# Reel Mowing RTF



## nwlawnguy (Apr 27, 2018)

I live in the Pacific Northwest and have been mowing my Barenbrug RTF with a Honda HRX 217 between 1 1/2 and 2 inches and come this spring I will be mowing with an Allett reel at the same heights. My rtf is really thick so I also ordered the scarifier cartridge that I plan to use every couple of weeks hoping that will thin everything out a little bit. I'm curious if anyone with rtf has been reel mowing with an Allett and any of their cartridges and what are your thoughts? Also have you seen a very big difference when switching from a rotary to a reel especially in lawns with rtf. Any suggestions in general I need to be aware of when switching to reel mowing?


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Did it survive a summer yet at 1.5-2"? I've been rotary mowing my TTTF here to 2" since overseeding on 3-Sep. I'm going to try and see how 2.5" across our scorching summers goes.


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## nwlawnguy (Apr 27, 2018)

It survived just fine in fact we had record heat of 115 degrees for a couple of days. I've had people say you can't stripe RTF lawns very well when mowing low but I guess we'll see. As mentioned I hope by thinning it out with a scarifier cartridge it might stand up better. Even if I don't get stripes I'm sure I'll be happy with the cut of a reel compared to a rotary.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

@nwlawnguy, why do you want to regularly thin it out?! I mean it's TTTF...it's supposed to be dense. Not like KBG that gets messed up when it gets too thick.

I would focus on removing only the dead material, which would not likely necessitate as frequent (e.g. bimonthly) or as aggressive scarification.

And then if it truly does seem too dense after regularly doing that, you can figure out what to do. But I've never heard of TTTF getting too thick (whether RTF or another type). Most likely, it would self adjust after reel mowing.

I think that with RTF reel mowed fairly low (and even other TTTF as they tend to grow horizontally and get matted down), pulling up the prostrate blades and decumbent stems so they get mowed properly at such low HOC is going to be your first priority. Maybe a grooming attachment used before every other mow and light scarification every few weeks to monthly to supplement it...?

You do want to avoid detatching and ripping out green material, though.


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## nwlawnguy (Apr 27, 2018)

Thanks for the suggestion on grooming I know there is a cartridge for that but really didn't think too much about that one. I thought if I used the scarifier cartridge lightly that it would help the grass from getting matted down and help with stripping. My intention is to mow between 1.5 and 2 inches. I'm new to reel mowing so this will be a learning curve for sure.

Thanks for your advice I appreciate it.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

nwlawnguy said:


> Thanks for the suggestion on grooming I know there is a cartridge for that but really didn't think too much about that one. I thought if I used the scarifier cartridge lightly that it would help the grass from getting matted down and help with stripping. My intention is to mow between 1.5 and 2 inches. I'm new to reel mowing so this will be a learning curve for sure.
> 
> Thanks for your advice I appreciate it.


Good luck, and I think you're going to have to experiment a lot to figure out what works best. If you document it in a journal, it will be useful for others who want to reel mow TTTF. This isn't too popular yet, but it could catch on.


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## DGwin (Jan 17, 2020)

I've been slowly transitioning my primarily TTTF lawn to low hoc the past 2 seasons. I got it down and maintained at 0.6" using an electric sun joe reel.

I have some issues with it laying down late in the season. This next cycle I'm going to rake it a few more times and not let it surge after using PGR. Hoping that will help.


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## DGwin (Jan 17, 2020)

I've been slowly transitioning my primarily TTTF lawn to low hoc the past 2 seasons. I got it down and maintained at 0.6" using an electric sun joe reel.

I have some issues with it laying down late in the season. This next cycle I'm going to rake it a few more times and not let it surge after using PGR. Hoping that will help.


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## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

DGwin said:


>


That looks very nice. I have never tried low cut TTTF, but have been maintaining KBG low for a while. I have found that scarification every 4-6 weeks helps a lot with the appearance. I haven't seen any negative impacts, and it helps to even out the turf, lift up blades that want to lay down, and removed old dead material that affect cut quality and appearance. It may be worth trying it on the TTTF.


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

Lawn looks great man. Pretty impressive how thick and low you are able to get that tttf. How's the fungus pressure?


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## DGwin (Jan 17, 2020)

I've been thinking about picking up a scarifier this spring. I think that will help prevent blades from lying over.

Last season was the first time I've added disease prevention and correction to my routine. I applied heritage monthly during the growing cycle and had no issues at all.

Earthworms are the biggest challenge mowing low thus far. Have no idea how to solve that problem other than large dosages of carbaryl which I hate doing.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

DGwin said:


> I've been thinking about picking up a scarifier this spring. I think that will help prevent blades from lying over.
> 
> Last season was the first time I've added disease prevention and correction to my routine. I applied heritage monthly during the growing cycle and had no issues at all.
> 
> Earthworms are the biggest challenge mowing low thus far. Have no idea how to solve that problem other than large dosages of carbaryl which I hate doing.


Looks great. Any special varieties suited to low mow?


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