn’t like to I hold onto stuff over the winter. 😎😁
I have a $300 lawnmower with a mulching blade. After I get done cutting I see no grass clippings at all. My nephew use to cut the grass with my previous lawnmower and use to leave dead grass all on top of the grass. I'm going to bag the clippings and see how long they are this weekend
Mulching gone wild! Another informative video from my fellow Utahn. I agree that for mulching... Power, overlapping, and sharp blades are they keys to getting that really fine mulch. We actually keep two mowers for the lawn now. One is a zero turn with mulch kit and the other mower is a rider with some bags that we recently picked up from SEARS. Sometimes we like to let the lawn grow out long and that's when we catch the clippings. Oh and you may be a pale friend but you can grow one epic beard! CHEERS GINJA!
Great info Bob. Sounds like you have some fun toys. I gotta be honest with you. I kinda like the long grass look in kentucky bluegrass . It really pops! Thanks for the beard compliment! Have a great day.
Great video man -- very informative & inclusive. You give quick definition, types of mulching, give pros & cons, how to do it right, types of machines & methods -- very well-rounded
I do mulch Ginja and also I have 3 mulching blades for my lawn tractor (48” deck). One very important key also is to have these blades properly sharpened. Since they have the curved to them, as seen in your video, I chose to have them professionally sharpened. Works amazingly well !!! Thanks for another great 👍 video !!!
GINJA, you da man! Pretty sure my whole front lawn is like this and that's why it takes until June for my to look presentable. I'm fixing this so I can make the rest of the neighborhood look bad!
That first blade is part of the toro recycler system and is indeed a mulching blade, unless it's on the wrong mower. The kickers on the deck ceiling combined with the medium lift and specific sail angle are all a mulching system.
Thoroughly agree with all that's been said here, you took the myths out of mulching. I would add, that it makes sense to progress slowly but at high revs.
Very interesting. The first blade that you show looks like the one on my Toro Super Recycler mower. I was under the impression their blades were made to specifically mulch correctly with that mower. In fact when you look for the gator blade types throughout the forums etc, everyone is suggesting staying with the factory blade.
Thanks for the comment. The dirty mower I showed in the video was a recycler mower. You'll notice the edges of the blade had the serrated end for mulching. If the mower has enough power it will mulch no matter what blade. If it has dual blades like the quad cut it will also mulch. If you cut enough times per week you can make any mower a mulching mower IMO.
Are you serious? Mow the lawn twice? Just buy a De-Thatcher attachment for the lawnmower and use it once a year. Since it wasn't addressed in this video, IT is time to Aerate your lawn at the same time as De-Thatching. Sighs. Tired of useless info and I hope I never click on this kind of video ever again.
@@Myoldaccount-mu7of Personally, the IQ of some individuals are lacking. Just to make this clear, I Mulch my lawn. I also Aerate and De-Thatch it in the Fall. This gives it time to accept the needed Oxygen and nutrients that are falling in the Fall! So Glad I could clear up some of your concerns about Classic Mistakes made on lawn care. Take Care.
Thanks again for another great, informative vid. I find that my Toro 22 inch recycler does a good job at mulching at anything 3 inches and above. Anything lower is a struggle, but I do have some thick grass, perhaps because I'm mulching good.. Thanks again..
That video was outstanding. I usually have to skim through videos made by other lawn guys to hope that my current issue might be touched upon even if the title hints nothing toward that subject. This might be the first to cover all but one! : I was hoping you'd give your opinion on Honda's quad cut blade and it's mulching effectiveness. (Just got an HRX217 on CL for a steel) Thanks for the hard work!
The way a lawn mower blade works is by creating suction or a vacuum that lifts the grass up for a clean cut - that is done by the air lifts or trailing edge on the back of the blade, a standard hi-lift blade is good for bagging or side-discharging, a mulching blade with the wavy mulching pattern is only good for mulching or discharging, the way a mulching blade works is it creates an upwards airflow (suction/vacuum) that lifts the clippings and takes the cut clippings and sends them upwards towards the top of the mower deck, then the raised area on the mulching blade creates a downdraft that pulls the clippings back into the blade to get cut up multiple times, now a gator blade works a bit better, the serrated air lift's chop up clippings extremely well, the reason is the serrated teeth are angled inward towards the center of the mower deck, the airflow is re-directed towards the center and the clippings are recirculated and chopped up hundreds of times before it is either sent out the side if discharging or sent up the bagger for bagging. as i said a high lift blade cannot be used for mulching, it will sling out clippings from around the deck (known as blowout) and make a mess and deliver a poor quality of cut, i've been in the outdoor power equipment parts & repair industry for over 20 years and have my own lawn mower shop, i've seen, sold and used thousands of lawn mower blades over the years, it all comes down to personal preference on what blade to run on your mower, gator blades are excellent but cost 2 to 4 times more than a standard high lift or mulching blade, regardless if what kind of blade you run on your equipment, all lawn mower blades have one thing in common - they all cut grass.
I had the problem of matting last year here in Nebraska. The temperatures averaged in the 90 degree range with high humidity from late April until late September. Lawn fungus appeared and did a lot of damage to my lawn. Just wondering if the fungus was a result of all of the above conditions. Roger
What your looking at in weight difference, i think the heavier holds closer to the ground as you mulch, i think the homeowners mower is made lighter won't have that same groind hugging, might even rise & let the clippings out before they can get mulched up.
Being a professional in the pest and lawn care business, how does your business do in the winter when irrigation is turned off and lawns are dormant? From my experience in a similar climate to yours, even the bugs seem to go away in the winter.
How does the notch on the blade help with mulching? I can understand how Honda's quad cut system would help, since the higher blade touches the grass first, but that notch, I have no idea...
The first lawn that you showed does not look as if they tried to mulch it. It looks as if they used the discharge chute. If they were mulching, all of that grass would not have been thrown up onto the tarp.
part of the issue with lawn clippings moving the way they did is that the property is flood irrigated. The flood irrigation causes the clippings to move.
Its a rear discharge ride on deck. Very common near me an the people that do my schools lawn use them. They are shit at mowing and will chop anything up. Ever small trees.
The tarp was an example of grass that had over grown and not gone over twice to cut it up even the best mowers have limits on what they will deal with in one lazy pass.
I recommend you test the soil for ph and adjust with lime if needed. The thatch will decompose quicker if proper ph is maintained. The video is excellent for new lawn care people.
Do golf courses bag the clippings on their fairways? On greens they usually just toss the clippings onto the apron. Of course, green clippings are very small and fall between the grass blades and will be mowed over again when the approaches are mowed.
It varies widely. Clippings are usually returned to fairways when they are mowed, followed by blowing them off with air turbines that have the power to disperse any bigger clumps out into the rough grass areas. Clippings being returned to the soil (the very fine, almost powdery consistency type clip), is an extremely valuable asset for turfgrass grown on golf courses. A lot of superintendents are now moving towards mulching up fallen leaves in the fall instead of collecting because of how useful finely chopped leaves are for grasses
Hey Ginja let me ask question, I’m sorry but I’m a electrician but a true lawn nerd. So thatch is good not having dead grass laying on the lawn, generally mow twice a week and bag my clippings maybe a few times out of the year I will mulch.
Hey Paul. Great question. Dead grass is just debris or trash. Thatch is a dense root ball with organic matter and micro-nutrients that sits slightly above and below the soil surface. Mulching properly can be done freely and is great for the lawn. Mulching improperly will result in more lawn debris.
I use a notched mulching blade on a normal residential walk-behind mower for a commercial job (strata complex) and the clippings are max. 1 cm long (1/2"). The lawn has never looked better. We mow weekly. As long as the lawn doesn't get too long, it's no problem.
So if you have weeds and a some lawn, how should someone approach the fall season as it pertains to getting a beautiful lawn for next year spring? Should one just overseed and let the cold take care of the weeds?
Focus on spot spraying the weeds. If you're not planning on over seeding I would apply a pre emergent. Fall is a great time to apply micro nutrients and ammonium nitrates to the lawn. I try and avoid Urea as it will not overwinter. The better you can get your lawn in the fall time the easier it comes out of dormancy in the spring time.
@@pestandlawnginja what would you recommend to spot spray with? Because some weed spray doesn't work as effective. And what you meant by urea? Or was that a typo? and yea i had in mind to get a pre emergent.
Urea is a type of fertilizer active ingredient. For an overall herbicide that will kill hard to do weeds and the easy ones I use T-zone www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NWSIHCK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00NWSIHCK&linkCode=as2&tag=pestandlawngi-20&linkId=96cf10277861461140ff572813673a8b
@@pestandlawnginja so is urea good for the earth? And if youre seeding would you have to wait for some weeks after applying urea? And i know you recommend spot spray i purchased the ortho week killer spray, but im also worried about when i spot spray i would have to wait for sometime before seeding again?
Is urea good for the earth...... Debatable. The problem is it comes from cattle urine. They catch it from the air as it evaporates and put it into a granular form. It wants to be in the air. Because of that it tends to volatilize and you really only get 50% of what you put down. It also is one of the leading causes of necrotic ring spot and summer patch fungus. I feel it's due to overuse and I feel there's a place for urea. I like it because it's slow moving through the soil and plant. I don't like putting it down in the fall because it does not overwinter and doesn't provide nutrients for the plant the following year. Ammonium nitrates will stay in the soil over winter and will help the plant come out of dormancy faster in the spring time.
