Every lawn enthusiast knows that one of the biggest upgrades you can make to your lawn maintenance game is to invest in a riding lawn mower. What true grass heads know is that you can take your mower to the next level with a few accessories. Whether it's an upgrade to the cutting platform itself, or a few things to make the ride more comfortable, accessories can transform your mower.
Mulching Kit
A mulching kit is extremely helpful, especially if you have more than just a few yards of lawn. Grass clippings make up over 13% of the country's total waste stream and it takes a lot of resources to transport, compost, or landfill all that biomatter. On the other hand, you could simply mulch your clippings with the help of a mulching blade and those clippings will simply get composted back into your turf. A mulching kit generally consists of a specially designed blade and a plug which blocks the hole where clippings would normally get picked up into the collection system. Mulching helps keep your yard healthy, and it saves you from having to constantly empty your grass clipping bag.
Material Collection Kit
On the other hand, if you own a lawn and prefer to keep it clean for lounging and playing, a material collection kit is very helpful. Generally, a material collection kit refers to a chute and a hopper set up that connect to the mower for the purpose of collecting clippings. Some material collection kits also feature a unique blade shape that pushes the clippings up and into the collection bag. Bagging your clippings instead of mulching is really more of an aesthetic choice rather than a practical one, but it will make your lawn cleaner and more fun to be on.
Cart
You might not associate riding lawn mowers with towing, but maybe you should! Many models have enough power to tow a small cart, and on larger landscaping projects, that extra space is extremely helpful. A cart gives you a place to unload your clippings when you're far away from your composting area or yard waste bin. It can also be filled with fire would, fallen leaves, brush, or anything else you might need to transport. This allows you to use your riding lawn mower like you would a tractor, which is extremely helpful on larger properties.
Lights
Our schedules don't always make it possible to mow the lawn during the optimal daylight hours, so fitting your lawn mower with lights will help make mowing easy even when it's dark out. Depending on your model, you might be able to upgrade your lights with energy efficient LED bulbs, which put out more light but require much less energy.
Brush Guard
A brush guard or bumper is a helpful accessory that will allow you to protect the larger investment of your lawn mower. A brush guard will keep branches and debris from damaging the front of your mower. This is especially helpful if your mower has a radiator behind the grill, because if a stray branch gets through the grate, it could easily puncture and ruin your radiator. A brush guard helps to prevent accidents like this.
Sun Shade/Canopy
Nothing completes summer time like a beautiful lawn to lounge around or play on. But this is also the time of the year in which heat makes it most difficult to keep your lawn trimmed. A sun shade or canopy is cheap, easy to install, and will at least protect you from the punishing rays of the sun.