Most grass collection problems are tidiness problems. This one was not.
VOCO vocational education centre in Tartu runs a full-size football pitch, 7,700 m². It has to be cut before matches and events, and those dates do not move. The trouble came after rain.
Wet grass cannot be mowed quickly. Cut it anyway, in the window available, and the clippings stay where they fall. They clump, they sit on the surface, and they make the pitch slippery. Players noticed. Players complained.
That is not a maintenance inconvenience. It is a playing surface that is not fit for the fixture.
Why mowing alone does not solve it
On a dry pitch with a mulching deck, clippings disappear into the sward and nobody thinks about them. After rain, three things change at once.
The clippings are heavier and wetter, so they clump rather than scatter.
They sit on top of the grass instead of falling into it, which is what makes the surface slick.
There is less time. The pitch dries late, the fixture does not move, and the window between the two is where the whole job has to happen.
The usual answers are all slow. Mow and then rake. Mow and then blow the clippings to the edges, then collect them. Mow and leave it, and accept the complaints. Each of these is a second pass over 7,700 m², and the second pass is the one there is no time for.
What we built
They already had the mower. What they needed was the collection.
So we connected a Foresteel FT-COMBIvac, our car-towable vacuum trailer, to the zero-turn they were already running. It was fitted with the new MIDvac COMPACT debris loader, mounted directly to the front panel.
The principle is that there is no second pass. The deck cuts, the vacuum draws the clippings straight off the deck, and the Hardox® shredder blade compacts them as they enter the trailer body. Cutting and collecting are the same movement, done by one operator who does not leave the seat.
This matters more than the specific machines involved. The setup is not tied to one mower brand. If your mower has a compatible deck and the towing capacity, the workflow is the same.
Read next: The three Foresteel working scenarios · Mowing deck efficiency
The test
We ran the full pitch and timed it.
| Area | 7,700 m², full-size pitch |
| Time | 51 minutes |
| Rate | 9,000 m² per hour |
| Loads removed | One |
| Operators | One |
The figure that surprises people is the last two rows rather than the first. The clippings from an entire football pitch fitted into a single trailer body. That means one trip to the disposal site at the end of the job, not a trip every time the box fills.
That is the shredder doing the work. Loose grass clippings are mostly air. Compacted on the way in, the same volume of material takes roughly a tenth of the space, which is the difference between finishing the job and spending the afternoon driving.
Read next: The science of 10x volume reduction
The result
A clean, even playing surface with no clippings left on it, ready to use.
VOCO bought the setup.
What this means for other sports grounds
The constraint is the fixture, not the grass. Any ground where play is scheduled has the same arithmetic: a fixed deadline, weather that does not cooperate, and a surface that has to be safe when the whistle goes. A rate of 9,000 m² per hour turns a two-session job into a one-session job.
One load changes the plan. A collection system that fills up three times needs somewhere to tip, a vehicle to do it, and a driver. One load needs none of that.
It is not a summer machine. This is the objection that stops most sports grounds buying a collection system: it looks like a purchase that works for four months. The same trailer and the same debris loader handle autumn leaves, hedge trimmings, litter after events, and general site debris. The vacuum unit comes off in under 30 minutes and the trailer becomes a hydraulic tipper for the rest of the year.
Read next: How the 2-in-1 design works · What a debris loader picks up: 15 materials tested
Which setup does this
The machine in this test is the FT-COMBIvac with the MIDvac COMPACT debris loader. Both are new, and neither is in the online shop yet. If this is the setup you want, contact us for availability and configuration.
The same mowing deck principle works across the current range:
- Complete leaf trailers — FT-600, FT-1600 and FT-2200 T3. Trailer, debris loader and accessories as one working machine.
- Standalone G2 debris loaders — MIDvac G2 and PROvac G2, if you already have a suitable dump body.
Whether a deck connection is possible depends on your mower. Tell us what you run and the size of the ground, and we will come back with a configuration rather than a catalogue. Contact us
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to mow and collect a football pitch?
In this test, 7,700 m² took 51 minutes with one operator, a rate of about 9,000 m² per hour. The exact time depends on grass length, moisture and the width of the mowing deck.
Why remove grass clippings from a sports field at all?
On a dry pitch, clippings fall into the sward and break down. After rain they clump and sit on the surface, which makes the pitch slippery and uneven. Removing them is a playing-safety matter before it is a tidiness one.
Can you mow and collect wet grass?
Yes. A mowing deck setup handles wet material better than any other collection method, because the deck lifts and breaks the clippings before the airflow has to move them. Wet material is denser, so the body fills by weight sooner than by volume and is emptied more often.
How much grass does a full pitch produce?
In this test the clippings from 7,700 m² fitted into one trailer body, because the integrated shredder compacts the material as it enters. Without shredding, the same material would have taken several loads.
Is a mow and collect system only useful in the growing season?
No. The same trailer and debris loader collect autumn leaves, hedge trimmings, event litter and general debris. The vacuum unit comes off in under 30 minutes and the trailer works as a hydraulic tipper year-round.
Compact, efficient professional equipment