My question would be; what blade were you using on the Honda when you did that video? I do have a 20 year old commercial grade walk behind Honda that looks to be the same as yours. Interestingly, I also just bought the Oregon gator blade that has something of a high lift. In addition, I bought a standard blade with extra high lift to better "vacuum" the lawns when I cut them without mulching. I also bought the Honda small tiller with the thatching accessory. That thatching accessory seems to do an excellent job. My lawn has always been one of the best in my neighborhood, but I am looking to make it even better. I believe thatch has always been part of my problem. Your video helps. OCD... Twenty years ago, I gave my old Honda mower to my son-in-law when I bought the new "commercial" one. It was twenty years old then. Now, it is forty years old, and he still brags about how great a job it does. Thanks...
great question. Its a stock blade for the mower, keep in mind its a honda quad cut system and requires oem blades. it won't do as well as a mulching blade or high lift in my opinion. Keep in mind this mower is 12 years old and the newer models are much better especially when comparing apples to apples.
My Honda mower has two blades. They are stacked together. Is that good? Does that count as mulching? Neither blade is notched or even “high lift”. What is considered high altitude in regards to the microbial action you referenced?
I have never bagged my grass, so, after watching this video, I went outside to check and see if I’ve got dead grass woven in between like this video but there was nothing. Last year I didn’t even bag the leaves in the back. I just went over them with the mower because they always seem to disintegrate really quickly. Maybe it’s got something to do with the climate here? I live in central Florida where we get afternoon thunderstorms almost everyday in the summer. Additionally the sun is very strong and temperatures extremely hot averaging about 92 degrees. The backyard is looking really nice, so, I’m not about to change anything there. It’s the front that I’ve got to figure out. A large pine tree is making it difficult to establish grass in one spot. I’ve got a pine tree in the backyard but there’s no problem there. The grass is growing right up to the bark of the tree. Maybe those leaves are turning into dirt because I’ve got some sandy patches in the front where I always bag the leaves because they don’t break down quickly like in the backyard.
Ace, thanks for the comment. If it aint broke don't fix it 😉. I imagine one of the variety's of pine has a more acidic pine needle and it's changing the pH of the soil. Unfortunately the only remedy I've found is to pick up the needs and use a nitrate nitrogen to up the pH.
Pest and Lawn Ginja Thanks for the tip. I’ll give it a try. The soil over there more sandy than in the backyard, so, in addition to cleaning up the needles and adjusting PH, I suspect that I’ll have to put some nutrient rich soil down as well. I appreciate that you’re teaching us the fundamentals of your trade. You’ve got a great channel here.
What are you thoughts on dethatching my lawn with just the thatching rake like you use to do you test spots. My lawn is two years old rye grass sod layed over a very thin base of any top soil track home. First year scotts weed and feed got rid of must of the weeds. This spring scotts max green. Plus ag lime , and a folier spray mix of hunic acid,sea kelp, super thrive. I mow every 5th day and this point and bag not mulch. Watering is done every 4 days. The grass looks nice and thick but there is some dead blades interwoven in the live grass. My question is again have you thatch raked a smaller lawn. What do you think. Only watched four of your videos to date. Nice job.
Thanks. I looked online but I also watched your video on dethatching. In the end you showed that doing it by hand is best. I will buy one of those for the particularly needy areas and then rent a power one for the rest.
@@pestandlawnginja I shoveled cow shit in a dairy barn as a kid. Bailed hay. Worked 12 hours a day in a mom and pop grocery store. That was all before I turned 16. Later I would stay at work for days at a time and not go home. Dethatching will be therapeutic. In fact, the whole lawn, garden, and orchard thing is therapeutic. The only thing about it that sucks is the poorly made power equipment that I paid too much for like the Husqvarna GT48XLSi Garden tractor. Bushings instead of bearings? I thought my friends were kidding me when they said that before I bought it. Much of the power equipment wasn't even assembled correctly. I wish I had a Wheelhorse garden tractor. Anyway, this time next year everything will be ship shape in Bristol fashion. Thank you for your help.
Another very informational video thanks. What about mowing with a reel mower? I'm guessing if I am using a reel mower I should be mowing frequently enough to ensure the clippings are micro enough.
What up my sun fearing Ginja! Lol I really like this mulching comparison you did... People need to realize what mulch is and how to properly use it! I wanted to clarify a comment that ... Freddy... if that wasn’t his name I apologize said..... you asked what size should much be, he said you shouldn’t see it.... PLEASE NOTE, he meant in the grass it’s self... you will see it on cement or road. It would be around 1/4” or less..... And when you just walk away from him and the look he gives you like “wait... what?? We were done?!?”😂🤣😂 Well done, solid review! Great job!
Sharp blades and consistent mowing. The finer the mulch the better at higher altitudes. You shouldn't be able to visibly see the mulch after it's mowed. That's the most important part. The confetti take on mulching works well at lower altitudes but I find if you're consistently mulching weekly or even bi-weekly you'll need to reconsider the confetti approach.
Thanks for the reply, I do keep the blades sharp and mow twice a week. Occasionally I'll see some clumping but then I mow over it again until it's gone. Thanks for the info and great vid's.
Anytime! From time to time I would use a thatch rake and give it a look to make sure it's decomposing. The idea is to make sure the mulched material is actually being used up. If it isn't than maybe bag one mow and mulch the next.
Okay thanks, now that you've turned me into a mulching idiot, would it be better to use a core sampler or combination of it and a thatch rake. I'm a rookie at this but I'm learning thanks to your Vid's.
keep in mind core sampler will measure thatch height and levels, the thatch rake will show you mulch and left over debris that's sitting on the surface of the soil. I use both to measure different issues.
Great video, I do have a question ❓ If the lawn hasn't been dethach in years. Which on is better using a power rake or using an aerator the pool plugs? Thanks
Enjoyed this video. I really liked your last two examples where you couldn't bring up any clippings with your hand. Nice. Very nice. There were 2 points not covered. The first was wheel height adjusters. This "option" is actually mandatory. For long lawns that you want to take the maximum cut you can (a third of its height) with most home mowers it MUST be done in stages with each cut (in different directions) where no more than a half inch is taken off with each cut. If you have a closed mulcher then you want to spray your mover inside with something like WD40 or PAM cooking spray before you start, in order to avoid mulch clumping. And you want to travel slowly with a 15% to 20% overlap on each pass. Ten percent is not enough unless you are very very precise. You should do the hand check after each pass to see how you are doing. Aim for the Ginga's exsmple in this video. But you should quit mulching if you can pull out a lot of clippings by hand. A little experience will tell you how much mulching you can get away with. It may be a good option to bag the first cut (in which case you don't have to limit that to a half inch) and mulch in the next one or two half-inch cuts. If your lawn has flowering or gone-to-seed weeds then YOU MUST bag the first cut. And there is my preferred mower on dry grass - a side-discharge machine with fast sharp blades. It's tricky to use and takes practise not to blow it all over roads sidewalks and flowerbeds, but it does tend to dry out the clippings more than a closed mulcher and makes them easier to chop up on each successive pass. Still never make any clippings you leave on longer than a half inch. And do not let the depth of the newly chopped clippings exceed a half inch on any given day. In fact it should way be less deep. And NEVER leave any clippings sitting on top of the lawn. As The Ginga pointed out, that is just stupid, even if the municipality boulevard people do it (which really annoys me). To keep a lawn green you need all the proper minerals and microbes and earthworms and some nitrogen, but too much nitrogen just makes the lawn grow too fast and you will not be able to leave all the clippings on. One more advantage of a side-discharge mower is that it spreads the nutrients around and helps avoid patchyness. But it's a lot of work and a lot harder than a closed mulching mower. But given the choice between a closed mower and an side-discharge one, if both are NOT in top-notch condition, I would prefer the side-discharge unit on a dry day.
Hey Ginja, fresh grass clippings or mulch like that is great for new seed. Birds don’t get through it cause they cant see the seed. Once the grass mat starts to lift up, just remove it and wallah, new growth, plus the Benoit fresh nutrients.
I dont mulch. I always bag my grass and use it around my banana trees here in south Florida. Its amazing the wonders that grass does for the growth of the banana trees. They become huge green and beautiful. Thanks for the info.
I'll have to try that! I recently bought some banana trees. They're zoned for zone 6. I'm going to buy some zone 10 fruit producers and keep them indoors. I'll have to try what you're doing and see if it works for me.
@@pestandlawnginja yes it works great on bananas but i live in Miami which is zone 10. Dont know about zone 6. They may do well in the spring and summer but may not survive during the weather in zone 6.
What's the difference between a residential mower and a commercial mower? How do you know if you have one or the other or not? I have a rough torain yard. A self propelled mower is heavy and hard to manover around. 125cc is nowhere near enough to get the job done. I even question 150cc.
What about Centipede grass? Should it be mulched or not? Since it grows so differently than other grasses it can't be dethatched frequently. I'm having a hard time understanding exactly what to do to grow a nice Centipede lawn. Also, is bagging recommended when there is a weed problem?
Centipede is a very sensitive grass for sure. Does great when left alone. I would do a soil test to see what nutrients the soil has natively😊 Then you can put a good game plan together. Mulching is still a fantastic way to go when done right.
Sup my man! Love the videos. New to lawn care and you are crushing t with solid info! Looking to bring my turf back and wondering where the best place to get top quality weed free seed is (can be online or in store). Will be using to overseed etc. lawn is in pretty bad shape. Aerating, Milorganite, etc I’ll be doing. Thanks!
Hey walter. I've really grown to love barenbrug products. There seed is guaranteed to be weed free. I'm a cool season grass fanatic. I like there Kentucky Bluegrass seed and there RTF tall fescue. Great color, great product.
Pest and Lawn Ginja beautiful thanks! I’ll check them out as well. I’m in buffalo and just found out that the superseedstore is actually local to me. So I would rather support them 👌🏻. Check out their site weed free as well!
