Help with cutting huge lawn!

cuffie

Not sure if this is the right place to post....

Hope to be moving soon to our new house with big garden (1 acre).....gonna get a sit on lawn mower. What do we do with the grass? Don't want to start a pongy compost heap. Presumably we'll need to get a trailer and take it to green waste? I think that's what current owner does. Or any other suggestions?? Cheers guys. x

Debt_Free_Chick

Is it a formal lawn or more like a meadow/paddock? We have a 3 acre paddock and just leave the clippings where they fall - especially as the mower has no collection box.

If you get a collection box, then I would form a huge heap with the cuttings. The pile will generate a lot of heat and then break down fairly quickly - this way you get no bad smell, although there is a smell of old grass. But not hugely unpleasant. Of course, you probably want somewhere out of sight for this - or just plant some shrubs to screen the site.

BarmyBubba

My uncle has a sit on mower and it cuts the grass up into small blades before firing it back out onto the lawn. You can barely tell plus its good for the grass. Not sure how much more expensive they are though.

Lord_Gardener

No need to buy a trailer and run to the local tip, just get a 2 or 3 plastic compost bins or make your own - mix strips of news paper/ cardboard and other non-woody garden material in with the clippings to keep it aerated and put bin top on or old carpet for home made bin for insulation. Your bins will get very hot and produce lots of lovely compost!
NB This aerobic process which uses nitrogen and oxygen loving bactria is not smelly, it's the old anaerobic process where no air is allowed into the heap which causes those smelly problems!

If you don't need compost for borders then as mentioned above a rotary mower with a mulching deck might do the job! However, these do sometimes cause thatch issues!

Have a look here:

http://www.mountfield-lawnmowers.co.uk/buy-online/section.php?xSec=35