Hearing conflicting things about lawn clippings - bag or not

J187

Ok, most people have told me that its a good idea to leave the clippings behind. A couple people have told me to buy a bagger and bag them. I have a lawn tractor w/ a mulching blade. I also have the non-mulching blade if need be. What are opinions here, should I leave my clippings or not. I hope to leave them, considering its a 24K sq lawn and the bagger attachement for my tractor is like $300. But I will do whats best for my lawn. Thanks.

KUIPORNG

I know if we leave the clippings... the grass will not be felt as comtfortable than without... Ours mower doesn't have bag, we often xxx (forgive my English but don't know the word) it and put the dry grass accumulated at the corner of the yard in order for the kids to play comfortably.... so I think a bag is still desire, if there is an environmental way of dispose of it like using compxxx (again don't know the word)

J187

Thanks K. I think you are looking for Compost as a word. What I am being told by some is that grass clipipngs are actually good for the lawn though. I'm not worried about how it feels so much, because most of the yard stays unused except at times and when we are out there, we don't mind the mulched clippings, they are really quite minced with the mulching blade. Others tell me the clippings wll hurt the lawn. I would leave them if either it was good for my lawn or it made no difference. I would bag only if someone convinces me they are detrimental to my lawn. Thanks again.

concretemasonry

Clippings do not help. Mulching can help

"Clippings" are coarse and long. A good mower with a sharp mulching blade will turn grass clippings into something beneficial.

If they are actually muched well AND you do not wait too long between cuttings they are beneficial.

The finer they are and better they are distributed the more benficial.

J187

OH, I thought "clippings" was a good term to use for anything that is grass and has been cut..

Shows what I know

To clarify, my mulching blade absolutely does a fantastic job. The "not-clippings' that come out are very, very fine. Does a great job w/ leaves too.

OH, and I have 24k sq of open space and an 18 HP ride-on w/ a beer (cup) holder - how long do YOU think I wait between cuttings....

Thanks a lot for the info.

concretemasonry

With that equipment and accessories, I would consider cutting daily if it is not raining too hard. - An unbrella would solve that problem.

darsunt

Of course there are pros and cons.

Using a mulching lawn mower, you will have to fertilize your grass much less because the nutrients are being recycled. This saves fertilizer costs and also protects the environment. The grass is healthier as long as the mulch is not too thick. Also trash costs money to haul away, and bags of clippings get quit ripe if they get hot in summer!

Of course lawns always look worse after mulching, nothing makes a lawn look neater than bagging the clippings. Also you can't let the grass go, because I believe a mulching lawn mower can't handle thick grass, and too much mulch is unhealthy for lawn. The really flat golf course type grass might look bad after mulching. Also a mulching mower probably costs much more.

J187

Thanks. I already have the lawn tractor, its got a mulching blade and does an awesome job. I have the regular blade as well if I need it. The lawn is a cool climate lawn, kentucky or fescue, it stays fairly long. Looks fine after mulching, no worries at all. Maybe eventually I'll buy the bagger, but for now, I can't warrant the expense.

handy man88

You may wan to mulch to amend the soil if your soil is bad. Otherwise, you can just bag it for better appearance, but mulching will not hurt assuming you're not cutting wet grass and getting big clumps.

Jeekinz

I usually bag the clippings and put them to the curb in contractors bags. About 2-3 times a year, I'll mulch the clippings. It's just enough to fertilize the lawn but not so much where I have to de-thatch.

I use a Toro push mower that has either mulch, side discharge or bag.

Brik

When to mulch and when to not.

As has been said. Clippings, not mulching, can smother the grass below. You want to mulch. Sounds like you are set up for that.

I have heard that you collect clippings, and do not mulch, when you fertilize your lawn. The thought is you do not need to add the nutrients back in. If you do not keep up with fertilizers then you would mulch to add back in nutrients.

I mulch AND I fertilize in spring (weed & feed), in fall and as recommended my supplier of the products I use. I have the best looking yard in the neighborhood. Mulching is easier and faster because I do not need to deal with clippings.

For me, downside to mulching is if my grass grows too long or is too wet my mower doesn't have the power to not bog down. I have double cut in extreme cases, once with side discharge (not mulching) and then over it again in mulching mode so I do not leave the clippings behind.

J187

Thanks. I intend to give an annual fertilizing in the spring - this weekend - as recommended by the paperwork I was left w/ the purchase of the house. I also think I'll try mulching for a while and see what happens. Thanks for the responses.

tbone2004

Just to add a little more - mulching as discussed above is very good for the lawn (again given you are not cutting your grass only once per month)

The only time not to mulch is when your lawn has a disease - you will just spread it around.

Jeekinz

It's been a little over a month now of mowing 1-2 times a week. I have only bagged the clippings and noticed that there still is a thin layer of thatch from small clippings that didn't make it to the bag. I also set the height at 4" so the shade alone keeps the ground moist.

I applied Scott's Turf Builder Plus a month ago and the lawn has really come along. I can walk around and pick the few weeds by hand.