Hey guys,

Proud new home owner here with a shiney new Deere sitting in my garage waiting to be unleashed on my green ocean.

As stated, I'm a new home owner and this is my first "lawn" and consequently my first tractor. its a JD LA140 that was purchased as a house warming present from the in-laws (its good to marry their daughter!)

on to the point...the deck has a block off plate over the discharge area, I'm guessing this is a mulching cover?

When Do i mulch, and when do i discharge? I'm guessing the mulching provides a nice free nitrogen boost to the lawn so that should be done for the most part of the year? but when do most of you guys make the switch to a discharge or bagging route? secondly, how do i know if my mower had "mulching" blades on it?

and finally, what is the word on gator mulching blades? I've seen some posts about them and read their website and they look pretty beefy. can anyone shed any light on my total lack of knowledge?