Lawn sweepers

[Jared77]

Anybody use one? Our house (which we hope to be moving into in another week or 2 at most ) has 99.9% yard. Even with a garden bigger than my 45'x65' current veggie garden, eventually add some fruit trees we want, plus pasture tractors for chicken & or rabbits, and expand the flower beds Ill still have a bunch of lawn to mow.

We've already looked at lawn tractors and I was wondering about getting a sweeper to help keep up with things. It would be a pull behind and attached when we mow. Then the clippings would be emptied right onto the compost pile once that's built.

I'm wondering how effective they are? I don't want a bagger, I just want something that I could tow and when full easily scoop by hand with a small rake and empty since the mower I don't think has a mulch option. I'm not looking to get every single blade of cut grass off the lawn, but I'd like to be able to get the bulk of it up so when we go out and enjoy the yard nobody is covered in lawn clippings.

Thoughts?

Thank you

 

[canesisters]

I had never heard of such a thing - but this is EXACTLY what I've been looking for.
The big box stores have them and they are nearly 1/2 the cost of a bagger!!! Perfect!
Thank you! I'll be watching to see if anyone has anything to say about them.

 

[majorcatfish]

have seen them on tv, but everything looks and works great there.... and thats all i know about them.
depending on your acreage a good lawn tractor with a bagger attachment will do the same.

 

[seedcorn]

I have my dads old one. Use it to gather leaves. Works fine. You will want to wind row your clipping. If it follows directly behind, of little value.

 

[thistlebloom]

Lawn nerd here . If you mow high, and never take more than a third of the blade off at a time you don't need a mulching blade.

The clippings will decompose and feed your lawn ( no, it doesn't lead to a lot of thatch ) the taller grass will help shade out weeds, the roots will be healthy and deep, provided you also water correctly of course, and it's so much less hassle than emptying a bunch of clippings. faster too.

Now if you really gotta have those clippings for your compost and can't get them from a neighbor,
well then,, I guess it's okay to pick'em up.

eta- dandelions don't count as weeds, just notice all the recent threads!

 

[seedcorn]

Lawn nerd here . If you mow high, and never take more than a third of the blade off at a time you don't need a mulching blade.

The clippings will decompose and feed your lawn ( no, it doesn't lead to a lot of thatch ) the taller grass will help shade out weeds, the roots will be healthy and deep, provided you also water correctly of course, and it's so much less hassle than emptying a bunch of clippings. faster too.

Now if you really gotta have those clippings for your compost and can't get them from a neighbor,
well then,, I guess it's okay to pick'em up.

eta- dandelions don't count as weeds, just notice all the recent threads!

Wish you would talk to my wife...... When I go to work, she jumps on mower in heat off afternoon and scalps. Can't keep mower together, always killing weeds in yard but not her fault..... I've tried hiding key.

 

[so lucky]

Seedcorn, I've seen a lot of people do that--mow the lawn about an inch high, and wonder why it dies out when we get a hot dry spell. Did hiding the key to the mower not work? What did she do? Hot wire the mower? At least she is clever!

 

[seedcorn]

Second key....devious more like it. Sometimes she is just sooooooo helpless until she wants to do it!

 

[ducks4you]

We use one. They work well, but not as well as your vacuum cleaner, so expect some grass left in the yard after you make a pass. I use grass clippings to line/feed my chicken run, to help re-seed my horse pastures (when the grass has gone to seed), and to strangle out weeds after I mow them, so it really helps to NOT have to use a rake.

 

[catjac1975]

I think a grass catcher works better. You can use a good one to pick up leaves in the fall, too. The clippings and chopped leaves are gold to me.