How to go about cutting long grass

[Steve R]

Gday All,
I was just wondering how people cut a lawn that has grass around knee high. The owner wants the grass caught and removed, but you could only go about 10m before the catcher is full. Do you cut it without the catcher and then rake it or slash it and rake it or just keep stopping to empty catcher.
Thanks,
Steve.

[Stevo56]

I use the brushcutter, then quick rake, then mow/catch and charge accordingly.

[fairdinkum]

I did one the other day about waist high. Looked like a nightmare. But I slashed it, then went over with the brushcutter again to chop it up a bit. Then mowed without the catcher on about 8 on the 216m1 ( the back flap stays up for rear discharge which was handy ) Next I went around with the blower to spread out any big clumps, then dropped the mower down a couple of notches and used the catcher. Was time consuming, but not to hard work. And it looked bloody good after

[Wattle GC]

Gday All,
I was just wondering how people cut a lawn that has grass around knee high. The owner wants the grass caught and removed, but you could only go about 10m before the catcher is full. Do you cut it without the catcher and then rake it or slash it and rake it or just keep stopping to empty catcher.
Thanks,
Steve.

Grab the whipper snipper and go crazy... Put wheelbarrow in your vacinity so you can rake up the longer grass and dump it into the barrow easily..Once all raked up then you can go to town with the mower..I normally put the barrow in the middle of the yard to collect the clippings from the catcher as i find this the quickest way when you have to empty a catcer often..Dont forget to charge accordinly

[VJinTownsville]

I may be wrong but I

*trim first,
*knock off the longer grass
*mow at 6 or 7 with back flap slightly open (ockey strap with slight tension just to open it a couple of inches so it blows down rather than in you face with grass or worse...)
*mulch it on 8 or just about previous lvl height
*catch with a level higher than previous mulch lvl height.
*blow to spread the sh*t everywhere.

this method I find only doubles the mowing time. which could be just only be another 10-20mins which can triple your earnings.

Its important to cut at a level with just a bit of green otherwise if you mow so low the lawn looks dead. Plus the upside is that the grass grows healthier and faster and you are back again to a live lawn rather than stressed lawn.

Another thing you cant afford not to do is...manage the expectation of the customer. Explain that a lawn like this can not go back to pristine condition on the first cut. I always say:

"You can't manicure a parkies feet, mate"

And that you will try your hardest to get it back to the best it can be, for the condition that it is in.

[Andy B]

At that height it depends on the thickness, IMO the thicker it is the more need for brushcutting first but if it's thin just run the mower over it on top height, empty into bags or wheelbarrow or trailer. Brushcutting and raking probably takes longer (I think) and raking is harder work. Mowing with a side throw on top height or mower with flap open like VJ said works well too. If the client has specified it has to be caught I don't go messing around blowing it around to look neat, i just catch it all.

[VJinTownsville]

When you have the flap open you are making crisp, cleaner cut on the grass, and when you mulch it on higher level, you are only mulching the top layer of clippings and not bruising the final cut.

Also when you do this, not only you lighten the load on your machine, but it minimises the unnecessary crap you have to take out and dump. Plus the clippings are finer and doesnt seem too obvious and takes less room

You probably only take out a third.

I only blow the crap away to finish it off because since its a jungle, you are bound to have crap everywhere lol.

I dunno, theres probably a better method to mine. But most of the jungles ive done, its the attitude of the owner that got it to that state of lawnage chaos in the first place.

[PaulG]

Just remember Steve these are the jobs you can make a good margin on usually, so charge accordingly.

A mate from Jim's, and myself both quoted separately on one like this a fortnight ago. I would have brushcut, raked then mown twice. Interestingly my mate and me were within about $30 with our quotes but neither of us got the job this time.

Saw a bloke with a traditional ride-on doing the job last week and destroying the place - basically a big messy slash job. The owner then spent the best part of a day raking the mess up himself. All to save a few dollars I guess.

[Stevo56]

I know what the owner must of been saying under his breath while raking. F*#K THIS.

[PaulG]

Yep. I'm actually keen to go back and ask what the ride-on guy charged just to see if it was worth the owner's time spent raking!

[Bluey]

Slash it first then rake it up and bag it. Blow all the crap onto the lawn and mow it once on a medium to high setting depending on how low you have slashed it. Blow the crap on again and mow for final finish. Clean up and leave. This gives you the best finish and you can charge good money for jobs like these.

[Anjaryan]

I know what the owner must of been saying under his breath while raking. F*#K THIS.

LOL when ever i do those jobs I usually say that too !!!!

[Redeye]

Just remember Steve these are the jobs you can make a good margin on usually, so charge accordingly.

A mate from Jim's, and myself both quoted separately on one like this a fortnight ago. I would have brushcut, raked then mown twice. Interestingly my mate and me were within about $30 with our quotes but neither of us got the job this time.

Saw a bloke with a traditional ride-on doing the job last week and destroying the place - basically a big messy slash job. The owner then spent the best part of a day raking the mess up himself. All to save a few dollars I guess.

Obviously wasn't a Cox, mine loves jobs like this & leaves an excellent finish

[Steve R]

Thanks guys, I am guessing the finish that the client wants has a lot to do with how the job is done. It is pretty time consuming when it is that long and I don't think some people have any idea about how much extra it will be. I have the new model Honda 196, i havn't got the mulching plug for it yet, can long grass be mulched with the mower?, i am guessing not too long. Most people I have talked to around here want the grass taken away. Mulching would be much easier.
Steve.

[geoff1969]

mulching can be done if grass aint to long .. ive one job 2morow about waist high = whip the stuff down , rake and bag then mow , then do any finishing touches its time consuming but thats why you need to quote higher for it its amazing how fast time flys by when doing those jobs = a lot of work