Landscaping Archives - Home & Garden

The majority of homeowners turn to the latest fertilizer when they want to improve their lawns but one thing that's often overlooked is mulching. The way you handle your grass clippings every time you mow your lawn has a major impact on your lawn's look and health. Now, if you are like the other homeowners, you can either mulch, you can bag, or side discharge your grass clippings. But which is better between mulching, bagging, or side discharging your lawnmower grass clippings? Let's compare these three common yard care options first and then you can decide which one is best for your lawn. Bagging Grass Clippings Bagging grass clippings is when you use a lawnmower with a waste bag collection to capture the cut grass(clippings) with the goal to either decompose it or place it waste disposal bags to go to the landfill where a local city authority will process it and ethically dispose of it. Bagging grass clippings is better for the environment because it keeps the organic matter out of landfills and reduces soil degradation when bagged grass is reused in a composite. Bagging grass clippings also help with reducing air pollution from traveling to landfill yards instead of using a home composting container for processing the decaying matter. In addition, according to several studies, bagging your clippings can reduce mower engine wear by as much as 70% due to less friction against the wheels when mowing your lawn. There are plenty of benefits to bagging your grass clippings and most homeowners consider bagging as a very safe method especially when you've got really long grass and want to keep your mess to a minimum, bagging can usually be the best method to clean it up. Bagging lawnmowers are also your best option when you have a backyard garden full of weeds that you want to keep in control. The bagging lawn mowing system removes anything on your lawn whether it's leaves weed seeds sticks, or any other material. So for any homeowner trying to keep weeds under control, bagging is really the best way to keep out of your lawn as all the clippings are going to go right in that lawn mow bag. Bagging lawn mows also gives a really nice cut. Lawn mows with grass clipping bags use most of their power to just spin that blade, lift the grass up, cut it and it goes right to the lawn mower's bag. The downside of bagging lawn mowers is the fact that at the end of your mowing session, you've got a bag full of grass clippings or whatever else comes off the lawn now you've got to deal with disposing of that. And, if you are aware of green waste regulations in states across America, you would know that disposing of grass clippings can be a real problem for a lot of people especially if you're in places like the city or you just don't have access on private land to dump those clippings. Also Read About: How long Does Lawn Mower Batteries Take To Charge? ( A Complete Guide) Which Is Better Between Bagging, Mulching And Side Discharge Lawn Mowing? Bagging lawn mowing is better than mulching or side discharge lawn care. The main difference between bagging lawn care and mulching is that with bagging, the grass clippings are stored in a container to be taken and disposed at a later time. The other options are mulching or side discharged lawn care. Where mulching will chop up the grass clippings into tiny pieces that will remain on your garden ground and feed the land, and keep it healthy. Though keeping tiny ground grass clippings on your lawn as organic fertilizer saves money from buying artificial fertilizers, mulching might not be as efficient for large areas. Still, if you have a small lawn with or without kids or pets in the house, mulching will make your life easier than bagging and storing all those grass clippings. Nonetheless, there are plenty of advantages of mulching your lawn as it saves time from having to empty and carry out your grass clippings as you would do with bagging lawnmowers. Bagging LawnMower Benefits Bagging lawnmowers are beneficial for your lawn as you can mow in nearly all conditions. With a bagging lawnmower, you'll be able to completely remove all the debris going right into the bag. Bagging lawnmowers also allow you to mow fast and while also getting a high-quality cut. In general, bagging lawn mowers are the best all-around choice when compared to the side-discharge lawn mowing or the mulching lawn mow. Disadvantages of Bagging Lawn Mowers. Though you stand to enjoy many benefits for choosing to use a bagging lawnmower, there are also downfalls to bagging your lawn clippings. Disposal Regulations: If you are bagging your lawn mow grass clippings, you must dispose of the clippings legally as some states impose fines when waste is not disposed according to the state waste management regulations. Side Discharge Lawn Mower Side discharge lawnmowers use a chute to collect and direct the grass clippings out of your lawnmower systematically. Mowing the lawn can be tedious, but it's worth taking a few extra steps to ensure that your lovely green grass is as