Good video sir, I have one question regarding the wait too long to mow problem, I have found that going back the next day after mowing and going over it again with the mulching mower it seems to get rid of the standing previously mowed grass clippings. Is this an acceptable method of dealing with a lawn that has been let go too long? Thanks Rob
Great question Rob. My opinion on this is mulching or not you'll always have a few stragglers that fall behind. The only issue you'll run into going over the lawn the next day is you could potentially cause some tip stress. This stress causes the tips to yellow or brown out and you get a slight brown haze throughout the lawn.
Awesome video! I have been telling my customers about “mulching” for years and this video will back up what I’m trying to get them to do! I’m really enjoying all of your videos! What earphones do you use and how do they hold up?
Hey Ryan! Glad you found value in my videos. It's hard to explain this to people until they see it or experience it. I use the power beats 3. I liked the series 2 better but the battery is better in the 3's. I've had this pair going on one year. All the other brands would break within 2 to 3 months on average. I have used the warranty twice in 4years of use.
Pest and Lawn Ginja thank you for getting back to me! I’ve gone through quite a few LG headphones and they never last more thank 6 months. I will give the power beats a try! Keep up the great videos!
Sure thing ryan. I buy headphones now for the warranty. The sound quality is great but the call quality is..... ok. They pick up a ton of background noise just like all the others.
Pest and Lawn Ginja I am going after the warranty as well. I’m not overly concerned about call quality because I don’t think any of them are very good. More than anything I just want to hear my phone ring while listening to music or podcasts.
I hear that. I abuse mine everyday for 10 hours a day. If I were to guess I do 1.5 to 3 hours daily talk time and 2 to 3 hours music. about an hour of internet video. They still keep going and when they die I send em back. The return process is pretty painless.
It˜s a decent mower. Id recommend mowing a few times per week to be certain. it will help dramatically since you won˜t be cutting as much off the top of the grass.
Liked how you explained mulching in this video. Brought together some of the missing reasons why it hasn't been working for me. Stopped "mulching" last year. I too find that in the SLC area organic matter really doesn't breakdown. I always attributed it to the dry climate. Any idea why John Perry seems to be able to get away with it in Park City? I would think he'd have more elements of colder, higher climate working against him. Only thing I can think of is he's developed soil biology that is able to keep up on breaking it down and his lower N applications means less clippings to breakdown. The size of his clippings certainly aren't itty bits from his push reel mower. :) Been waiting to see if you'll mulch with your new reel mower.
Great question! You'll notice perry doesnt start mulching until the lawn is in a solid state. His clippings are roughly 1/8th of an inch to a little less than 1/4". Hes also mowing 4x per week which 8n turn isn't allowing any chunkyness to happen. On top of that he throws a lot of acidifying agents down that help break down and speed up decomposition
Michael! Thanks for the comment. Creative way of thinking about it. If you don't change the mow height you most likely be ok. Keep in mind the plant doesn't like to be mowed more than 1/3rd it's height.
Pest and Lawn Ginja! Great videos man. I typically mulch at 4” and then follow up with a few passes with my lawn sweeper to collect the left behind clumps that didn’t break down. Every now if the grass get too tall then I have to cut at the highest setting twice. Thanks for your attention to detail in your videos!
Good info bro.... Do u think In the city of Manassas Virginia it's hight altitude or not.?.... I'm trying to get mulching kit for my 46" Craftman riding lawn mower but now I'm confused if do it or not?
from my understanding you guys are almost sea level. That would be high humidity. you should do fine with a mulching kit. I would suggest conditioning the area first. do a debris test and if there's too much get a tine dethatcher on your ride on mower and remove it first then resume mulching. As long as you can get the pieces ground up so there's no trace evidence you're doing it right.
Man! Ginja. I do agree with you. I'm a CO3 and everything you said it's true. But now we have to talk about who mowed that. *One, this guy is the type of guy that charges $20 per cut , I can see that happening. *Two, this is a home owner job.(once every time he/she got time) *Three, home owner want to pay for fertilizer and weed control but don't want to pay for one time a week and if you wait 2 or more week its understandable that a guy only it's charging for 30 minutes. I apply fertilizer and mow some houses as well and I tell my customers to mow one a week until rough if that is the case. But this is a good educational video man Keep it up!
It's hard to tell from the video but there were 5 different lawns showcased in this video. One was a parks and rec, 3 residential, and one was a commercial property. All being improperly mulched. It's fun for me to see how bad some of these cuts are. you really have to try hard to botch it that bad hahaha.
I feel shamed. This added more urgency to my need to power rake. And then I was redeemed by my choice in mowers. Nice video, I am going after that matted thatch layer in earnest.
There aren't a ton of options out there. This one had the best reviews. I haven't personally tried it but its the size and shape you're looking for. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J31Y3VE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00J31Y3VE&linkCode=as2&tag=pestandlawngi-20&linkId=fdcd81ff7ed85d0437472ba4e27efccf
Your commercial lawn care man who is in your video said that every time the lawn is mulched it is like fertilizing it. Ammonia compound. I ran my Husqvarna Garden Tractor on one of those risers that you can drive your car on giving you an extra 12 inches to work underneath the car. I did that so that I could see and reach the caked grass under the deck so that I could scrape it off. It had been there a few days. Dang!!!! It reeked of NH4 (ammonia). As soon as the lawn dries I will try mowing it again. Do you know where I can buy a rear tractor attachment for thatching that doesn't cost a lot? Again, thank you for your kind and helpful advice.
It has been my experience that long clippings, especially if they are wet, are a disaster for a lawn. To achieve short clippings to leave on the lawn, the lawn needs to be mowed at least twice a week. Wheel height adjusters are NOT optional cuz if you want to cut an inch and a half, you need to mow the lawn 3 times, taking off a half inch each time. I got myself a Sunbeam Twin Blade which spins really fast and chops the clippings up fairly well. It is completely horrible on wet grass but it worked like a dream on dry grass. The side discharge blows the fluffy chopped clippings out about 6 feet and they landed gently on top of the mowed section and quickly settled down into the grass. And even if the clippings don't get well chopped, at least none are longer than a half inch. Given good soil for earthworms (not poisoned by too many herbicides and insecticides) the mulch gets very well digested fairly quickly. So I avoided chemicals which would kill the earthworms. Never once in other videos did I hear you talk about earthworms nor their incredible importance. But they are so important in controlling thatch. I see the main problem is that many big mowers don't mulch the grass nicely nor do they spread it evenly. The technique of the old twin blade Sunbeam - the way it makes a fine dry well dispersed shower of clippings out over 6 feet of lawn - makes it easy for the mulch to get evenly laid down, eaten and digested and returned to soil. That twin blade unit gave me the best lawn on the block. And the contractors had laid my sod on bare gravel (!) before I bought the place. So the twin blade and Green Valley fertilizer with micronutrients imported from Africa were a great combo. Sad that company disappeared here. They were the best. I mixed their utility 12-4-8 with their Ultra Green slow release for best performance.
Thanks for the detailed comment. I'm not sure I follow your earthworm analogy. They do compost for sure but they don't compost lawn debris on top of the soil from what I've read and studied about. Most of the nutrients in your grass sits in the thatch layer below the debris layer. That twin blade sounds like a beast. I bet you miss it. Thanks again for the comment.
At the end you mentioned mowing different at higher altitudes. I have heard here in S. Idaho that one should mow at about 4".. Seems pretty tall.. but, it get's hot. We have plenty of water durning the summer. What are your thoughts?
mow height doesn't matter as long as the height of cut matches the frequency at which one mows. you want 1" grass mow 4 to 5 times per week. you want 2" grass mow 2 to 3 x per week. you want 3" to 4" grass mow 1 to 2 times per week. Its all about the cut and stress of the grass.
It's a thatch rake. My second favorite tool besides the ams soil probe. Thatch rakewww.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U2KFXKA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00U2KFXKA&linkCode=as2&tag=pestandlawngi-20&linkId=918debd9e1cf1124ddc8b60a78153cab
Another awesome video, great insight on our climate not breaking down dead grass as well as others. Question, do you think having gator blades with a side discharge mower helps or does it defeat the purpose?
Thanks Lucas. To answer your question I don't think it would be worth the money or hassle. Once you open the side discharge hole you remove the mowers capability to properly mulch. I do think the clippings will be a little bit finer but you never know until you try!
15+ y.o. Toro Super Recycler, OEM blade, no mulching issues, mowed @ 3" until June 1, then 3.5" (shady/drier, inland WA climate). 1/2 dose Ringer on Mem day weekend, then full dose around T-giving.
Hey Ginja I'm having a real bad crab grass problem been having this problem since late July I was told that it's to late in the season to fix my lawn. Any suggestions
It's NEVER too late my friend. Depending on the state and climate you live in will depend on what to do. If its mature crabgrass my suggestion is to pull it out. If you've given up on the manual labor at least get a pre emergent down now and another in the spring. Assuming you're not going to overseed your lawn. If you are going to over seed your lawn do it now then put down the pre emergent early early spring / late winter. Make sure the active ingredient is prodiamine. Prodiamine isn't effected by the cold weather as some of the others. Check out my latest video on crabgrass control
Way back in the early 1990's, I had a 1 man yard care business that I would do after my usual full time day job. I lived in Irving, Tx. I started out bagging the grass because the only mower I had was a bagger, and I had to borrow that just to get started. I also started educating myself about the grasses that we had in that area; which was primarily St. Augustine and Bermuda, and how to properly take care of those lawns. But soon I learned about the benefits of mulching. As soon as I could afford it, I bought a mower that was strictly a mulcher. The deck was round and had no side or rear discharge capability and there was nowhere up in that housing for the grass to get stuck; it was mulching only. It was a 6.5 horsepower Tecumseh engine and I loved it..very dependable, lots of power, started almost all the time with a single pull. I then took off the blade that came with it and bought a much better mulching blade. All of my homeowners were used to having their grass clippings bagged and having a neat and pristine looking lawn, and it took some " show & tell" demonstrations to prove to them that mulching the clippings would grind up the cut grass into fine little pieces and be blown back down into the grass and not just laying on top of the grass. I also explained to them that bagging grass clippings was like throwing away natural fertilizer and also moisture. I never bagged again. The very important and critical part of mulching is to have a regular mowing schedule and not let the grass get too tall in-between mowings or else the mulcher will have too much grass to process and you will have the excess grass clumping up on top of the lawn. The only time I would bag would be the first mowing in spring, or perhaps after a storm, in order to get a good clean up of any debris and twigs and leaves that accumulated on the lawn, so that the lawn would have a good, clean beginning. But then mulching after that. And the other important factor is proper fertilizing with a good slow release type and, of course, proper watering.
