The guy we bought our house from didn’t mow for about a month and a half before we moved in. I mowed it yesterday, it looks like a disaster. Solid gobs of grass. What are your thoughts on the easiest, less labor intensive than raking the whole yard. It’s really thick, grass was probably 10-12” tall in some spots. I wonder if a yard sweeper will get the majority of it?
4BA31D00-4107-4ADD-89FE-DB81E05CB276.jpeg
collecting it will make a huge pile of grass.
I would just remow it every couple of days to use it as mulch.
The nitrogen content will help fertilize the remaining grass.
Let it dry for a day or two, then recut it. Most of that will fall into the grass itself, plus it’s good thatch. With the dry spells we get thatch is what keeps the moisture in the ground. Start at the outside in a circular pattern and work your way to the middle blowing the clippings to the outside.
If you don’t like that you could use a leave blower to blow it into piles, then haul it away.
I’m guessing a lawn sweeper won’t handle that, or not very well. I’d follow the above advice and mow it a couple more times in the next few days and see where you’re at. With all those clippings, be sure to blow the grass out of spots that it collects on your mower. It’s crazy what unseen damage even a partially blocked radiator can do on small engines. If there was any weeds, or dandelion stalks in there it probably will dull your blades quite fast also.
Let it dry, mow it again, and again, and again …grind it into the ground.
you could look into renting a hay baler. they have tow behind ones. we brush hogged a yard that had 2′ of grass and rented a baler. but i don’t know if you have enough for it to pick it up. I know the place we got the baler also had lawn vacuums for rent. you just have to figure out what to do with it.
If it were me, i’d just let it dry up then mow over it again. eventually it will dispurse into the lawn and its actually really good for it.
We have had to sweep our lawn the last few times we mowed and it does work, although it is not as bad as you have but it may be more time consuming doing it this way then what was mentioned above. You will would more then likely have to go over it at multiple heights to get it all.
Goats come to mind
Up on our north land we now ours it’s like 20 inches tall and then now back over it every other day. Itll turn out just fine
Step 1- roll into 50,000 joints
Step 2- sell at farmers market as “natural grass” man
Step 3- don’t return to farmers market
Step 4- apply iceyhot and take Tylenol for rolling 50,000 joints
^^^ 
Step 5 – roll around in all the money you made.
Just a thought, any local farmers in the area that would bale it up for you? Sounds like a case of beer and they keep the hay kind of deal to me.
Just mow it again. It’s helpful if you can take the deflection chute off your mower an do whatever else you can to blow it up in the air instead of windrowing it.
Grouse
Just mow it again. It’s helpful if you can take the deflection chute off your mower an do whatever else you can to blow it up in the air instead of windrowing it.
Grouse
Spot on, remow and tie chute up so it spreads rather than rows it.
I just did mine this week and it looked like that when done. Tried sweeping wet. No go. Next afternoon I was able to sweep 90% of it, but I took a solid 15-20 loads off 1.5 acres….if I didn’t have a use for all the clippings, I would’ve mowed it again.
I’m pretty sure it’s so much that it will clog and kill my mowers engine if I re mow it. The picture really doesn’t do justice. Those windrows you see are about 10” tall about a foot wide. I don’t want to put that kind of stress on my machine also. A guy at work brought me a yard size hay rake. I think I’m going to let it dry out a little bit, then windrow it into only a few rows and pitch fork it into a trailer. A farmer grazes cattle on my property so I’ll just throw it over the fence for them. Thanks guys!! I really appreciate the responses!!
029B7460-87FD-4D97-9423-3EEA4C314D0C.jpeg
I had a similar problem moving in, but a much smaller yard and a push mower. I also have more broad lead weeds than grass and nothing dries out this time of year.
The first now I left the shute attachment at the old house. I swore my 6.6 hp mower was going to die. I ended up rednecking the shute door with bungie chord and what a difference, but it left rows of cut grass.
I’d just cut it gradually shorter and the clumps will disappear with time. Any clumps that persist can be broken up with a rake. Of course that might be a pain with 3 acres, but you’ll get there.
Do not feed it to the cattle. If it has been sitting around for any. Of time it will be full of mold.
Grouse
Good call grouse. I will dump it in the woods. The mini hay rake behind the 4 wheeler worked good. I just got to pitch fork it into my trailer, and mow it again, and it should be good. Thanks fellas!
8A1961CA-B027-4EB2-9B21-53B050676AC0.jpeg
Looks good. Now run a sprinkler system and hire a lawn service to fertilize and treat for weeds 4 times a summer. You will have the greenest and lushes yard in the neighborhood!!
But…….you will need to mow twice a week every week. 
Looks good. Now run a sprinkler system and hire a lawn service to fertilize and treat for weeds 4 times a summer. You will have the greenest and lushes yard in the neighborhood!!
But…….you will need to mow twice a week every week.
Ha! This is a country yard. If I killed all the weeds, I’d have nothing green. One of the joys of living in the country. That and peeing wherever you want in the yard and shooting BB guns with the kids off the deck. Lol. 
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Dutchboy wrote:</div>
Looks good. Now run a sprinkler system and hire a lawn service to fertilize and treat for weeds 4 times a summer. You will have the greenest and lushes yard in the neighborhood!!But…….you will need to mow twice a week every week.
Ha! This is a country yard. If I killed all the weeds, I’d have nothing green. One of the joys of living in the country. That and peeing wherever you want in the yard and shooting BB guns with the kids off the deck. Lol.
We used to fill old tin cans full of pee, then shoot them with the BB gun. 
Sounds like good clean fun EPG. Lol.
Looks like you found a nice spot. Congrats
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