healthy and beautiful as possible. Side-discharge and mulching mowers leave grass clippings behind. What makes mulching blades stand out as the best lawn care than side discharge as mulching make the leaves decompose faster, but if you are using a side discharge lawnmower, you will need to go over them a couple of times yourself to allow the side discharged pieces to be chopped into smaller ones. Mulching blades help by chopping up clippings into finer pieces that decompose faster and don't form unsightly clumps of brown leaves on top of newly cut grasses! With side discharge lawn mowers, you can mow in nearly all conditions without worrying about dampness or long grass and weeds as you would with mulching. Side discharge lawn mowers also allows you to get some of the fastest mowing speeds that are not available with mulching and bagging lawn mows. With side discharge, you'll also get a much high-quality cut of your lawn . Side discharge lawn mowers are the best for anyone who wants to just get on with the mowing as side discharge lawn mowers are better for non-stop mowing. Though the side-discharge lawn mowing system works wonders, it also has its own downside. With side discharge lawnmowers, the grass clipping discharged are shot everywhere and sometimes that may cause issues with neighbors or properties around your home. Mulching Lawn Mowing System. Mulching is a great option for most homeowners though it has some limiting factors that you must take into account. Mulching requires that you understand the need to always mow under specific conditions. With mulching, your lawn must not be too wet and the grass can't be too long when you want to mow. With mulching lawnmowers, you're also going to have some reduced mowing speeds as they have a lot of things going on to make mulching happen. Mulching also delivers non-stop mowing and it can provide nutrients to your lawn while reducing the amount of lawn fertilizers that you have to use to keep your lawn looking good. As much as the mulching lawn system has plenty of benefits, they also have a downfall you need to weigh up before you decide to get a mulching lawnmower. Mulching lawn mowing hinders a close eye on vital variables which can develop into patchy lawn issues long term if you don't keep a close eye on the variables. FAQ About Mulching Vs Bagging Or Side Discharge Lawn Care. There are plenty of benefits and disadvantages to mulching vs bagging or side discharge lawn care, and the major benefits to mulching is that it allows you to leave your grass clippings on the lawn, which helps both in fertilizing the lawn and also helping eliminate weeds. However, in some areas, during certain times of year leaving clippings could cause problems with allergies. It's important to consider the pros and cons before deciding whether you want to mulch or bag your lawn grass clippings. Is mulching bad for your lawn? Mulching is not bad for your lawn. Mulching helps to improve your lawn soil fertility as mulching adds nutrients to the soil that are left after a mow. It can also improve water retention in your lawn and reduce erosion on sloping gardens. Will mulching hurt my grass? Leaving clippings will not damage or kill your grass, but you should avoid leaving too many at one time as this may cause some yellowing of grass sprouts left under the old grass clippings. Does mulching grass spread weeds? Mulching your lawn when it has weeds may spread the weeds further than you anticipate. But if you want to clean your lawn of all weeds, then using a weed killer will do the job. Weeding and mowing are usually enough to keep your lawn free from weeds. When is the best time to mulch my garden? Mulching is best applied early in the season while grasses are growing quickly and actively. Mulching lawn care works best if you have a regular lawn mowing routine than sporadic lawn sessions. Is it worth mulching my lawn? Mulching your garden is worth it. Mulching your lawn will help reduce the amount of waste, it improves your lawn soil aeration and reduces the amount of fertilizer that is used to nourish your lawn. Generally, having less cleaning to do after taking care of your lawn is worth it to consider mulching over bagging or side discharge. When is the best time to add mulch to my plants? The best times to apply mulch is when the soil is moist or right after watering your plants. Mulching your lawn when it has dry soil can cause your plants to wither and die or not grow as fast. My goal was to help you see between the silver lines when deciding whether to use bagging, side discharging or mulching lawn mowing system for your lawn care. And my hope is that I was able to give you enough good information to make the right decision for how you want to handle your lawn clippings. If you have any questions a comments or just want to share your experiences with Mulching then please do take the time to leave a comment below. It's important for me that this article is as informative as possible, so if there is anything I can do better please don't hesitate to let me know!