Loved hearing about your experience. A good mower makes all the difference. It's amazing the visual difference it makes when its cut properly. Educating people is not always the easiest when it comes to bagging vs mulching properly
@@pestandlawnginja Thanks for your response. Mulching also saved me a lot of time by not having to be constantly stopping and emptying the grass catcher into lawn contractor bags...uughh...I hated that..it really added a lot of time and effort and extra money to buy bags, and then having to dispose of those bags full of grass clippings...what a headache..!! I had my 1 man lawn business for about 4 or 5 years, but the last Summer was brutal, with 110 degree days. After working inside an un-airconditioned manufacturing shop all day and then getting out in that direct Sun & heat at 4 or 5 in the afternoon, I came very close to heat exhaustion several times and this was even after I would keep a small wet towel around my neck and a good hat and drinking lots of Gatorade and a lot of water out of my cooler. My hands would cramp up and a few times I almost passed out and had to go inside the customer's house and cool down. So I had to give it up. I was in my early 40's. That changed my system. To this day I cannot take much direct Sunlight on a hot Summer Day. I can take the heat fairly well, even at my age of 68, but not the direct Sun. I learned a lot about lawn care and I have used that knowledge many times since those years.
@@marbleman52 I use spf 2,000,000 😂😂😂 I'm at 4500ft elevation. Mulching can be done. Nobody wants to spend the time to prep the lawn with power rakes in the spring so most companies are forced to bag.
Thanks for watching today's video. Check out the description to see the products I used today. If you're looking for the best treatments for your lawn, check out my favorite products:
Fertilizer
🛒 Propeat Fertilizer
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Yard Equipment
🛒 Sun Joe Scarifier and dethatcher (REQUIRES 12Gaugae Extension Cord)
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🛒 12gauge 100ft extension cord
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🛒 Thatch Rake
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🛒 Spyker hand held spreader
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🛒 Levelawn
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🛒 Rain Gauge 10 pack
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🛒 Thermometer (Taylor digital thermometer)
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🛒 FlowZone Typhoon 2V
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DoMyOwn (PAID LINK): tinyurl.com/423najqv
🛒 FlowZone Storm Backpack Sprayer
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DoMyOwn (PAID LINK): tinyurl.com/53g8qmog
🛒 Solo Handheld Sprayer 2 Gallon w/ fan nozzle
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Herbicides for Cool Season Grass
🛒 Speedzone (For hard to kill weeds)
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Domyown (PAID LINK): tinyurl.com/y3emhy5a
🛒 T-Zone Herbicide (For hard to do weeds)
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Domyown (PAID LINK): tinyurl.com/y4tqhy3o
🛒 Tenacity (Crabgrass and annual grass control)
Amazon (PAID LINK): amzn.to/2L9xzP0
Domyown (PAID LINK): tinyurl.com/y2go983a
🛒 Non-ionic Surfactant (to be purchased with Tenacity)
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Domyown (PAID LINK): tinyurl.com/y653upkf
🛒 Methylated Seed Oil Duo Stick (Purchase with quinclorac products like drive xlr8)
Domyown (PAID LINK): tinyurl.com/yxt5q2zo
🛒 Drive XLR8 Quinclorac (annual grass killer / crabgrass killer)
Domyown (PAID LINK): tinyurl.com/48b8jssy
Amazon (PAID LINK): amzn.to/2ZWZI4N
🛒 Quinclorac 1.5L (annual grass killer / crabgrass killer)
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Domyown (PAID LINK): tinyurl.com/m48nud7m
Herbicides Warm Season grass types (READ LABEL FOR GRASS TYPE / WEED TARGET)
🛒 Weed Free Zone (general weed killer)
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Domyown (PAID LINK): tinyurl.com/4tlraqeq
🛒 Dismiss NXT (annual grass killer)
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Domyown (PAID LINK): tinyurl.com/10xoaovn
🛒 Certainty (annual grass killer/crabgrass killer)
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Bug Sprays
🛒 Demand CS (Great to control most pests inside and out)
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🛒 Transport mikron (Great for ant control and general pest)
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Domyown (PAID LINK): tinyurl.com/2de4vs6f
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Links marked as “PAID LINK” are affiliated.
I can't believe I am spending my days learning about grass... Love your videos. Great explanations. Keep' em coming.
Love it! Thanks for watching!
Oh man, this was great. I'm aerating, dethatching, top soil leveling, and overseeding this weekend. This video has clarifies so much for me.
Great to hear! Go slay that lawn!
I power raked and plugged the lawn after watching your last video, I have not been mulching correctly. Did not know until your videos showed me. Thanks.
Sebastian! So happy to know these videos are helping. Glad you were able to figure it out.
And thanks for another awesome vid, I’ve stopped mulching after getting into a horrible thatch problem, I mean dead grass, this last season. After bagging for a few mows it was amazing how much “stuff” was being left on the lawn
Nothing like a good power rake and clean up! am i right!?..... who am i kidding, worst job ever. But it sure pays off in the end. It is amazing how much comes out that's for sure. Thanks for the comment.
Pest and Lawn Ginja it was horrible! Haha. The lawn was very mad at me for a few days after power raking but it is bouncing back happy as can be now 😁
I call it the 6 week better homes and garden plan
Hello mister Ginja I want to thank you again really important information. I was trying to go on the landscaper business but I was no lucky with the costumers I get. I told this so many times to people but they was calling me when the grass was 3 to 4 feet tall and I have to bag everything. Many homeowners don’t believe when you say this important things. Now I just try to keep learning the much I can. Thanks again
Sorry to hear that Wilvert! Sounds like you were doing things the right way.
You could hire a bar mower and tell your customers to make hay.
Sidney Easton thanks I might do it in the future. What I’m doing now is I give them different prices depend how tall it is. Thanks for you reply
@@wilvertperez Time = money. The routine weekly cutting prices fall to the side when you figure in the amount of physical labor is involved. I mow my neighbor's law and she always complains about the service she used. She has tons of lawn furniture and other obstacles I mow around. I go around them. I know why they raised their price. The guy needed to hire someone to move crap and put it back. If you spend more time moving things than mowing the price goes up.
Same with tall; double the price to cover the physical labor end of it.
Too bad if some don't like it.
I move 3 chairs and a drain pipe at my house so I never get off the mower.
alwaysopen thanks for the advice I will keep in mind I really appreciate it
Thanks for all your videos; they are helping keep my lawn healthy and green
You're welcome Jenny!
Excellent video. You hit on so many important points about mulching. Well done my crimson friend!
Thank you kindly!
Fantastic mulching talk. Thanks Ginja!
Thanks Evergreen!!! Really appreciate you watching.
In Massachusetts I mulch every weekly mow (or more often if I can), but I typically bag every third mowing. I also dethatch every April before applying preemergent. This schedule has work well for the last three years. My neighbors pay for TruGreen and a mowing service, and the guy gets mad when his wife compliments my lawn.
LOL that's awesome hahaha. Glad you found a system that works for your neighbors wife
I did not expect such a scientific approach to lawn care
Thanks for watching Frank! I appreciate the compliment.
Man its really good to see the Ginja approves of my toro recycler mower. I always bag but I’ve been eyeing a CubCadet CC600 38” walk behind lately. 7500sq ft soon to be 10k of lawn so my little 22” cut is going to take a while.
cubcadet has a lot of decent options. take you an hour and half to cut that 7500ft2 with a 22". I know because I did it hahaha. The worst. Got get that beast of a mower already!
Pest and Lawn Ginja and best of all is we do a lot of business with that vendor at work. He said wait till the end of the season and they’ll give me a good price break because the owner doesn’t like to I hold onto stuff over the winter. 😎😁
I have a $300 lawnmower with a mulching blade. After I get done cutting I see no grass clippings at all. My nephew use to cut the grass with my previous lawnmower and use to leave dead grass all on top of the grass. I'm going to bag the clippings and see how long they are this weekend
The mower can make a huge difference for sure.
Mulching gone wild! Another informative video from my fellow Utahn. I agree that for mulching... Power, overlapping, and sharp blades are they keys to getting that really fine mulch. We actually keep two mowers for the lawn now. One is a zero turn with mulch kit and the other mower is a rider with some bags that we recently picked up from SEARS. Sometimes we like to let the lawn grow out long and that's when we catch the clippings. Oh and you may be a pale friend but you can grow one epic beard! CHEERS GINJA!
Great info Bob. Sounds like you have some fun toys. I gotta be honest with you. I kinda like the long grass look in kentucky bluegrass . It really pops! Thanks for the beard compliment! Have a great day.
Great video man -- very informative & inclusive. You give quick definition, types of mulching, give pros & cons, how to do it right, types of machines & methods -- very well-rounded
Thanks Jesse! Really appreciate the feedback
You should do a video describing the Oxygen transfer. I don't understand it, and it seems to be a key concept in lawn care.
