Contributor Joe Lamp’l (joe gardener) is a nationally known writer and spokesman for gardening, especially the greener kind.
With the arrival of spring, cutting the grass becomes another weekly ritual to promoting the health and beauty of a great looking lawn and landscape. But many homeowners don’t realize it’s not necessary to bag those grass clippings. In fact, leaving them on your lawn offers several advantages.
Grasscycling is the natural recycling of grass clippings by leaving them on your lawn when mowing, rather than bagging and removing them. It’s such a simple way to mow; I don’t know why more people don’t do it.
Actually I do. My mother was one of those people. After she retired, I would go over and cut her grass, but I wouldn’t bag the clippings. Instead, my mower did a fine job of cutting those blades into pieces so small, it was impossible to find them. But mom was always concerned that by not bagging the clippings, thatch would build up, weed seeds would be scattered everywhere, and it just wouldn’t look as good. And I’d say; “wrong, wrong and wrong”.
Grasscycling does not promote thatch
According to university studies and numerous research, it is a common misconception that grass clippings are a major cause of thatch buildup in lawns. Thatch buildup is caused by grass stems, shoots and roots, not grass clippings. Clippings, which consist of about 75% water, decompose quickly while adding nutrients to the soil.
Grasscycling contributes valuable nutrients
Studies indicate that by leaving grass clippings on your lawn, as they decompose they contribute enough organic matter and nitrogen, that lawn fertilization needs are reduced by about 25% per year.
