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

[Hulk 101]

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

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

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

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

Only thing i can think of is mulching blades maybe?

I need to down size as i have

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

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

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

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

 

[Skeletor]

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

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

 

[repete]

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

 

[4570Man]

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

 

[KennyG]

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

 

[Have tractor did travel]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Expect to over-seed every 6 years.

Stay away from Kentucky 31 Fescue

 

[oosik]

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

 

[5030]

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

 

[BoylermanCT]

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

 

[dodge man]

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