I like it. I'll put it on the idea board. thank you very much
Hey Ginja! Awesome video! Thanks for letting me be a part of it😀
Hey Mr. Freddy. That was fun wasn't it!
Pest and Lawn Ginja
Haha yeah it was!
I do mulch Ginja and also I have 3 mulching blades for my lawn tractor (48” deck). One very important key also is to have these blades properly sharpened. Since they have the curved to them, as seen in your video, I chose to have them professionally sharpened. Works amazingly well !!!
Thanks for another great 👍 video !!!
Denis! Great point! Can't believe I left that out. Thanks for the comment.
Pest and Lawn Ginja no worries at all. Something that gets neglected I find, creating other issues as you know it...😉. Have an awesome day Ginja.
Glad you noticed it. I do what I can with what I was given and every now and then fall short hahaha.
Pest and Lawn Ginja I wouldn’t say that. You’re doing a great job buddy !
GINJA, you da man! Pretty sure my whole front lawn is like this and that's why it takes until June for my to look presentable. I'm fixing this so I can make the rest of the neighborhood look bad!
right on! go slay that lawn!
That first blade is part of the toro recycler system and is indeed a mulching blade, unless it's on the wrong mower. The kickers on the deck ceiling combined with the medium lift and specific sail angle are all a mulching system.
The blade was taken from a machine shop. Pay no attention to the mowers. I keep them around to train my employees.
Thoroughly agree with all that's been said here, you took the myths out of mulching. I would add, that it makes sense to progress slowly but at high revs.
Great comment! Thanks for watching
I ride mine at less than walking speed, ergo...better finished results.
I have a beautiful Zoysia lawn. I have been mulching it for over 20 years.
Awesome. Glad that's working out for you.
Thank you, good info as always. I personally mulch one week and bag the next just to be on the safe side.
Always a great option D Goode! Thanks for the comment
Thanks, good to see and hear different ways and means. I have St. Augustine grass and do not have any of these problems when mulching.
Awesome. Mulch on my friend
Very interesting. The first blade that you show looks like the one on my Toro Super Recycler mower. I was under the impression their blades were made to specifically mulch correctly with that mower. In fact when you look for the gator blade types throughout the forums etc, everyone is suggesting staying with the factory blade.
Thanks for the comment. The dirty mower I showed in the video was a recycler mower. You'll notice the edges of the blade had the serrated end for mulching. If the mower has enough power it will mulch no matter what blade. If it has dual blades like the quad cut it will also mulch. If you cut enough times per week you can make any mower a mulching mower IMO.
Gotcha, with all the Milorganite and Next Bio Stim products I keep on this yard, 2 times a week is minimal.
right on! Glad you figured it out
can you just mow
over the left over clippings again to get them into mulch?
You can but if the lawn already has an issue with it not breaking down it wont fix it.
Are you serious? Mow the lawn twice? Just buy a De-Thatcher attachment for the lawnmower and use it once a year. Since it wasn't addressed in this video, IT is time to Aerate your lawn at the same time as De-Thatching. Sighs. Tired of useless info and I hope I never click on this kind of video ever again.
@@delekham1863 If you know so much, why are you watching videos? Go make your own if you know so much.
@@Myoldaccount-mu7of Personally, the IQ of some individuals are lacking. Just to make this clear, I Mulch my lawn. I also Aerate and De-Thatch it in the Fall. This gives it time to accept the needed Oxygen and nutrients that are falling in the Fall!
So Glad I could clear up some of your concerns about Classic Mistakes made on lawn care. Take Care.
Thanks again for another great, informative vid. I find that my Toro 22 inch recycler does a good job at mulching at anything 3 inches and above. Anything lower is a struggle, but I do have some thick grass, perhaps because I'm mulching good.. Thanks again..
You're welcome brian. Thabks for the comment.
Great vid.... Nice way to break mulching down
Thank you so much. It's not easy being cheesy!
So I got you a question do what's better the second blade you show are the last I mean on the mulching leafs
I like the high lift mulching blades.
@@pestandlawnginja I just want a blade that we'll leave small pieces of leafs that I won't have bagg it in does it works on a 21 inche
That video was outstanding. I usually have to skim through videos made by other lawn guys to hope that my current issue might be touched upon even if the title hints nothing toward that subject. This might be the first to cover all but one! : I was hoping you'd give your opinion on Honda's quad cut blade and it's mulching effectiveness. (Just got an HRX217 on CL for a steel) Thanks for the hard work!
It works well for the residential machines if the grass isn't too tall. I recommend mowing every 3 to 4 days.
The way a lawn mower blade works is by creating suction or a vacuum that lifts the grass up for a clean cut - that is done by the air lifts or trailing edge on the back of the blade, a standard hi-lift blade is good for bagging or side-discharging, a mulching blade with the wavy mulching pattern is only good for mulching or discharging, the way a mulching blade works is it creates an upwards airflow (suction/vacuum) that lifts the clippings and takes the cut clippings and sends them upwards towards the top of the mower deck, then the raised area on the mulching blade creates a downdraft that pulls the clippings back into the blade to get cut up multiple times, now a gator blade works a bit better, the serrated air lift's chop up clippings extremely well, the reason is the serrated teeth are angled inward towards the center of the mower deck, the airflow is re-directed towards the center and the clippings are recirculated and chopped up hundreds of times before it is either sent out the side if discharging or sent up the bagger for bagging. as i said a high lift blade cannot be used for mulching, it will sling out clippings from around the deck (known as blowout) and make a mess and deliver a poor quality of cut, i've been in the outdoor power equipment parts & repair industry for over 20 years and have my own lawn mower shop, i've seen, sold and used thousands of lawn mower blades over the years, it all comes down to personal preference on what blade to run on your mower, gator blades are excellent but cost 2 to 4 times more than a standard high lift or mulching blade, regardless if what kind of blade you run on your equipment, all lawn mower blades have one thing in common - they all cut grass.
Great explanation. Thank you
I had the problem of matting last year here in Nebraska. The temperatures averaged in the 90 degree range with high humidity from late April until late September. Lawn fungus appeared and did a lot of damage to my lawn. Just wondering if the fungus was a result of all of the above conditions. Roger
It all plays a part. I would start by doing a power rake and cleanup to fix the issue. As for preventive maintenance you can do a short mow late fall.
@@pestandlawnginja I will do that. Thank You for the advice.
You're welcome
What your looking at in weight difference, i think the heavier holds closer to the ground as you mulch, i think the homeowners mower is made lighter won't have that same groind hugging, might even rise & let the clippings out before they can get mulched up.
great comment thomas. Thank you.
Being a professional in the pest and lawn care business, how does your business do in the winter when irrigation is turned off and lawns are dormant? From my experience in a similar climate to yours, even the bugs seem to go away in the winter.
It's tough. The grass goes dormant so we lose the lawn clients. We focus on rodent control and transitional bug control.
How does the notch on the blade help with mulching? I can understand how Honda's quad cut system would help, since the higher blade touches the grass first, but that notch, I have no idea...
Wish I could give you a better explain as to why but I don't know
The first lawn that you showed does not look as if they tried to mulch it. It looks as if they used the discharge chute. If they were mulching, all of that grass would not have been thrown up onto the tarp.
part of the issue with lawn clippings moving the way they did is that the property is flood irrigated. The flood irrigation causes the clippings to move.
Its a rear discharge ride on deck. Very common near me an the people that do my schools lawn use them. They are shit at mowing and will chop anything up. Ever small trees.
The tarp was an example of grass that had over grown and not gone over twice to cut it up even the best mowers have limits on what they will deal with in one lazy pass.
I recommend you test the soil for ph and adjust with lime if needed. The thatch will decompose quicker if proper ph is maintained. The video is excellent for new lawn care people.
Thanks for watching and commenting william!
Another great video Ginja!
Thanks Ty! Have a great day
Do golf courses bag the clippings on their fairways?
On greens they usually just toss the clippings onto the apron.
Of course, green clippings are very small and fall between the grass blades and will be mowed over again when the approaches are mowed.
depends on the course, the grass, and how often they mow.
It varies widely. Clippings are usually returned to fairways when they are mowed, followed by blowing them off with air turbines that have the power to disperse any bigger clumps out into the rough grass areas. Clippings being returned to the soil (the very fine, almost powdery consistency type clip), is an extremely valuable asset for turfgrass grown on golf courses. A lot of superintendents are now moving towards mulching up fallen leaves in the fall instead of collecting because of how useful finely chopped leaves are for grasses
Hey Ginja let me ask question, I’m sorry but I’m a electrician but a true lawn nerd. So thatch is good not having dead grass laying on the lawn, generally mow twice a week and bag my clippings maybe a few times out of the year I will mulch.
Hey Paul. Great question. Dead grass is just debris or trash. Thatch is a dense root ball with organic matter and micro-nutrients that sits slightly above and below the soil surface. Mulching properly can be done freely and is great for the lawn. Mulching improperly will result in more lawn debris.
Should the lawn still be thatched now and then when mulching?
Yes. Every three to five years minimum or as necessary
@@pestandlawnginja Thank you.
@@brianfranklin9163 you're welcome
I use a notched mulching blade on a normal residential walk-behind mower for a commercial job (strata complex) and the clippings are max. 1 cm long (1/2"). The lawn has never looked better. We mow weekly. As long as the lawn doesn't get too long, it's no problem.
Very cool Kore. thanks for sharing.
Really enjoying your vides. Learning a lot. What does your lawn look like? Curious...
you can see updates on instagram!
So if you have weeds and a some lawn, how should someone approach the fall season as it pertains to getting a beautiful lawn for next year spring? Should one just overseed and let the cold take care of the weeds?
