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Des Higgins wrote:
"Vicky" wrote in message
.. .
I'm in the process of buying a new lawnmower, and I've seen brochures
for ones with a mulching attachment, which is supposed to work by
shredding the cuttings up small and spreading them back onto the lawn.
This is supposed to feed the lawn as well as disposing of the cuttings.
Has anyone used one of these, and can you tell me if they're any good?


We used one for years and they work very well. If you want an immaculate
lawn, they may result in too much thatch. For crappy ole standard
patches
of grass, they work very well and you never have to empty the clippings
anywhere. They magically disappear (well almost; they get clipped up
very
finely and you have to look hard to see them). Ironically, now that we
have
a big compost heap, we have stopped automulching and now collect the
clippings for compost anyway.

I don't think they contribute to thatch, which for most lawns is not a
problem. They do leave a little bit of clippings on the lawn if cut
regularly, while a bagging type will leave closer to zero. It is not
really that noticeable, unless you want a trophy type lawn. If you
let it get too long, then they will leave enough that it is definitely
noticeable. Many can covert from mulch to bag, but the problem with
that is that when it becomes too long, it's also a big pain to bag.
Best solution is to cut it higher than normal in mulching, then lower
it and recut in a few days.

The advantage of mulching is that the clippings decay and provide
benefit to the soil. I have a Honda Harmony 215 and highly recommend

we have a husqvarna and it is a mulching model; as you say, it is important
to get one that is designed for mulching.
The husq has the apron or whatever the surround bit is called, specially
designed to help chop the leaves finely.
Anyway it is a fine mower. I can also vouch for the effects of letting the
grass grow too long.


it. You may want to check with consumer reports on ratings, as I'm
sure there are differences. One thing that is important is to get one
that is built for mulching. I had a previous mower that I tried to use
one of the add-on mulching type blades to and that didn't work well at
all. One other problem the mulching type seem to have is that if the
grass is real thin, they don't cut it that well, tending to bend it and
leave it more ragged, rather than a clean cut like you get on regular
turf.