How Do Mulching Mowers Work?

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Do you wonder how a mulching mower works? It works differently from a regular lawnmower. Markedly, Its blades and deck are specially designed. They cut grass and chop it many times. Then it is mulched back to the grass. Significantly, It acts as a fertilizer for your lawn.

A mulching mower works by pulling up the grass and cutting it several times under it to convert the grass clipping into small pieces which spread on your lawn as mulch. Keep in mind that mulch is anything you spread on your top soil so it could be the grass clippings themselves that your spread in between the grass blades.

We spread mulched grass clippings on the lawn as it gives more benefits to your lawn. Let’s get the know-how of what mulching means on mower and what are its benefits then I will be discussing working of the mulching mower so you can have a berttter idea.

Benefits of Mulching When Done By a Mulching Mower

Mulching with a mower means that you are actually cutting larger size grass clippings into smaller ones so they can easily get decomposed while laying on the topsoil of your lawn as mulch. This mulch is very beneficial to your lawn. Some benefits are:

  • It acts as a natural fertilizer and provides nutrients to your soil.
  • It saves you time and money from wasting large piles of grass.
  • It helps the soil to stay moist and maintain the temperature of your soil.
  • It help soil to stay firm against soil slips
  • It promotes beneficial organisms in the lawn topsoil
  • It prevents your topsoil fron erosion
  • It keeps your grass lush green
  • You will not need fertilizers for grass

So using a mulching mower is always beneficial as it adds value to ti your lawn.

Can a Lawn Mower Be Used as a Mulching Mower?

The working of mulching differs from a lawnmower. But yes, You can convert your lawnmower to a mulching mower by inserting a mulching kit. All you need is to contact your local dealer whom you have purchased your mower from. Ask for a convertion kit which is also called a mulching kit.

What Is a Mulching Kit?

A mulching kit contains a mulching plug and mulching blades.

Mulching blades keep the grass clippings under the deck of the mower and repeatedly cut your grass so it comes out in form of much smaller pieces that you simply let laid on your lawn as mulch.

Whereas, a mulching plug is a plate that is used to close the opening of side discharge.

How Does a Mulching Mower Work?

Some features of a mulching mower are similar to a lawnmower.

For cutting grass, a vertical lift of the grass is required. A stream of air is passed for this purpose by the rotating mulching blades under the deck of the mower. They help the mower pull up the grass under the deck.

After pulling the grass up in the deck, It is chopped again and again until it is converted to tiny particles. Certainly, these particles are then ejected back to the lawn grass after conversion.

How do mulching blades play an important role during this process?

Mulching blades have curved edges and their surface area is larger. These curved spaces keep the grass under the deck of the mower until the grass size is decreased to half an inch.

These blades are also called “3 in 1” or “all-purpose” blades. As they can be used for mulching, bagging, and side discharge.

By using mulching blades, your work is remarkably reduced and you can save 60% of your time with your mower.

So, you can say the working of a mulching mower is solely dependent on the working of mulching blades.

Summary

In short, a mulching mower works by cutting the grass under its deck again and again with help of mulching blades that spin at 3,000 revolutions per minute. With fast rotation and repetitive cuts, the grass is converted to much smaller pieces that you can spread on your lawn as mulch.

How To Use a Mulching Mowers?

Now you know the working of a mulching mower, here are some simple steps to use your mulching mower:

Using a mulching lawn mower is quite easy.

All you need is to turn on a switch, set mower height settings and start mowing.

Here is the video for the proper use of a lawn mower:

Tips for Better Working of Mulching Mower

Here are some do and don’ts you should follow when you are mulching with a lawn mower.

  • Don’t mow in rainy weather or when the grass is wet
  • Mow and mulch your lawn very often. Don’t let your grass grow higher and thicker
  • Make sure that you mow your lawn at the correct mower height. Mowing half a inch higher when grass is tall. Where mow half a inch smaller when grass is short.
  • Take care of the density of your lawn
  • Always keep your deck clean after mowing it saves the edges of your blades from rusting and keeps them sharp over a longer period of time.

How Often You Should Sharpen the Blades of Your Mower?

Sharpening a mulching blade is a good practice when you are facing clumping issues, uneven cuts, or working on thick grass. Also, if you are sharpening mulching blades properly then you will need less sharpening over a season. Sharpening of mulching blades chiefly depends upon

  • The type of grass you have on your lawn.
  • How often do you mow?
  • The density of the grass.

Here are some good tips to realize when your mulching blades need sharpening:

  • Observe the tip of the grass, if it is uneven then its time to sharpen the blades
  • Look at the size of the grass, if it is larger than usual then sharpen your mulching blades.
  • If your mower is clumping and there is more grass stuck under the deck of your mower then it’s time.
  • In general, you just need to sharpen the mulching blade at least once a month if your grass is thick like that of Zoysia.

When You Should Not Use Your Mower?

There are a few conditions when you should not be using a mulching lawn mower as given below:

Fungal Attack

If your soil or grass roots are affected by some fungal attack then you should not be mowing because it will spread the fungus and result in more fungal diseases to your lawn.

Wet Grass

If your grass is wet, then you should wait for it to dry otherwise mowing on wet grass results in clumping.

Too Much Leaves

If your lawn is surrounded by too many leaves then you should not be mulching them as it will results in too much leaf mulch which can kill your grass by blocking the sunlight needed by grass to survive.

Weeds With Seeds

If you see weeds in your lawn that are at their seed stage then it is a good idea to not mulch your lawn and prefer bagging. Because if you mulch them then it will result in spread of weed seeds which will results in more weed growth in your lawn and eventally they will start competing with your grass for nutreints and may kill your grass.


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Jack

After doing my master’s in agriculture, I went on with this field for more than 15 years because I love working in green. I have experienced using modern machinery and techniques that can help farmers and landscapers to achieve something great. My goal will be to deliver you the best reviews and information to make the right decision.

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