How To Use a Mulching Lawn Mower

Many people are turning to using mulching lawn mowers to provide nutrients to their lawn instead of using chemical fertilizers that have the potential of polluting our waterways. Instead of bagging up the lawn clippings, the mower leaves the chopped grass on the lawn to decompose into soil. Some people worry about thatch building up from leaving the grass clippings behind but this is almost never the case since grass clippings decompose quickly while thatch is made of hard grass stems.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Mulching optional grass mower

1. Mow the lawn often. Since the portion of the blade that you are cutting should never be more than one-third of the length of the grass blade, you cannot let it grow too long. This might mean that you have to mow every four or five days instead of once a week during the summer months. The combination of heat and rain can cause rapid growth in grasses. If you wait and cut it when it gets so high, you run the risk of leaving clumps or trails of grass behind.

2. Wait until the grass is dry before trying to mow. Wet grass will clump up and collect on the deck of the mower. As it collects, it gets heavier, causing the mower to work harder as well as finally dropping off in large clumps of wet mounds of grass. These will sit on top of the lawn, choking the lawn from sun and discoloring the lawn in the process.

3. Choose to bag the lawn clippings if there are periods of heavy rain. The extra moisture retention from the grass clippings can introduce mold and disease into the lawn. Instead, clip the bag onto the mower and collect the cut grass until the lawn has a chance to dry out. These cuttings can be added to your compost pile, used in your vegetable garden or placed under shrubs or trees for a quick nitrogen boost.

4. Cut the grass early in the day so the sun has a chance to wilt the clippings so they drop down to the soil level of the lawn. If there is an unusually large amount of lawn clippings sitting on top of the lawn, go back over it with the mulching mower to break it down further so it can fall between the growing grass blades.

5. Refrain from adding extra nitrogen fertilizer to your lawn as the added clippings will provide all the quick acting nitrogen that your lawn will need. Instead check for levels of phosphorus and potassium as well as the acidity of your soil. Keeping the lawn mulched will prevent disease and erosion.

References

• The Many Benefits of Mulching