Mowing Tips - Toro 20050 Operator's Manual

Mowing Tips

General Mulching Tips
Your mower is designed to mulch grass when the mulch
door is completely closed (Fig. 17). Follow these
instructions whether cutting grass or leaves for the best
cutting results and lawn appearance:
Figure 17
1. Mulch door
Maintain a sharp blade throughout the cutting season.
Periodically file down nicks on blade.
Only mow dry grass or leaves. Wet grass and leaves
tend to clump on yard and may cause mower to plug or
motor to stall. They may also be slippery to walk on
and could cause you to slip and fall.
WARNING
POTENTIAL HAZARD
Wet grass or leaves can cause you to slip and
contact blade.
WHAT CAN HAPPEN
Blade contact can seriously injure you.
HOW TO AVOID THE HAZARD
Mow only in dry conditions.
Clean clippings or leaves from underside of mower
deck after each mowing.
Grass grows at different rates at different times of the
year. In the heat of summer, it is generally best to cut
grass at the 2 / ", 3" or 3 / " height-of-cut settings.
Only about / of the grass blade should be cut off.
EN–11
2225
2. Handle
Cutting below the 2 / "setting is not recommended
unless grass is sparse or it is late fall when grass
growth begins to slow down.
When changing height-of-cut from the established
setting (ex. 2 / ", 3" or 3 / ") to a lower height, the
grass may appear ragged or uneven until the grass
adjusts to the new established height-of-cut and
regains its normal appearance.
When cutting grass over six inches tall, you may want
to first mow using the side discharge chute or try the
highest height-of-cut setting and a slower walking
speed; then mow again at a lower setting for best lawn
appearance. If grass is too long and leaves clumps on
top of lawn, mower may plug and cause motor to stall.
Alternate mowing direction. This helps disperse
clippings over lawn for even fertilization.
If the finished cut lawn appearance is unsatisfactory, try
one or more of the following:
Sharpen the blade.
Walk at a slower pace while mowing.
Raise the height-of-cut setting on your mower.
Cut grass more frequently.
Overlap cutting swaths instead of cutting a full swath
with each pass.
Set height-of-cut on front wheels one notch lower than
rear wheels. (example: set front wheels at 2 inch
setting and rear wheels at 2.5 inch setting)
Cutting Leaves
When cutting is complete, always be sure that 50% of
the lawn shows through the cut leaf cover. This may
require one or more passes over the leaves.
For light leaf coverage, position all wheels at the same
height-of-cut setting.
Walk at a slower mowing speed if leaves are not being
cut up finely enough to be hidden down in the grass.
If you cut up a lot of oak leaves, you might want to
add lime to your grass in the spring. Lime reduces the
acidity of oak leaves.