Maybe leaving the grass clippings on your lawn after a mow sounds lazy, but bagging and hauling them away actually deprives your lawn’s ecosystem of free nutrients. Skipping this extra work also saves space in the landfill and saves fuel for hauling. So, mulching your lawn with fresh grass clippings actually benefits your yard and the environment as a whole.
Grass clippings are made up of about 90% water and when they decompose on top of your lawn they return this water, nitrogen, and other beneficial nutrients into the grass. While some believe this practice increases thatch, it actually creates a more prolific environment for earth worms and microorganisms that reduce thatch. Thatch exists at the roots of your lawn’s grass plants. It is a dense build-up of dead grass stems and roots that blocks water and nutrients from reaching live roots.
Simply leaving grass clippings on the lawn after mowing with your residential side-discharge mower is beneficial of course, but mowing with a blade specifically designed for mulching maximizes these benefits and the aesthetic of your lawn.
At Maple Leaf Landscaping & Maintenance our fleet of professional-grade lawn mowers are always equipped with top quality, freshly sharpened mulching blades. These blades chop grass clippings into much smaller pieces and distribute them more evenly than residential mowers. This allows the clippings to break down much more quickly and for the moisture and nutrients to be evenly distributed throughout your lawn. The smaller pieces also make their way to the roots much more quickly than piles of longer length clippings, giving your freshly cut and watered lawn a clean and polished look, while also contributing to each grass plants’ health.
For more information on mulching practices and benefits, visit the Colorado State University Extension website. It’s your license to be lazy, when it comes to bagging clippings, anyway. We invite you to maximize on the laziness, really give yourself a break! Call Maple Leaf Landscaping & Maintenance today at (970)234-9691. Let us take care of all of the mowing, mulching, and seasonal lawn maintenance for you or someone else you care about that deserves a break. Lawn maintenance services make a great, thoughtful gift.
By Hannah Odneal Newman