Since this is a freebie mower, what condition is the blade in - has it ever been sharpened? Is there a build-up of grass on the deck underside? If no to the above, try cutting more frequently. Six inches of grass is a lot to cut, especially if the lawn is reasonably thick. Or,use Personal Pace to just slow down when cutting heavy grass. As long as it isn't missing a new plug should not make any diference at all. If after trying more frequent mowings it still doesn't work well, take it in for a maintenance and have the rpm's checked.

I'm not clear on whether this is an engine RPM problem or something else. Does the engine speed seem slow independent of how fast the mower is moving? If so the cause may be a carburetor linkage problem. It isn't something to fiddle with unless you can set the rpm to the correct speed. However if the mower seems to be miving too slowly and barely makes it up a hill and the engine rpm's seem ok, then the Personal Pace drive belt may need to be tightened. This fix is an easy one - simply refer to the owners manual.

While certified farms/growers need to be careful about their inputs, the rest of us can compromise slightly if we so desire. I would rather use cardboard or newspaper under mulch to kill weeds and grass in a new bed (it won't kill off the REALLY persistant perennials; horse nettle, greenbriar, curly dock, wild onion, etc. have to be dug, but the grasses and the others are dead), than to till or strain my back clearing off the sod (and lose the nutrients from the breakdown), or use vinegar to kill the greens (which won't work unless the temperature is over 60F, another 2-3 months from now) - it's a lot faster to mulch over cardboard. I'll take all the cardboard boxes I can get, as I am presently in a planting-trees-and-shrubs-mode, so am using lots of mulch. I wish I lived near David's greenhouse business - I would take lots of boxes.

I have posted this on the Texas forum and had several responses and comments. As far as where I am is Canyon Lake. I have to be careful and not breech TOS for a business so I am being careful but will email where if requested. (A pain to do on an individual basis but it is worth it to me to see the word get out. I have also let the local chapter of Master Gardeners know and will let them spread the word. I am doing the same for the garden clubs in the area. I will be sharing it with customers personally as they come in. I feel before this spring is over thousands of folks in Comal County will know about it. I am sharing this mostly on GardenWeb to encourage any other smaller types of business to consider this for their area or gardeners to approach a local business with this idea. It is not a new idea but one that takes a concious act on the part of a business to be a part of the solution not so much a part of the problem. We all can do more and we need to just start wherever we can locally as individuals and as businesses to use common sense and save time, money and our resources at the same time. Not all recylcing ideas make sense to me and so I am behind this because it does for me and the position I hold and the area (rural) that I am in. I can help so I will. Won't you join me and be and advocate for your area with something that makes sense to you? Thank You all for considering this concept for your area. Happy Growing David