Lawn Care | Lawn Clippings What You Should Know
Clippings
Every year your lawn creates about a hundred pounds of nitrogen per acre. That is over two pounds of nitrogen per one thousand square feet, which is about two fertilizer applications per year.
It is estimated by many experts, that up to 60 percent of the fertilizer applied to your lawn is removed by removing the clippings.
When you bag, you are removing a significant amount of organic matter from your lawn.
The money saved can be substantial if you have a large lawn.
Now, there is work involved, if you wait too long between cuttings, the grass could grow so much that the cuttings do not break down quickly, but I know, if you are reading this, that you are interested in creating a healthy lawn, and would never allow that to happen. Mowing frequency is a big part of good lawn care, and on most of our grasses, the more frequently you mow, the better the quality of your lawn. This helps in a couple of ways:
It makes the clippings easier for nature to break down into nitrogen.
It causes the grass to grow laterally, thus getting thicker, and filling in the empty spaces, or as we say, it “tightens the turf”. This makes your lawn more wear tolerant.
I hope you will give this consideration when the time to begin mowing arrives. It is the most ecological, economical and aesthetic way to a better lawn!
Mowing Tips Lawns Lawn mowing Lawn mowing frequency
Tyler Lawn
Mowing Tips Lawns, lawn mowing, lawn mowing frequency
The most important lawn care practice.
Your lawn is important for more than aesthetics!
What is the first place in the great outdoors to which your children are exposed? Where do your pets play? Well, of course, your lawn! In most cases, this area comprises the largest part of a homeowners property. Providing a healthy safe, “bite free,” place for children and pets to play, offering a healthy, inviting pleasant place for family activities and neighborhood “get togethers” is your goal. In order to do this, there is one primary activity that you must perform, perform repeatedly, and perform properly to help you reach that goal:
Mowing.
Mowing is the one thing that if done properly, will yield the best bang for your buck where both your lawn, and pests are concerned. If all the other things are done reasonably well, this will make your lawn an oasis for you, and a hard target for pests.
Make sure that you start with a good mower, with sharp blades. Sharp blades cut the leaves of grass more smoothly, lessening the chance for disease, and adding to the overall appearance. A dull mower blade makes for a ragged cut, and makes mowing harder for you and your mower.
Since mowing is the most important part of lawn care, what is the most important part of a proper mowing program? That would be mowing frequency. You should mow as often as possible, at least once a week during the growing season.
Reasons for frequent mowing:
- The more often you mow, the “tighter” your lawn will become, because the grass will start to grow laterally rather than upward. This will create a more resilient lawn with more competition for weeds.
- Mowing more frequently will allow you to lower your mowing height, providing less cover for insects, and less cover means fewer bugs.
- As a result of the tightening of the turf, it will be more durable as well. Mowing heavily trafficked areas more frequently can help to prevent those ugly bald spots in your lawn.
- Since there is less leaf blade to transpire water, the lawn will need less water, and irrigation can become less frequent.
- Less frequent irrigation will help to keep fungus and bugs from becoming a problem.
- The clippings you have will be smaller, and will degrade more quickly, putting more nitrogen and organic matter back into the soil, so less fertilizer is needed to keep the lawn green and healthy.
- Thatch, and the insects that use it for cover, will be less of a problem.
- The need for bagging will disappear.
- It will help your lawn to be more healthy, and healthy lawns ward off lawn disease bugs, weeds, and fungus, can withstand more traffic, and suffer less from insect damage, recovering more quickly when these problems do occur.
- You will have fewer weed problems, because they can’t go to seed between mowing’s, and because the weeds will be competing with a healthy opponent.
The more frequently you mow, the smaller the clippings, so they become easily available for your lawn to recycle into nutrients, and organic matter. If you bag your lawns clippings, you are taking away as much as sixty percent of the lawns fertility, and depriving your lawn of organic matter and other benefits. Avoid bagging like your lawn depended on it. Leaving your clippings on your lawn, reduces the amount of waste going into landfills, adds nutrients and organic matter to your lawn, can help save money on fertilizer, and promotes a healthier lawn. It just makes good sense!
Frequent mowing discourages pests, disease and fungus. Fewer pests means a healthier lawn, a healthier lawn will discourage pests! See my point? All this means that you will need fewer pesticides, and that means a healthier you!