[csnyder750]

I have a pond and recently I found that the wind has blown the cut grass into the pond. I am very very very careful to not cut towards the pond. I mow 4 circles around the pond blowing the grass away from the pond. even then my cuts are usually blowing grass away from the pond if im anywhere close to it.

Recently with the rain, I haven't been able to cut as often as I wanted so the grass got long the last two mows and I had clippings in my yard which plenty of it has ended up in my pond due to high winds.

Would a mulching kit solve my problem or just cut the grass in finer pieces that will find their way to my pond? Should I be instead looking for a vac or use the pull behind sweeper? I would rather not have to haul grass out to burn it later but also don't want to be forever raking the grass from the pond.

 

[Minuteman17]

I have a pond and recently I found that the wind has blown the cut grass into the pond. I am very very very careful to not cut towards the pond. I mow 4 circles around the pond blowing the grass away from the pond. even then my cuts are usually blowing grass away from the pond if im anywhere close to it.

Recently with the rain, I haven't been able to cut as often as I wanted so the grass got long the last two mows and I had clippings in my yard which plenty of it has ended up in my pond due to high winds.

Would a mulching kit solve my problem or just cut the grass in finer pieces that will find their way to my pond? Should I be instead looking for a vac or use the pull behind sweeper? I would rather not have to haul grass out to burn it later but also don't want to be forever raking the grass from the pond.

If you mow with a mulch kit, you might eliminate the cuttings getting into the pond, depending on how much grass you're cutting off. If you mow the grass a bit higher, the mulcher might be fine. If you use a sweeper, you will get rid of cut grass, but it's likely that some will be blown into your pond as it's swept up and into the grass catcher bag. The vac would probably be your best solution. It's also the most expensive. I have a mulch kit and a sweeper. I don't have a vac system. I'm in Sacramento CA and you can borrow my sweeper and/or 54D mulch kit if you're nearby.

 

[csnyder750]

If you mow with a mulch kit, you might eliminate the cuttings getting into the pond, depending on how much grass you're cutting off. If you mow the grass a bit higher, the mulcher might be fine. If you use a sweeper, you will get rid of cut grass, but it's likely that some will be blown into your pond as it's swept up and into the grass catcher bag. The vac would probably be your best solution. It's also the most expensive. I have a mulch kit and a sweeper. I don't have a vac system. I'm in Sacramento CA and you can borrow my sweeper and/or 54D mulch kit if you're nearby.

Thanks. Im from Ohio so If I leave today, I'll swing by there in a few weeks. Afraid I'll be doing not only my 50 hour but my 200 hour fluid changes during the trip lol

I start my first cut around the edge of the rock line of the pond and mow it away from the pond. Then step out a deck width 3 more times. Always pushing grass away from the pond and into the next cuts lane. I thought I was doing alright with this but then this weekend I went out there and saw sooo much grass in the pond so I know I need to do something or I'm going to be in real trouble.

I have a small 42" sweeper that does an okay job. So I'll probably have to use that for a little while until I get a mulching kit.

 

[MattL]

Without having experience with a mulching kit, take this for what you paid for it. I originally looked in to a mulching kit for my 1R because of the clippings being more than I'd like to see. However, like you I have similar limitations about cutting after rain due to poor drainage/soft ground that I can't cut right away. The guidance from my dealer was that the mulch kit works best when cutting frequently so as to have too much clippings to mulch. Due to my inability to cut sometimes for several days after a heavy rain, this isn't a good solution for me. Others on this forum have reported great success with a mulching kit, even with tall grass (I'm guessing forward speed will impact this performance) so before making a decision I'd wait till others chime in. That being said, the mulching kit isn't even close to the cost of a tow behind or 3pt MCS system, so it might be worth the investment to try. Worst case you take a small loss and sell it in our swap meet section.

Edit: I'll add, I had a sweeper as well, however ultimately ended up with a MCS, partly due to the need to have toys and the other is they are the best option if.... mulching isn't an option.

 

[csnyder750]

Without having experience with a mulching kit, take this for what you paid for it. I originally looked in to a mulching kit for my 1R because of the clippings being more than I'd like to see, however like you I have similar restrictions about cutting after rain due to poor drainage/soft ground that I can't cut right away. The guidance from my dealer was that the mulch kit works best when cutting frequently so as to have too much clippings to mulch. Due to my inability to cut sometimes for several days after a heavy rain, this isn't a good solution for me. Others on this forum have reported great success with a mulching kit, even with tall grass (I'm guessing forward speed will impact this performance) so before making a decision I'd wait till others chime in. That being said, the mulching kit isn't even close to the cost of a tow behind or 3pt MCS system, so it might be worth the investment to try. Worst case you take a small loss and sell it in our swap meet section.