Focus on spot spraying the weeds. If you're not planning on over seeding I would apply a pre emergent. Fall is a great time to apply micro nutrients and ammonium nitrates to the lawn. I try and avoid Urea as it will not overwinter. The better you can get your lawn in the fall time the easier it comes out of dormancy in the spring time.
@@pestandlawnginja what would you recommend to spot spray with? Because some weed spray doesn't work as effective. And what you meant by urea? Or was that a typo? and yea i had in mind to get a pre emergent.
Urea is a type of fertilizer active ingredient. For an overall herbicide that will kill hard to do weeds and the easy ones I use T-zone
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NWSIHCK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00NWSIHCK&linkCode=as2&tag=pestandlawngi-20&linkId=96cf10277861461140ff572813673a8b
@@pestandlawnginja so is urea good for the earth? And if youre seeding would you have to wait for some weeks after applying urea? And i know you recommend spot spray i purchased the ortho week killer spray, but im also worried about when i spot spray i would have to wait for sometime before seeding again?
Is urea good for the earth...... Debatable. The problem is it comes from cattle urine. They catch it from the air as it evaporates and put it into a granular form. It wants to be in the air. Because of that it tends to volatilize and you really only get 50% of what you put down. It also is one of the leading causes of necrotic ring spot and summer patch fungus. I feel it's due to overuse and I feel there's a place for urea. I like it because it's slow moving through the soil and plant. I don't like putting it down in the fall because it does not overwinter and doesn't provide nutrients for the plant the following year. Ammonium nitrates will stay in the soil over winter and will help the plant come out of dormancy faster in the spring time.
My question would be; what blade were you using on the Honda when you did that video? I do have a 20 year old commercial grade walk behind Honda that looks to be the same as yours. Interestingly, I also just bought the Oregon gator blade that has something of a high lift. In addition, I bought a standard blade with extra high lift to better "vacuum" the lawns when I cut them without mulching. I also bought the Honda small tiller with the thatching accessory. That thatching accessory seems to do an excellent job. My lawn has always been one of the best in my neighborhood, but I am looking to make it even better. I believe thatch has always been part of my problem. Your video helps. OCD...
Twenty years ago, I gave my old Honda mower to my son-in-law when I bought the new "commercial" one. It was twenty years old then. Now, it is forty years old, and he still brags about how great a job it does.
Thanks...
great question. Its a stock blade for the mower, keep in mind its a honda quad cut system and requires oem blades. it won't do as well as a mulching blade or high lift in my opinion. Keep in mind this mower is 12 years old and the newer models are much better especially when comparing apples to apples.
My Honda mower has two blades. They are stacked together. Is that good? Does that count as mulching? Neither blade is notched or even “high lift”.
What is considered high altitude in regards to the microbial action you referenced?
The Honda quad cut is considered as a mulching system. My opinion is if you're willing to more frequently it works well at mulching.
Good video. I hate bagging my lawn. But if I dont cut it 2-3 times a week its just such a mess. But after this video the bag will be staying on.
Mulching right can be a lot of work. Thanks for the comment.
Another great informational video.
Kevin thanks for watching! Appreciate the continued support!
I have never bagged my grass, so, after watching this video, I went outside to check and see if I’ve got dead grass woven in between like this video but there was nothing. Last year I didn’t even bag the leaves in the back. I just went over them with the mower because they always seem to disintegrate really quickly. Maybe it’s got something to do with the climate here? I live in central Florida where we get afternoon thunderstorms almost everyday in the summer. Additionally the sun is very strong and temperatures extremely hot averaging about 92 degrees. The backyard is looking really nice, so, I’m not about to change anything there. It’s the front that I’ve got to figure out. A large pine tree is making it difficult to establish grass in one spot. I’ve got a pine tree in the backyard but there’s no problem there. The grass is growing right up to the bark of the tree. Maybe those leaves are turning into dirt because I’ve got some sandy patches in the front where I always bag the leaves because they don’t break down quickly like in the backyard.
Ace, thanks for the comment. If it aint broke don't fix it 😉. I imagine one of the variety's of pine has a more acidic pine needle and it's changing the pH of the soil. Unfortunately the only remedy I've found is to pick up the needs and use a nitrate nitrogen to up the pH.
Pest and Lawn Ginja Thanks for the tip. I’ll give it a try. The soil over there more sandy than in the backyard, so, in addition to cleaning up the needles and adjusting PH, I suspect that I’ll have to put some nutrient rich soil down as well. I appreciate that you’re teaching us the fundamentals of your trade. You’ve got a great channel here.
Thanks Ace, happy to help out.
Can you use a dethatcher on St. Augustine grass ?
Yes. A flail based one. Use it in the spring time
@@pestandlawnginja Been holding off on this for a while. Thank you.
What are you thoughts on dethatching my lawn with just the thatching rake like you use to do you test spots. My lawn is two years old rye grass sod layed over a very thin base of any top soil track home. First year scotts weed and feed got rid of must of the weeds. This spring scotts max green. Plus ag lime , and a folier spray mix of hunic acid,sea kelp, super thrive. I mow every 5th day and this point and bag not mulch. Watering is done every 4 days. The grass looks nice and thick but there is some dead blades interwoven in the live grass. My question is again have you thatch raked a smaller lawn. What do you think. Only watched four of your videos to date. Nice job.
I've thatch raked several small lawns. It blows chunks no matter how big or small
I'm thinking to stick with bagging and regular fertilizing will be less complicated and less room for error.
Much easier for sure. That's how I do it too. Mulching is better for the lawn but you have to have the right machine
Thanks. I looked online but I also watched your video on dethatching. In the end you showed that doing it by hand is best. I will buy one of those for the particularly needy areas and then rent a power one for the rest.
It is the best but it's also the worst job ever hahaha
@@pestandlawnginja I shoveled cow shit in a dairy barn as a kid. Bailed hay. Worked 12 hours a day in a mom and pop grocery store. That was all before I turned 16. Later I would stay at work for days at a time and not go home. Dethatching will be therapeutic. In fact, the whole lawn, garden, and orchard thing is therapeutic. The only thing about it that sucks is the poorly made power equipment that I paid too much for like the Husqvarna GT48XLSi Garden tractor. Bushings instead of bearings? I thought my friends were kidding me when they said that before I bought it. Much of the power equipment wasn't even assembled correctly. I wish I had a Wheelhorse garden tractor. Anyway, this time next year everything will be ship shape in Bristol fashion. Thank you for your help.
To mulch or not to mulch. That is the question! What's up man! We like saying hello to our favorite Lawn Ginja!
Hello there! Great to hear from you as always.
Another very informational video thanks. What about mowing with a reel mower? I'm guessing if I am using a reel mower I should be mowing frequently enough to ensure the clippings are micro enough.
Finer the clippings the better. You'd need mow a few times a week IMO. Be an interesting experiment.
What up my sun fearing Ginja! Lol
I really like this mulching comparison you did... People need to realize what mulch is and how to properly use it!
I wanted to clarify a comment that ... Freddy... if that wasn’t his name I apologize said.....
you asked what size should much be, he said you shouldn’t see it.... PLEASE NOTE, he meant in the grass it’s self... you will see it on cement or road. It would be around 1/4” or less.....
And when you just walk away from him and the look he gives you like “wait... what?? We were done?!?”😂🤣😂
Well done, solid review! Great job!
That is a good point! Freddy's tha man. He can give me any look he wants hahaha.
What do you do if mulching went bad already? How do you fix the lawn? All my lawn looks like it has died because of mulching.
Power raking and scarify it to clean it out.
So how or what do you need to Mulch at Altitude? You mentioned it at the end of this video and I mulch at 6000+ feet.
Sharp blades and consistent mowing. The finer the mulch the better at higher altitudes. You shouldn't be able to visibly see the mulch after it's mowed. That's the most important part. The confetti take on mulching works well at lower altitudes but I find if you're consistently mulching weekly or even bi-weekly you'll need to reconsider the confetti approach.
Thanks for the reply, I do keep the blades sharp and mow twice a week. Occasionally I'll see some clumping but then I mow over it again until it's gone. Thanks for the info and great vid's.
Anytime! From time to time I would use a thatch rake and give it a look to make sure it's decomposing. The idea is to make sure the mulched material is actually being used up. If it isn't than maybe bag one mow and mulch the next.
Okay thanks, now that you've turned me into a mulching idiot, would it be better to use a core sampler or combination of it and a thatch rake. I'm a rookie at this but I'm learning thanks to your Vid's.
keep in mind core sampler will measure thatch height and levels, the thatch rake will show you mulch and left over debris that's sitting on the surface of the soil. I use both to measure different issues.
Great video, I do have a question ❓ If the lawn hasn't been dethach in years. Which on is better using a power rake or using an aerator the pool plugs? Thanks
dethatcher like the sun joe dethatcher on amazon
@@pestandlawnginja ok Thanks I trying to say pull behind, lol
If I double cut the lawn does that help with mulching? Great video and thanks for the information!!
I'm indifferent on the subject of the double cut. It can cause a little bit of tip scalp. IMO it wouldn't be as bad as leaving the clippings.
