# Best pattern for riding mower



## h22lude

What's the best pattern to follow with a regular riding mower (not zero turn)? I'm currently going in a spiral inward but as you can imagine, the last few lines are annoying because I have to take bigger turns to get to them since my rider isn't zero turn. I was going to go with the way a Zamboni cleans the ice but that seems much less efficient since you are going over the same edge each time.


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## Green

I would generally do rows, overlapping partway each time, and taking figure-8 turns at each end. This works if you have a long run.


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## Powhatan

I hope you're not driving the same pattern every time you mow. You need to change it up if you are or else you'll leave noticeable ruts.


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## ABC123

I've found that they cut better when doing back and fourth method the best. Turning seemed to lay down the grass weird and made for an uneven cut. Took me a while to figure it out but if you just crank the wheel at the end of the property and not cut exactly next to the previous path but leave one or two deck lengths uncut makes for a smoother transition. So basically cut half the lawn to the other side and then come back and do the remaining strips that were left uncut allow for easy steering transitions. This should also cut down on mowing time as the speed should almost be consistent.


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## JDgreen18

ABC123 said:


> I've found that they cut better when doing back and fourth method the best. Turning seemed to lay down the grass weird and made for an uneven cut. Took me a while to figure it out but if you just crank the wheel at the end of the property and not cut exactly next to the previous path but leave one or two deck lengths uncut makes for a smoother transition. So basically cut half the lawn to the other side and then come back and do the remaining strips that were left uncut allow for easy steering transitions. This should also cut down on mowing time as the speed should almost be consistent.


How do you keep the rows even....meaning do some strips come out wider than others when doing this method


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## Green

Going in concentric rectangles or cicles is good when you need to cut a bit higher in the middle of a heat wave because if mats down better.

If it's really high, I do a pass, go down 10 feet, do another, etc, making 90 degree turns when necessary due to engine load. Then the same in the other direction, perpendicular. By that time, you have almost a checkerboard pattern of cut and uncut grass, which helps the deck empty out on the final cut and prevent stalling.


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## ctrav

I have a ZTR and I go back and forth or up and down but I keep leaving circle marks when I turn around. Guess I need some OJT


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## ABC123

ctrav said:


> I have a ZTR and I go back and forth or up and down but I keep leaving circle marks when I turn around. Guess I need some OJT


3 point turns would help I bet.


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## ctrav

@ABC123 If I could do that correctly Im sure it would :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## ABC123

JDgreen18 said:


> How do you keep the rows even....meaning do some strips come out wider than others when doing this method


Usually mowed it in 3 directional rotations so the stripes were still visible.

Here's a old picture


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## ctrav

Very nice...Im getting better and working on it for sure...


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## Lawnguyland

I don't have a rider but would a "zamboni" cut pattern help? Something like this...


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## JDgreen18

ABC123 said:


> JDgreen18 said:
> 
> 
> 
> How do you keep the rows even....meaning do some strips come out wider than others when doing this method
> 
> 
> 
> Usually mowed it in 3 directional rotations so the stripes were still visible.
> 
> Here's a old picture
Click to expand...

Wow thats fantastic


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## ken-n-nancy

Lawnguyland said:


> I don't have a rider but would a "zamboni" cut pattern help? Something like this...


Yes, it does. The benefit is best if the "end turns" can be done off the grass - such as on a driveway or the street. Otherwise, the overlapping turn sections at the ends tend to get rutted from all the extra passes that the mower makes over the same spots again and again. Mixing up mowing directions at every cut (N/S one time, E/W the next, then NE/SW, then NW/SE) helps a lot, too.

Even though I only use a rotary push mower, I try to make as many of the turns as possible off the grass, such as on the driveway or the road.


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## ctrav

Mowing N/S then E/W is no issue but mowing NE/SW or NW/SE is a pain. At least I find that to be the case. Also when making my first two passes (around the boarder) I always cut it the same due to side discharge of ZTR. Maybe I should start using the push mower to make boarder cut so I could at least reverse the initial cut each time.


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## pennstater2005

I have a rider and I always change the direction with each mow. That helps to avoid forming ruts and also keeps the grass from wanting to lean. I have neighbors who mow the same direction every time and you can actually see the grass leaning in the direction it is mowed albeit only slightly.


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## h22lude

Tried zamboni style this morning. Worked well. I went W/E today. Not sure how I will be able to go N/S. My front yard is longer than it is wide. And going W/E I can turn on my driveway and on a patch of dirt. Going N/S I will be turning on grass both times.


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## ken-n-nancy

h22lude said:


> Tried zamboni style this morning. Worked well. I went W/E today. Not sure how I will be able to go N/S. My front yard is longer than it is wide. And going W/E I can turn on my driveway and on a patch of dirt. Going N/S I will be turning on grass both times.


Things like turning on the driveway and dirt help a lot.

May want to stay with mostly W/E, but can prevent some rutting by alternating with gentle diagonals that are mostly W/E, like WNW / ESE next time, and WSW / ENE the time after that. That will keep all the lines from being exactly the same direction and will help even out the wear. It will also make some pretty diamond-like patterns on the lawn over time.


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## h22lude

ken-n-nancy said:


> Things like turning on the driveway and dirt help a lot.
> 
> May want to stay with mostly W/E, but can prevent some rutting by alternating with gentle diagonals that are mostly W/E, like WNW / ESE next time, and WSW / ENE the time after that. That will keep all the lines from being exactly the same direction and will help even out the wear. It will also make some pretty diamond-like patterns on the lawn over time.


That is a good idea. Turn maybe 45° instead of 90°. I should still be able to turn on the driveway and dirt patch. At some point that dirt patch will be grass or a mulch bed but I'll figure that out when I get there.


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## Smokindog

This "Zamboni pattern" is what I did in practice when I used a tractor style mower. I would rotate the pattern 45 degrees with each mow meaning sometimes the turns were 90's and sometimes 135's/45's. For the turns on the grass I would "short turn" every other loop as the edge pass at the end would catch the "missed" segments.

I was able to do many of the turns off the grass but be forewarned, you WILL wear your front tires. I even upgraded the tie rods to be adjustable so I could keep the fronts in better alignment 

Even with my ZTR I still mix up the pattern with every mow.

Regardless, I do my edge strip(s) as the final cut.


Lawnguyland said:


> I don't have a rider but would a "zamboni" cut pattern help? Something like this...


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