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Lawn Clippings

"Should I catch my clippings when I mow?" No! It's almost never a good idea to collect clippings from your lawn for several good reasons. Clippings return a lot of nutrients to the lawn, they do not add to thatch, and there's no more room for them in landfills anyway.

It's true that for years it seemed like a good idea to bag lawn clippings, but new research and environmental concerns have changed all that. Grass-cycling makes good sense.

Lawns Stay Greener When The Clippings Stay
Clippings "recycle" as much as 15% of all the food value of the fertilizer applied. This means a lawn that grass-cycles can be greener and better fed than one where clippings are removed. And because clippings have such high water content, they break down quickly and return both moisture and nutrients to the soil fast. Letting your clippings lie taps into the natural cycle of nature, and saves you time and work.
Getting To The Root Of The Thatch "Myth"

Thatch is the layer of living and dead roots and stems that form on top of the soil. A small amount of thatch is a good thing, but when thatch builds up faster than the soil can break it down, all sorts of lawn problems start to crop up. The misunderstanding is that grass clippings add to this thatch. This just isn't true. Thatch is mostly roots and stems not grass blades. Bagging the clippings does not reduce thatch build-up.

Caring For The Environment We All Share
Besides the direct benefits of leaving your clippings, there's the additional issue of landfill capacities. Most folks, who have bagged the lawn, put the clippings out for the trash man. This "trash" was usually in plastic bags (which don't decompose). The result has been that as much as 10% of landfill space has been taken up just from grass clippings. The long and the short of it is that we're running out of space for all kinds of trash, and recycling clippings makes all kinds of sense.

Remember:

• The common perception that clippings add to thatch has been disproved by university research.

• Clippings left on the lawn return up to 15% of the nutrients applied in fertilizer.

• Up to 10% of landfill space has been used by grass clippings, and we're running out of space.