Enjoyed this video. I really liked your last two examples where you couldn't bring up any clippings with your hand. Nice. Very nice. There were 2 points not covered. The first was wheel height adjusters. This "option" is actually mandatory. For long lawns that you want to take the maximum cut you can (a third of its height) with most home mowers it MUST be done in stages with each cut (in different directions) where no more than a half inch is taken off with each cut. If you have a closed mulcher then you want to spray your mover inside with something like WD40 or PAM cooking spray before you start, in order to avoid mulch clumping. And you want to travel slowly with a 15% to 20% overlap on each pass. Ten percent is not enough unless you are very very precise. You should do the hand check after each pass to see how you are doing. Aim for the Ginga's exsmple in this video. But you should quit mulching if you can pull out a lot of clippings by hand. A little experience will tell you how much mulching you can get away with. It may be a good option to bag the first cut (in which case you don't have to limit that to a half inch) and mulch in the next one or two half-inch cuts. If your lawn has flowering or gone-to-seed weeds then YOU MUST bag the first cut. And there is my preferred mower on dry grass - a side-discharge machine with fast sharp blades. It's tricky to use and takes practise not to blow it all over roads sidewalks and flowerbeds, but it does tend to dry out the clippings more than a closed mulcher and makes them easier to chop up on each successive pass. Still never make any clippings you leave on longer than a half inch. And do not let the depth of the newly chopped clippings exceed a half inch on any given day. In fact it should way be less deep. And NEVER leave any clippings sitting on top of the lawn. As The Ginga pointed out, that is just stupid, even if the municipality boulevard people do it (which really annoys me). To keep a lawn green you need all the proper minerals and microbes and earthworms and some nitrogen, but too much nitrogen just makes the lawn grow too fast and you will not be able to leave all the clippings on. One more advantage of a side-discharge mower is that it spreads the nutrients around and helps avoid patchyness. But it's a lot of work and a lot harder than a closed mulching mower. But given the choice between a closed mower and an side-discharge one, if both are NOT in top-notch condition, I would prefer the side-discharge unit on a dry day.
Great analysis Fred. Love it.
Hey Ginja, fresh grass clippings or mulch like that is great for new seed. Birds don’t get through it cause they cant see the seed. Once the grass mat starts to lift up, just remove it and wallah, new growth, plus the Benoit fresh nutrients.
Soo true Don! I've seen many lawn renovations where the top dressing was the mulched grass clippings. works great.
I dont mulch. I always bag my grass and use it around my banana trees here in south Florida. Its amazing the wonders that grass does for the growth of the banana trees. They become huge green and beautiful. Thanks for the info.
I'll have to try that! I recently bought some banana trees. They're zoned for zone 6. I'm going to buy some zone 10 fruit producers and keep them indoors. I'll have to try what you're doing and see if it works for me.
@@pestandlawnginja yes it works great on bananas but i live in Miami which is zone 10. Dont know about zone 6. They may do well in the spring and summer but may not survive during the weather in zone 6.
I plan on bringing them all in. What's your favorite variety to eat?
@@pestandlawnginja i like cavadish and Namwa
Thanks!!! I'm going to put in an order soon.
Nice video. I've learned a lot. Thanks
Glad it was helpful!
Man, you should do a video on best lawn mower for "your average guy" there's to many options out there!
Great idea
What's the difference between a residential mower and a commercial mower? How do you know if you have one or the other or not? I have a rough torain yard. A self propelled mower is heavy and hard to manover around. 125cc is nowhere near enough to get the job done. I even question 150cc.
it all comes down to how much power the mower has, deck size and weight. to know if it's "commercial" you'd have to contact the manufacturer and ask.
What type of grass is this?
Depends on what party if the video. Theres 4 different lawns
Not only do I mulch for the fertilizing benefit but I have found that mulching also greatly decreases my vole invasion during the mowing season.
That's an interesting correlation. I've never heard of that.
What about Centipede grass? Should it be mulched or not? Since it grows so differently than other grasses it can't be dethatched frequently. I'm having a hard time understanding exactly what to do to grow a nice Centipede lawn. Also, is bagging recommended when there is a weed problem?
Centipede is a very sensitive grass for sure. Does great when left alone. I would do a soil test to see what nutrients the soil has natively😊
Then you can put a good game plan together. Mulching is still a fantastic way to go when done right.
You what kind of rake is that
Thatch rake
My grass has scattered patches where the grass is yellow.
Not sure what I'm doing wrong and what I need to do to fix it😓
Any help would be appreciated
checkout my playlist called "what's wrong with my lawn" i developed a 5 step process to help people like yourself self diagnose
@@pestandlawnginja thank you very much Sir
Sup my man! Love the videos. New to lawn care and you are crushing t with solid info! Looking to bring my turf back and wondering where the best place to get top quality weed free seed is (can be online or in store). Will be using to overseed etc. lawn is in pretty bad shape. Aerating, Milorganite, etc I’ll be doing. Thanks!
Hey walter. I've really grown to love barenbrug products. There seed is guaranteed to be weed free. I'm a cool season grass fanatic. I like there Kentucky Bluegrass seed and there RTF tall fescue. Great color, great product.
Pest and Lawn Ginja beautiful thanks! I’ll check them out as well. I’m in buffalo and just found out that the superseedstore is actually local to me. So I would rather support them 👌🏻. Check out their site weed free as well!
That's great news. I'm all about supporting locally owned stores.
Good video sir, I have one question regarding the wait too long to mow problem, I have found that going back the next day after mowing and going over it again with the mulching mower it seems to get rid of the standing previously mowed grass clippings. Is this an acceptable method of dealing with a lawn that has been let go too long? Thanks Rob
Great question Rob. My opinion on this is mulching or not you'll always have a few stragglers that fall behind. The only issue you'll run into going over the lawn the next day is you could potentially cause some tip stress. This stress causes the tips to yellow or brown out and you get a slight brown haze throughout the lawn.
Great video, very interesting and informative...Good job....
Thanks Ike. Appreciate the feedback.
Awesome video! I have been telling my customers about “mulching” for years and this video will back up what I’m trying to get them to do! I’m really enjoying all of your videos! What earphones do you use and how do they hold up?
Hey Ryan! Glad you found value in my videos. It's hard to explain this to people until they see it or experience it. I use the power beats 3. I liked the series 2 better but the battery is better in the 3's. I've had this pair going on one year. All the other brands would break within 2 to 3 months on average. I have used the warranty twice in 4years of use.
Pest and Lawn Ginja thank you for getting back to me! I’ve gone through quite a few LG headphones and they never last more thank 6 months. I will give the power beats a try! Keep up the great videos!
Sure thing ryan. I buy headphones now for the warranty. The sound quality is great but the call quality is..... ok. They pick up a ton of background noise just like all the others.
Pest and Lawn Ginja I am going after the warranty as well. I’m not overly concerned about call quality because I don’t think any of them are very good. More than anything I just want to hear my phone ring while listening to music or podcasts.
I hear that. I abuse mine everyday for 10 hours a day. If I were to guess I do 1.5 to 3 hours daily talk time and 2 to 3 hours music. about an hour of internet video. They still keep going and when they die I send em back. The return process is pretty painless.
So you still need to use fertilizer even if your mulching ?
Yes. Unless your soul is completely balanced and your mulching properly
@@pestandlawnginja Ahhhh I see, makes sense, better the lawn is kept, the more money I can save 👍
I have 160 CC Troy with Honda engine, I hope this has enough power and good mulching capability.
It˜s a decent mower. Id recommend mowing a few times per week to be certain. it will help dramatically since you won˜t be cutting as much off the top of the grass.
@@pestandlawnginja thank you so much for your reply.
Liked how you explained mulching in this video. Brought together some of the missing reasons why it hasn't been working for me. Stopped "mulching" last year. I too find that in the SLC area organic matter really doesn't breakdown. I always attributed it to the dry climate. Any idea why John Perry seems to be able to get away with it in Park City? I would think he'd have more elements of colder, higher climate working against him. Only thing I can think of is he's developed soil biology that is able to keep up on breaking it down and his lower N applications means less clippings to breakdown. The size of his clippings certainly aren't itty bits from his push reel mower. :) Been waiting to see if you'll mulch with your new reel mower.
Great question! You'll notice perry doesnt start mulching until the lawn is in a solid state. His clippings are roughly 1/8th of an inch to a little less than 1/4". Hes also mowing 4x per week which 8n turn isn't allowing any chunkyness to happen. On top of that he throws a lot of acidifying agents down that help break down and speed up decomposition
Is it ok to cut your grass twice the same day to help breakdown the grass clippings?
Michael! Thanks for the comment. Creative way of thinking about it. If you don't change the mow height you most likely be ok. Keep in mind the plant doesn't like to be mowed more than 1/3rd it's height.
Pest and Lawn Ginja! Great videos man. I typically mulch at 4” and then follow up with a few passes with my lawn sweeper to collect the left behind clumps that didn’t break down. Every now if the grass get too tall then I have to cut at the highest setting twice. Thanks for your attention to detail in your videos!
You're welcome Michael! Have a great day.
Good info bro.... Do u think In the city of Manassas Virginia it's hight altitude or not.?.... I'm trying to get mulching kit for my 46" Craftman riding lawn mower but now I'm confused if do it or not?
from my understanding you guys are almost sea level. That would be high humidity. you should do fine with a mulching kit. I would suggest conditioning the area first. do a debris test and if there's too much get a tine dethatcher on your ride on mower and remove it first then resume mulching. As long as you can get the pieces ground up so there's no trace evidence you're doing it right.
@@pestandlawnginja tnks a lot bro.....tnks for taking your time to quick answer...
Most people don't do it....God bless you.
@@raulayala5891 for sure!
Man! Ginja. I do agree with you. I'm a CO3 and everything you said it's true. But now we have to talk about who mowed that.
*One, this guy is the type of guy that charges $20 per cut , I can see that happening.
*Two, this is a home owner job.(once every time he/she got time)
*Three, home owner want to pay for fertilizer and weed control but don't want to pay for one time a week and if you wait 2 or more week its understandable that a guy only it's charging for 30 minutes.
I apply fertilizer and mow some houses as well and I tell my customers to mow one a week until rough if that is the case.
But this is a good educational video man Keep it up!
