lawn mowing - bag or mulch?

[Mixolydian]

just curious as to what your preference is.

i always learned the mulching the grass clippings is good for the lawn cause it gives it nutients or something, so thats what ive always done. however bagging the grass clippings gives it a cleaner look without all the mess so ive started doing that. i will alternate between mulching and bagging now.

 

[tfinch2]

I bag, and my lawn is very healthy.

 

[RedRooster]

We have a recycle bin for grass, so I just pour it straight in there. No guilt from wasting plastic, and the grass looks perfect. Plus I fertilize the hell out of it.

 

[colonelciller]

if you mow it often enough there is no need to bag it AT ALL... it is better for the grass if you don't.

on the other hand if the grass is long when you mow it (more than 1/2"-3/4") then you do your grass harm by not bagging it.

 

[Jumpem]

Bag it in paper lawn bags.

 

[Mixolydian]

paper lawn bags.

yes this is the only kind we are allowed to use here, unless you rent a special yard waste bin from the trash company.

 

[Mixolydian]

if you mow it often enough there is no need to bag it AT ALL... it is better for the grass if you don't.

on the other hand if the grass is long when you mow it (more than 1/2"-3/4") then you do your grass harm by not bagging it.

interesting, i had not heard that before.

 

[2timer]

It depends on how frequently you cut your lawn. If infrequently its better to bag because all that grass will clump up and choke your blade.

BTW, freshly cut grass is a really great material for a compost heap. When it's green there's still a lot of nitrogen in it and that feeds the bacteria in the heap. When it's brown, not so much.

 

[colonelciller]

We have a recycle bin for grass, so I just pour it straight in there. No guilt from wasting plastic, and the grass looks perfect. Plus I fertilize the hell out of it.

no guilt from wasting plastic, guilt from using synthetic fertilizer though:
* synthetic fertilizer is toxic, poisons the ground water table
* synthetic fertilizer is produced from natural gas
* CO2 bill from converting natural gas to fertilizer is beyond absurd

that said... fertilize away, one less guy fertilizing his lawn is not going to slow down the destruction of our biosphere one iota

 

[colonelciller]

bosh robot lawn mower

worth every penny... works fantastic

 

[Mixolydian]

no guilt from wasting plastic, guilt from using synthetic fertilizer though:
* synthetic fertilizer is toxic, poisons the ground water table
* synthetic fertilizer is produced from natural gas
* CO2 bill from converting natural gas to fertilizer is beyond absurd

that said... fertilize away, one less guy fertilizing his lawn is not going to slow down the destruction of our biosphere one iota

bosh robot lawn mower

worth every penny... works fantastic

neither of these posts answer the question. :hmm:

 

[colonelciller]

robot lawn mowers let the clippings fall onto the lawn

 

[Mixolydian]

robot lawn mowers let the clippings fall onto the lawn

so then your answer is MULCH...

 

[colonelciller]

so then your answer is MULCH...

mulch if able to mow often, the short clippings will fall straight through the grass blades. robots are better than any other mower for this reason if they'll work on your terrain... they cut every day, they are very low power, cut with tiny razor blades, and the lawn is healthier because the clippings stay on the lawn... and electricity is cheaper than gasoline.

if not able to mow often enough, bag it. long clippings will rest on top of the grass looking terrible and blocking the sun.

I do both, so it depends

 

[MomentsofSanity]

I've got a heavily treed about half acre lot. Bought a mulching mower with a bag option. Used the bag once the first time I mowed and never again. Filled too fast for me. Guess it depends on how much you have to mow.

If you mow really low and quite regularly you'd have no need for the bag anyway.

I mentioned the trees as on the fall I use the mulcher and never have to rake. Lawn wakes up deep rich green in the spring without dropping any fertilizer in the fall.

 

[lxskllr]

It'll be a cold day in hell before I bag anything that comes off my lawn/trees. I already resent having to waste fuel and time to make plants shorter, and I'm not going to waste more on the process.

 

[Mixolydian]

If you mow really low and quite regularly you'd have no need for the bag anyway.

i thought its not good to mow really low? something about the roots.

 

[lxskllr]

i thought its not good to mow really low? something about the roots.

It gets dried out, and sunburned. I don't even drop the deck on my mower. I leave it in the "parked" position, dunno how many inches that equals.

 

[PenguinPower]

i thought its not good to mow really low? something about the roots.

Depends on the type of grass.

 

[MomentsofSanity]

i thought its not good to mow really low? something about the roots.

I should have been more specific. I don't go too low. But I probably do go lower than most but my roots are strong and the soil here is very rich. Don't really get weed issues that way.

The best thing is to mow often with good sharp blades. If your area is dryer then low cut wouldn't be a good idea. You'd have a lot more watering needs etc...

 

[phucheneh]

'Spray it towards the neighbors/street' option is missing.

I tend to rotate chute/bag to limit the amount of clippings in the yard.

 

[Mixolydian]

'Spray it towards the neighbors/street' option is missing.

I tend to rotate chute/bag to limit the amount of clippings in the yard.

ah yes, side discharge.

 

[CPA]

Am I the only one who just does a side discharge? I have an acre and a half. I'll be damned if I'm going to bag it. And sometimes the grass in the back gets too high to mulch.

 

[Jumpem]

Am I the only one who just does a side discharge? I have an acre and a half. I'll be damned if I'm going to bag it. And sometimes the grass in the back gets too high to mulch.

I used to. At my new house the grass seems to grow better. Even if I mow weekly there is a lot of loose grass left. So I started bagging it.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Bag will do a better job if you let it get too long, but mulch makes the job take 1/10th of the time, so I prefer mulch in all situations. When I lived at my parents my dad had this old push mower that was probably like 20 years old yet still kept on going, it was not a mulcher. Typical mowing was 20 to 40 garbage bags depending on how much rain and how long we had to wait to do it. Pain in the ass having to stop after 2-3 strips to empty the bag into a garbage bag. Bought a mulcher and it went from a full day job to about an hour. At home I don't have as big a yard so it's less than an hour.