Reel Mower is messing up my yard!

SoonerBounce13 – posted 16 March 2009 08:50

I have a tru-cut mower and i was trying to scalp the grass this weekend. However I couldn’t get nearly as low as I wanted due to grass getting jamming the reel and creating bad spots in my yard. it mostly does it in the same spots in the yard and it is very frustrating to have spent over $1000 on a mower that can’t cut as low as it should. I have it set on maybe 3/4″ to 1″. I just had the reel backlapped also. I am thinking maybe I should get it dethatched. HELP!

Turfguy_UF – posted 19 May 2009 07:54

What was the height of the grass before you dropped it down to 3/4″ to 1″?

If it was higher than 1.5″ I would suggest taking it down gradually. Even golf course equipment will jam up at to drastic of a height change.

What type of grass do you have? If you have Bermuda what type? All these things need to be considered when talking removing thatch.

If it is Bermuda you might be able to just spike the lawn, and top dress with a soil type that is close to your existing soil. A golf course shoots for 50lbs/1000 sq. ft, but that is on a highly maintained golf green. If you shot for something like 15-20 lbs/1000 sq. ft it might be a lot cheaper. But I know soil in Florida is not cheap to buy, so maybe contracting out for aerification, and verticutting might be an option.

Hope it helps

Turfguy

tommy – posted 19 May 2009 14:18

Yep, you were trying to bite off more than the mower can chew! You have to start off one height setting lower than what you normally mow, remove the clippings, mow again 2 height settings lower, remove clippings again, and then continue on like that until you get down to the desired height. A Tru cut will mow all the way down to 3/8……so you may not need a dethatcher.