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Poll: Do you leave your grass clippings on the lawn?

Spring has sprung, and lawn mowers across the country are getting a workout.

Our latest poll asks whether you ever leave your grass clippings on the lawn to help put nutrients back into your soil and lawn, or whether you fastidiously collect every last cut blade.

Please vote using the poll on the front page of Workshop. And feel free to reply below telling us more about your backyard mowing regimen.

Jason

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Comments

Baz

I've heard that leaving some clippings on the lawn is good to mulch or fertilise the lawn, but I reckon at this time of year you wouldn't want to leave it all on. You need to make sure the grass gets plenty of sun. And remember not to mow too low.

Andy_Mann

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/2100#Comment_2100

Totally agree with @Baz, we had a Flymo hover mower, which mulched the

clippings very finely & left the lawn looking neat. No problem in the drier seasons, the mulch sheltered the turf, quickly broke down, & returned nutrients.

In the wetter seasons, the damp mulch clogged the lawn, eventually suffocated it, & black mold set in.

From my experience, you're better off collecting your clippings in the wetter months, & dealing with them in composting bays, bins, or tumblers.

Helen

Sometimes I would but now I have a Ryobi rechargable mower with catcher as am getting older & have lost strength in arms etc. It is good for lawn & may try to tie the flap up occasionally. I have found the lawn needs to be dry which we haven,t had of late but that's a good thing!

popawisky

Depends on the length of grass and weed content.

If the grass is high or weedy then disposing the clippings is a sound strategy. For a weel cared for lawn then using a mulching plug on the lawnmower is the way to go. This adds some nutrient to the lawsn and also prevents burning from the sun.

My thoughts anyway. Mulching is also easier for us oldfarts.

pete

tetris36

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/2122#Comment_2122

The 'Its good for the lawn dear' line doesn't cut it when the kids come inside covered in clippings from falling over outside. Green waste bin if weedy, compost if grassy.
Plus the boys love playing with rakes, brooms & their little gardening gloves so it becomes a fun game to put the clippings away. I would feel terrible taking away from their positive attitude.

Jason

The Workshop community is evenly divided. Exactly 50 per cent of members leave their grass clippings on the lawn, while the other half make sure the clippings are removed.

Thanks for voting in the poll. Feel free to keep the discussion going by replying below.

Jason

Annette

No, we don't leave grass cuttings on the lawn. We place the grass clippings as well as any other garden "waste" in to one of 3 compost tumblers. Whave a small to medium vegetable garden and we need the compost to continually enrich our soil.

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/2179#Comment_2179

As its springtime and the grass is about to take off again, it's time to revive this poll topic and see if we can get the definitive verdict from the Workshop community.

Add your vote to the poll on the front page and feel free to add your comments below.

Jason

Stephen-H

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/63974#Comment_63974

I have a rideon mower with a mulching plug and have not collected the clippings for years. Our one acre of lawn looks great most of the year. We do live in the Mildura area so no real hassels over winter

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/94533#Comment_94533

We finally have a verdict. Most Workshop users don't leave their grass clippings on the lawn.

The results from last week's poll were 36% who do leave their clippings to add nutrients back into the soil, and 64% who prefer to keep their catcher on and dispose of the clippings elsewhere.

Thanks to all those Workshop members that voted and feel free to keep the discussion going by replying below.

Jason

greygardener

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/113686#Comment_113686

I feel this article doesn't address the important element of the sun. There's limited sun at this time of year so you don't want leaves and grass clippings affecting the health of your lawn. http://www.handyman.net.au/heres-why-you-need-leave-grass-clippings-lawn

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/124619#Comment_124619

This might be a good topic for @Adam_W to weigh into today. Do you leave your grass clippings on the lawn Adam?

Jason

Adam_W

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/131810#Comment_131810

Thanks @Jason, one of my pet topics 🙂

Most mowers today have very efficient mulch-mowing modes, I explain a bit about blade types and mulching in the video below I made for Victa (and while we’re on the subject of Victa… huge congrats to then for winning Australia’s Most Trusted Brand Award for lawn mowers 2018)

Mulch-mowing cuts & re-cuts the grass clippings to a very fine state before blowing them back into the lawn. There these clippings breakdown very quickly adding nutrients and organic matter so it’s like giving your lawn and soil a light organic feeding every time you mow.
Mulch-mowing is also faster – you’re not stopping & starting to empty the catcher – and gives a more even cut – mowing with a catcher the mower sinks into the lawn as the catcher fills leading to changes in cutting height.

If you want the best possible lawn they you should be mulch-mowing every time you mow with a few exceptions;
- if the grass is really long mow it in two passes, the first with the catcher on, the second on mulch-mow mode.
- don't mulch-mow if the grass is really wet as the clippings will clump up too much.
- in anything but the warmest areas don't mulch-mow across the cooler months. The reason for this is that the breakdown of the clippings relies on biological activity in you soil and grass thatch. This activity slows down in winter and clippings can sit around the grass roots for too long causing fungal problems.

So my professional opinion is that if you want the best looking & healthiest lawn and healthiest soil beneath your lawn then whenever possible you should be putting the clippings back onto the lawn through mulch mowing.

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