Mower marks in grass

roswell – posted 13 June 2005 12:36

I am mowing my year-old bermuda lawn the recommened height every 4 days or so. What can I do about the half-circle gouges that my mower creates? Thanks

mwhite125 – posted 13 June 2005 17:13

Your either mowing to low or your blades need to be sharpened, most likely mowing to low IMO.

kyleinmarietta – posted 13 June 2005 19:48

To me, it sounds like your lawn is uneven. There are bumps and dips, causing the mower to scalp certain sections of the lawn, while leaving other areas higher.

If this is the case, you can mask it to some extent by mowing slightly higher, but the real fix is to level the lawn…

Threadprotector – posted 14 June 2005 08:58

Greetings Roswell;I too have had this problem with my year old bermuda. After purchasing a new mower from John Deer, i happened to notice on my turns that the out side blade was scalping the lawn. This was not due to an uneven lawn, but to the leaning of the deck. This perticular mower was equiped with deck wheels that are adjustable. It was just a matter of lowering the deck wheels so that they were making firm contact on the lawn surface in the proper cutting height. Also take note that any elevation change (from driveway to lawn) can also cause scalping.If can feel you pain, hope this will help..

Mike

Buck – posted 15 June 2005 08:15

Not sure what the recommended height is that you reference. But, if you have it below an inch I think you need/have a reel, as opposed to rotary, mower. And, the lower the height, I’m at 9/16ths on 419, the more exaggerated are the differences — an eighth at 9/16 is obvious, maybe not at 1.5 inches. But, I think you should consider your mowing technique. It sounds like you mow in an oblong making turns at the corners. A better practice is to cut a header and a footer at each end of the lawn and then make parallel straight cuts between them. Takes more time than going around in a circle, but you are never cutting when turning and this could solve the problem.