Yeah my fiance was asking about a mulching kit before she saw the grass in the pond. She asked me before if I thought we should sweep the grass. I said yes but I tend to like to cut one day and sweep the next. I don't know why I think that extra day makes a difference. Probably because I usually cut after work and have just enough time to cut it and think I'll sweep it the next.

If a mulching kit would work that would be preferred because I don't want to be dragging around a sweeper and having to empty it and deal with the clippings and such. But the pond already has a ton of weeds that I have to rake after the previous owner didn't take care of that well. But if I have to sweep I'll sweep. I already own one even tho it's not real wide and works best with a smaller lawn tractor.

 

[dodgeman]

It will help, the clippings tend to fall down into the cut grass better. If you don’t mow often enough it might not help as much.

 

[csnyder750]

It will help, the clippings tend to fall down into the cut grass better. If you don’t mow often enough it might not help as much.

I try to cut once, maybe twice a week. But recently we got hit with days and days of rain right at the time I wanted to cut. so it was a little longer than I like the last couple mows. I think I should just say the mulching kit will fix it and then plan to sweep if it doesn't as I would love to get rid of the throwing grass and the plastic chute that I tend to hit on a few things.

 

[myrna]

How big is your pond and what problem does the clippings cause when they go into it?

 

[csnyder750]

How big is your pond and what problem does the clippings cause when they go into it?

The pond is 3/4 to 1 acre big. It doesn't really cause a problem except the grass gets blown into the water and then finds it's way to the beach or the rocks or sinks and needs raked out. As far as issues outside of the labor of raking the pond, I don't know if it hurts the pond life that much but there's a decent amount of grass build up on the beach.

 

[grahamk]

I use a mulcher next to my pond - I have to admit to not having paid too much attention to grass getting in the pond, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't.

 

[ChrisR]

A mulching kit will solve the problem of clippings blowing into the pond.

Grass clippings & other organic debris can promote algae growth in ponds.

 

[csnyder750]

A mulching kit will solve the problem of clippings blowing into the pond.

Grass clippings & other organic debris can promote algae growth in ponds.

We have started to treat the pond and I'm building a diy pond rake (unfortunately not one attached to lil john to make my life easier.) But the pond has been semi neglected for a while so we are slowly trying to get it cleaned up.

I do wonder if paying a professional to come in this year to get a big jump on it wouldn't have been the way to go.

But the money I saved on that can go towards the mulching kit 😄

 

[BOBL]

Get the mulch kit and your fiance will be more than happy.

 

[Minuteman17]

Yeah my fiance was asking about a mulching kit before she saw the grass in the pond. She asked me before if I thought we should sweep the grass. I said yes but I tend to like to cut one day and sweep the next. I don't know why I think that extra day makes a difference. Probably because I usually cut after work and have just enough time to cut it and think I'll sweep it the next.

If a mulching kit would work that would be preferred because I don't want to be dragging around a sweeper and having to empty it and deal with the clippings and such. But the pond already has a ton of weeds that I have to rake after the previous owner didn't take care of that well. But if I have to sweep I'll sweep. I already own one even tho it's not real wide and works best with a smaller lawn tractor.

My grass grows so fast that I mow every 4 days (fertilize only once a year) with the mulch kit and that keeps the lawn looking good. It also means I only need to cut 1/3 of the grass height each time at 4", which helps choke out weeds. I can mow faster with this schedule, too.​

 

[Firemark]

I found, the kit is totally worth getting. I havnt had to clean up anything since I installed it in my 54” deck. Even when I mow right up to side walks there is very little stray stuff. My son uses my cordless dewalt leaf blower to clean the walks if needed. I don’t even have to start the stihl blower. I had some clumps only once and it was because I mowed when the turf was too wet. I haven’t raked leaves, twigs, pine cones or cut grass since the mulch kit. I totally believe it will help your pond issue immensely.

 

[rtgt]

I would say the mulch kit will help.

If the grass gets away from you, cut it higher the first cut, re-cut it the next day at the height that you normally cut.

 

[Gizmo2]

If the grass gets away from you, cut it higher the first cut, re-cut it the next day at the height that you normally cut.