What is your preferred method of mowing: mulch, bag, side discharge ?

[MowerMike]

Like the title says, what is your preferred method of mowing ? Is it mulch, bag or side discharge ? For myself, it is definitely mulch over 90% of the time with the remainder being to bag mostly to pick up leaves. I never side discharge and don't miss having this option on my lawn mowers.

 

[pdowty68]

Side discharge is just asking for rocks to be thrown at your car or your windows breaking things. Mulching seems cool but I've never done it because I didn't have a mulching compatible mower. My new to me lawnboy 10247 has all of the options you said, plus a choice of side or rear bag. I've gotta get the mulching plug and try it out.

 

[HarryHarley]

In fall to pick up leaves - Bag
Otherwise I only side discharge.

 

[exotion]

I mulch everywhere I can. If I start leaving visible clippings, clumps, or slowing down to much I bag.

 

[X-man]

I bag about 90% of the time. I should probably mulch more often than I do now.

I can only mulch with my Bolens. My other push mower blows at mulching.

 

[lferrel]

I have mulched for over 20 years. For the most part, it was done with Honda walking mowers. Recently, I purchased a Walker MBK23i with a DML48-2 mulching deck. I love mulching. If you keep up with it, and you do need to do it more often, to get the right effect, it is wonderful. I like that the clippings go back into the earth as nutrients instead of into a landfill and, plus, I don't like messing with emptying bags and disposing of the clippings.

 

[djdicetn]

My mulch kit is the best accessory I've added to my ZTR hands down and well worth the $156 I paid for it. It made grass clippings disappear on my lawn and reduced the buildup under the deck by 50%.

 

[Nwatson99]

My mulch kit is the best accessory I've added to my ZTR hands down and well worth the $156 I paid for it. It made grass clippings disappear on my lawn and reduced the buildup under the deck by 50%.

Really it helped that much with the build up?
Have you mowed say the evening after a morning rain where the grass is dry, but possibly moisture in the grass itself and if so how was the build up?

 

[djdicetn]

Really it helped that much with the build up?
Have you mowed say the evening after a morning rain where the grass is dry, but possibly moisture in the grass itself and if so how was the build up?

Like any mower, mowing grass within 48 hours of any significant rain will cause significant build-up under my deck. By nature, "dry grass" has a very high percentage of moisture content...so if you add any moisture to that you can expect a lot of build-up. I've mowed within 48 hours of light rain but usually will wait to mow if possible. It still mulches fine, leaving no visible grass clippings on the lawn, but yes the deck takes 15 minutes to clean instead of 5.

 

[Bob E]

You must be mowin' dead grass or sellin' ZTR mulch kits :laughing:
I would like to mulch exclusively, but I have experienced the exact opposite on my lawn tractors and push mowers. Mulching turns the grass clippings into a paste that clings to the deck and builds up like crazy. So, I side discharge. If I get behind on mowing and there are visible grass clippings left on the lawn I will give them a day or two to dry out then go back over with the mulch plate and the deck raised a notch. Mulching also works great for leaf cleanup in the fall. I don't bag because I don't want a pile of dead grass and leaves, and the city is pretty slack when it comes to collecting yard waste.