Hi! This is my first post.

We have had the toughest time with mulching our grass. No matter what we do, once the lawn fully comes in for the season, we have problems with clumps of grass. We have to go back and rake it up or it causes severe damage to our lawn. It would not be such a huge deal but we have a large lawn (probably about 3/4 of an acre). I have a hard enough time finishing mowing the lawn before it gets too dark without raking.

I have tried several different mowers. We started out with a high end (high horse power) Craftsman with a Briggs and Stratton engine. It seemed OK until mid summer when the grass was thick and it was humid outside. I tried tuning it up and replacing the blade, but that was no help. So, I ended up trying another Craftsman, since we planned on eventually having a backup mower anyway. It did not do much better, so I returned it and bought a nice Husqvarna with a Honda engine. It seemed to work a little better at first, but it still left clumps and has continuously gotten worse ever since, even though I keep up with the maintenance of the mower.

I should probably mention that for several reasons, mulching seems to be the only sensible option for us. Our grass is Kentucky 31 (a tall fescue).

What on earth are we doing wrong? This has become so frustrating. What could I buy (within reason) to make sure that this is not an issue? I do not have time to mow twice a week or to rake every time I mow. Would a riding mower do any better at mulching a lawn the size of ours? Surely somebody else has found a good solution to this problem.

Thanks so much for your advice!