to bag or not to bag

[boog]

Ok here is the deal i have some angry clients we have had a lot of rain so grass is growing like crazy !!! " good for the pocket bad for the nerves " since the grass is growing more after i cut it there is a lot of dead grass in the yard if i dont bag it it looks like crap. I hava a deer 757 ztr with a bagger its huge and a P.I,T,A i have to dump the bags all the time and the shute keeps getting cloged up. What are you guys using for the clippings need replys asap

[jklawncare]

Lawn care business tips

did a job today..grass was to my knees..dont have a trailer..just load the pushes in the back of the bed well that wasnt working went home lifted a 38" garden tractor into the bed and went back it has a double bagger with chute on it it also clogged and the bags were full after 2 passes heres what i found..if its not real thick..you can go at a slow pace through the yard and the chute wont clog.. If it is thick..inch forward and it will not clog..takes more time..but looks better..will look better all season..and when potential clients pass by and see you mowing a beautiful yard they will be more inclined to call you than if you were mowing a dead yard..keep that in mind, if necessary charge for double cuts

__________________
Just Kut Lawn and Landscape
"Where Service is Always in Season"
Reach for the stars so if you fall you land on a cloud.

[Hedgemaster]

I have the same situation here, minus the angry clients.

I'm using a push mower, but the issue is the same, plus I have no convenient place to dispose of clippings - I have to haul them 15 mins from home and pay $8 to dump whether it's one bag, or a truckload, but I never seem to have more than 5-6 lawn/leaf bags in a day, then I have to leave the stinky bags at the house until I get more the next day, and hope I can get to the dump before they close on the following day - PITA!

Needless to say, I mulch as much as possible, but I noticed a larger company working the other day. After the guy buzzed a lawn in 4 friggin' minutes with a ZTR (same lawn takes me 30 mins), another guy walked through with a backpack blower and quickly went over the whole lawn with it. I don't know if that's standard procedure, or if it was because the grass was damp, but I thought I'd mention it.

I do the same when I see any "lines" of clumpy stuff getting left behind while mowing deep/wet grass.

[jklawncare]

Originally Posted by Hedgemaster

I have the same situation here, minus the angry clients.

I'm using a push mower, but the issue is the same, plus I have no convenient place to dispose of clippings - I have to haul them 15 mins from home and pay $8 to dump whether it's one bag, or a truckload, but I never seem to have more than 5-6 lawn/leaf bags in a day, then I have to leave the stinky bags at the house until I get more the next day, and hope I can get to the dump before they close on the following day - PITA!

Needless to say, I mulch as much as possible, but I noticed a larger company working the other day. After the guy buzzed a lawn in 4 friggin' minutes with a ZTR (same lawn takes me 30 mins), another guy walked through with a backpack blower and quickly went over the whole lawn with it. I don't know if that's standard procedure, or if it was because the grass was damp, but I thought I'd mention it.

I do the same when I see any "lines" of clumpy stuff getting left behind while mowing deep/wet grass.

If my lines clump up on the ends i blow the lines into the yard and spread it out so it looks like it was never there..there was no clumping today though just because i mowed it all with the garden tractor and bagged then did a final cut with a push while bagging.

conveniently, i live in the woods so i have a spot i can just pile grass and leaves up..

i hauled about 30 bags into the woods today..but it looks great and i even got 2 compliments from neighbors walking dogs and gave them business cards

[Johnny_boy02]

Push mower here too. I only bag if there is a lot of dead grass built up. But I dont take huge jobs, I would rather work 4 normal/ small jobs than 1 huge one. The big guys can handle those.

Good luck with your wet grass guys. It rained here for 2 days and I was able to get out and hit a couple yards a few hours after it stopped raining with no problems

[CHEESE2009]

I'm basically on vacation. I haven't worked any time after last Friday.

It's raining all week!!!! The grass is going to be a nightmare, and the customers are going to start irritating me with phone calls every minute.




Anyway, so the problem for the chute clogging = no solution. I hate when that happens!!!!

As for the clippings, mulch the lawn as much as you can before you bag the clippings. You'll save garbage bags/room in your trailer.


I go through 200 contractor garbage bags a week - seriously, mulch first to save room and $$$.



I to have to make trips to drop my grass clippings before I continue my route, sometimes I dump it all at home and at the end of the day I load it all back up just to dump it.








/////


Get a zero turn. Some may think it's just a toy, or a purchase to be made later on.. but... for a lawn that can be done in an hour with a walk behind, a tractor can do it in 10 minutes or less hassle free. It's worth owning.

[boog]

Originally Posted by boog

Ok here is the deal i have some angry clients we have had a lot of rain so grass is growing like crazy !!! " good for the pocket bad for the nerves " since the grass is growing more after i cut it there is a lot of dead grass in the yard if i dont bag it it looks like crap. I hava a deer 757 ztr with a bagger its huge and a P.I,T,A i have to dump the bags all the time and the shute keeps getting cloged up. What are you guys using for the clippings need replys asap

what are you guys using for clippings a bag attachment or a tow behind sweeper ? i have a yard to cut today it is 1.3 acres 98% is flat land its a nice yard but grows like crazy the H.O has a sweeper she told me to use it next time i mow so im going to try it out and also use my bagger to see what is better i post pics later

[Dragger]

Originally Posted by boog

what are you guys using for clippings a bag attachment or a tow behind sweeper ? i have a yard to cut today it is 1.3 acres 98% is flat land its a nice yard but grows like crazy the H.O has a sweeper she told me to use it next time i mow so im going to try it out and also use my bagger to see what is better i post pics later

I like my sweeper if i have a place on site to dump it just back up and pull the lever and its dumped

but i try not to use it at all unless grass is tall and look bad after the cut

[brian'slawncare]

just keep making more passes over it until its good.

or mow at reg. height. the make another pass with the deck 1 inch higher

idk..but it works

[Liberty Landscaping LLC]

I am lucky enough to have a dump insert in my truck. I use the big green landscaping cans. I have grass gobblers for all my mowers. I generally don't bag unless it's requested or unless the lawn looks horrible. If they request it I tell them I have to charge them more for two reasons 1 it takes longer to keep emptying the bag and 2 there are fees to dump. Another possible method is if possible ask them when the grass is collected if at all via the trash collection and mow the grass the night before and pile it at the street for them to collect it and its free. Might take a little longer because of the bagging maybe again charge a little more then. I mulch 90% of my lawns. It's much easier but with all this rain you have to bag it because the grass is just growing way to fast with the rain and it takes longer to get to it. The chute they just clog esp if it isn't assisted with a blower to push it into the bagger. I was looking into one of these systems for my zero turns but they are like 3k a piece. Not in the budget for now. Anything else ask away.