It's hard to tell from the video but there were 5 different lawns showcased in this video. One was a parks and rec, 3 residential, and one was a commercial property. All being improperly mulched. It's fun for me to see how bad some of these cuts are. you really have to try hard to botch it that bad hahaha.
Really enjoyed watching this video thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I feel shamed. This added more urgency to my need to power rake. And then I was redeemed by my choice in mowers. Nice video, I am going after that matted thatch layer in earnest.
I got your back Nathan, mulch on my friend.... mulch on
Ginja, Do you know if there a small compost spreader like the size of a push fertilizer spreader.
There aren't a ton of options out there. This one had the best reviews. I haven't personally tried it but its the size and shape you're looking for.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J31Y3VE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00J31Y3VE&linkCode=as2&tag=pestandlawngi-20&linkId=fdcd81ff7ed85d0437472ba4e27efccf
Your commercial lawn care man who is in your video said that every time the lawn is mulched it is like fertilizing it. Ammonia compound. I ran my Husqvarna Garden Tractor on one of those risers that you can drive your car on giving you an extra 12 inches to work underneath the car. I did that so that I could see and reach the caked grass under the deck so that I could scrape it off. It had been there a few days. Dang!!!! It reeked of NH4 (ammonia). As soon as the lawn dries I will try mowing it again.
Do you know where I can buy a rear tractor attachment for thatching that doesn't cost a lot?
Again, thank you for your kind and helpful advice.
Try Amazon. The Thatcher at time are specific to the brand of mower you have.
It has been my experience that long clippings, especially if they are wet, are a disaster for a lawn. To achieve short clippings to leave on the lawn, the lawn needs to be mowed at least twice a week. Wheel height adjusters are NOT optional cuz if you want to cut an inch and a half, you need to mow the lawn 3 times, taking off a half inch each time. I got myself a Sunbeam Twin Blade which spins really fast and chops the clippings up fairly well. It is completely horrible on wet grass but it worked like a dream on dry grass. The side discharge blows the fluffy chopped clippings out about 6 feet and they landed gently on top of the mowed section and quickly settled down into the grass. And even if the clippings don't get well chopped, at least none are longer than a half inch. Given good soil for earthworms (not poisoned by too many herbicides and insecticides) the mulch gets very well digested fairly quickly. So I avoided chemicals which would kill the earthworms. Never once in other videos did I hear you talk about earthworms nor their incredible importance. But they are so important in controlling thatch. I see the main problem is that many big mowers don't mulch the grass nicely nor do they spread it evenly. The technique of the old twin blade Sunbeam - the way it makes a fine dry well dispersed shower of clippings out over 6 feet of lawn - makes it easy for the mulch to get evenly laid down, eaten and digested and returned to soil. That twin blade unit gave me the best lawn on the block. And the contractors had laid my sod on bare gravel (!) before I bought the place. So the twin blade and Green Valley fertilizer with micronutrients imported from Africa were a great combo. Sad that company disappeared here. They were the best. I mixed their utility 12-4-8 with their Ultra Green slow release for best performance.
Thanks for the detailed comment. I'm not sure I follow your earthworm analogy. They do compost for sure but they don't compost lawn debris on top of the soil from what I've read and studied about. Most of the nutrients in your grass sits in the thatch layer below the debris layer.
That twin blade sounds like a beast. I bet you miss it. Thanks again for the comment.
At the end you mentioned mowing different at higher altitudes. I have heard here in S. Idaho that one should mow at about 4".. Seems pretty tall.. but, it get's hot. We have plenty of water durning the summer. What are your thoughts?
mow height doesn't matter as long as the height of cut matches the frequency at which one mows. you want 1" grass mow 4 to 5 times per week. you want 2" grass mow 2 to 3 x per week. you want 3" to 4" grass mow 1 to 2 times per week. Its all about the cut and stress of the grass.
what's the name of the rake? and where can I buy 1
It's a thatching rake. You can find one at your local hardware store.
Will is right. It's a thatching rake and you can commonly find them at lowes
What’s a recommended mulch blade? The gator G3 he showed? Is it compatible with any mower? I have a new Honda thanks!
It will all depend on the mower. Your local deals can answer that question
Can I use a mulching blade on a riding mower with a bagger? I want to be able to bag the grass clippings when the grass is tall.
Yes! The bags legit get heavy though.
What tool are you using to pull the dead grass out the grass??
It's a thatch rake. My second favorite tool besides the ams soil probe.
Thatch rakewww.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U2KFXKA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00U2KFXKA&linkCode=as2&tag=pestandlawngi-20&linkId=918debd9e1cf1124ddc8b60a78153cab
Love the crickets - - - - !!
LOL
@@pestandlawnginja They make the video esthetically pleasing - - the crickets do. You also do a great job with this channel !!
@@DYNABIKE1 love the feedback. Thank you 🙏
All good stuff here. Been mulching for Years. Watching neighbors dragging those loaded Bags every few passes is sad - ->>
awesome!
Another awesome video, great insight on our climate not breaking down dead grass as well as others. Question, do you think having gator blades with a side discharge mower helps or does it defeat the purpose?
Thanks Lucas. To answer your question I don't think it would be worth the money or hassle. Once you open the side discharge hole you remove the mowers capability to properly mulch. I do think the clippings will be a little bit finer but you never know until you try!
Excellent video
Thank you!
What’s your thoughts on St Augustine grass, can it be de thatched?
It can. Typically not necessary. Look into verticutting
What’s a good grass to grow is SW Texas - San Antonio
@@fredkerzic2568 I'd do a kentucky blue barvette for winter and bermuda for the summer. check ntep.org for seed varieties.
15+ y.o. Toro Super Recycler, OEM blade, no mulching issues, mowed @ 3" until June 1, then 3.5" (shady/drier, inland WA climate). 1/2 dose Ringer on Mem day weekend, then full dose around T-giving.
Sounds like a good mower
Dead grass and leaf matter. Used up the nitrogen in the soil. In the decomposition process,. I read this in a lawn book .
it happens!
Hey Ginja I'm having a real bad crab grass problem been having this problem since late July I was told that it's to late in the season to fix my lawn. Any suggestions
It's NEVER too late my friend. Depending on the state and climate you live in will depend on what to do. If its mature crabgrass my suggestion is to pull it out. If you've given up on the manual labor at least get a pre emergent down now and another in the spring. Assuming you're not going to overseed your lawn. If you are going to over seed your lawn do it now then put down the pre emergent early early spring / late winter. Make sure the active ingredient is prodiamine. Prodiamine isn't effected by the cold weather as some of the others. Check out my latest video on crabgrass control
@@pestandlawnginja I live in Massachusetts probably should've mentioned that thanks for the help
Anytime! I'm sure you'll do great. Just remember the doing is the most important part.
Way back in the early 1990's, I had a 1 man yard care business that I would do after my usual full time day job. I lived in Irving, Tx. I started out bagging the grass because the only mower I had was a bagger, and I had to borrow that just to get started. I also started educating myself about the grasses that we had in that area; which was primarily St. Augustine and Bermuda, and how to properly take care of those lawns. But soon I learned about the benefits of mulching. As soon as I could afford it, I bought a mower that was strictly a mulcher. The deck was round and had no side or rear discharge capability and there was nowhere up in that housing for the grass to get stuck; it was mulching only. It was a 6.5 horsepower Tecumseh engine and I loved it..very dependable, lots of power, started almost all the time with a single pull. I then took off the blade that came with it and bought a much better mulching blade. All of my homeowners were used to having their grass clippings bagged and having a neat and pristine looking lawn, and it took some " show & tell" demonstrations to prove to them that mulching the clippings would grind up the cut grass into fine little pieces and be blown back down into the grass and not just laying on top of the grass. I also explained to them that bagging grass clippings was like throwing away natural fertilizer and also moisture. I never bagged again. The very important and critical part of mulching is to have a regular mowing schedule and not let the grass get too tall in-between mowings or else the mulcher will have too much grass to process and you will have the excess grass clumping up on top of the lawn. The only time I would bag would be the first mowing in spring, or perhaps after a storm, in order to get a good clean up of any debris and twigs and leaves that accumulated on the lawn, so that the lawn would have a good, clean beginning. But then mulching after that. And the other important factor is proper fertilizing with a good slow release type and, of course, proper watering.
Loved hearing about your experience. A good mower makes all the difference. It's amazing the visual difference it makes when its cut properly. Educating people is not always the easiest when it comes to bagging vs mulching properly
@@pestandlawnginja Thanks for your response. Mulching also saved me a lot of time by not having to be constantly stopping and emptying the grass catcher into lawn contractor bags...uughh...I hated that..it really added a lot of time and effort and extra money to buy bags, and then having to dispose of those bags full of grass clippings...what a headache..!! I had my 1 man lawn business for about 4 or 5 years, but the last Summer was brutal, with 110 degree days. After working inside an un-airconditioned manufacturing shop all day and then getting out in that direct Sun & heat at 4 or 5 in the afternoon, I came very close to heat exhaustion several times and this was even after I would keep a small wet towel around my neck and a good hat and drinking lots of Gatorade and a lot of water out of my cooler. My hands would cramp up and a few times I almost passed out and had to go inside the customer's house and cool down. So I had to give it up. I was in my early 40's. That changed my system. To this day I cannot take much direct Sunlight on a hot Summer Day. I can take the heat fairly well, even at my age of 68, but not the direct Sun. I learned a lot about lawn care and I have used that knowledge many times since those years.
@@marbleman52 I use spf 2,000,000 😂😂😂 I'm at 4500ft elevation. Mulching can be done. Nobody wants to spend the time to prep the lawn with power rakes in the spring so most companies are forced to bag.
@@pestandlawnginja spf 2,000,000.....LOL..!!
@@marbleman52 erry day