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I actually did a mulching mower project for a Masters degree finished back in 1986. The study I did was over a 2 year period, mulching works, no thatch increase, but much more was determined. Nutrient return was evident in most all nutrients evaluated. My study was based on leaf tissue not soil analysis. Been quite awhile, glad people are looking at this.
As a 10 year Michigan lawn barber that almost exclusively mulches, I've noticed after the second to third year, lawns make a remarkable improvement in overall quality. I'm mowing shorter (2 1/2- 3 inches) in the spring/fall and summer grass an inch longer. I mulch most fall leaves instead of raking to replace organic matter/ nutrients taken up from trees. This pretty much confirms that I'm doing most things right. I'll keep looking at more of your vids on what I might do to improve services. Thanks for sharing your knowlege and time. What you do is beyond my capacity.
I used to have a mowing company with mulch kits on my big mowers. I mulched grass and leaves from trees all year and throughout the fall. My yards were always the best in the neighborhoods with no fertilizers. I always found it odd how some people would want to take away what nature was giving back.
Agree, although there is no denying how great a bagged cut looks, even though after a few hours even the difference diminishes and the tips start to grow out or it rains. When conditions are right mulching is by far superior. Problem here in the northeast is those times aren't as common as poor conditions 😔
@@daflea66 no, with an actual much kit on a real mower everything turns to dust and you see nothing but the soil stays covered. Much better than bagging or raking.
I started mulching and my lawn has gotten much thicker and healthier. I also have far fewer weeds. I got tired of filling the bin with grass clippings leaving no room for any other green waste. I won’t go back to bagging.
I did this once, but found I started spreading seeds from unwanted grass (poa annual?). I wouldn't recommend it 100% of the time. Sometimes I even mulch or bag areas differently.
Not measuring water retention and nutrient additive needs seems like ignoring the most relevant differences. Those are like the most important details.
Bagging make sense if it is used as fertiliser. I use bagged gras in early season as nutrition adition to.my greenhouse and several plants. It then slowly break down slowly in the season.
You're forgetting that just as a factory floor is kept clean for functionality and aesthetics, bagging clippings provides a key benefit if the alternative is clumps of grass littering your yard. I agree that mulching is superior most of the time and is very doable for homeowners who mow often enough to produce fine clippings, but there are definitely times when bagging makes sense to keep things looking tidy.
The study that would have been useful is one that compared a lawn that was fertilized with commercial inputs, mowed, and bagged with one that was not fertilized with commercial inputs but just with clippings mulched back into the soil. Most of the benefit of mulching lies in not having to fertilize. Also, thatching is caused by excess watering and fertilizing, which causes organic matter to build up faster than microorganisms can digest it, so instead of "aggressively dethatching," the homeowner should be "aggressively reducing watering and fertilizing." And one more point: You did not mention whether the homeowner used pesticides. If he does, it could affect the microbial activity in the soil and the microorganisms' ability to break down the thatch.
When I was younger I worked for a garden contractor in Kent, U.K. and we maintained a lawn at a medieval house in Wye (part of the Agricultural College). The lawn had never binned the clippings and always let them fly free in recorded history. It was very healthy, and very soft to walk on (like 2 layers of carpet underlay). Always seemed pointless to bin the clippings carry them off for landfill, and then spend time and cost of feeding the lawns afterwards. Preaching to the converted here!
1:30 how about no or under-fertilization? The whole point of mulching is to return some nutrients, right? The conditions are set too perfect, under which nothing else would make a difference.
I go out and collect bags of grass clippings others have bagged and left on the street. I use these clippings in my garden, my orchard and on my lawn. It works great. In the fall, I collect leaves too and use them as well. I don't spend money on fertilizers or weed killers.
I don’t mulch anymore . I find you need perfect conditions to mulch properly unless you want to clean up clumps of grass all over your lawn , which is never the case for me . Grass has to be dry and can’t be cutting too much in height , otherwise mower gets full of stuck grass which causes improper mulching for me . Mower had to be clean of built up stuck grass for mulching to work . Everyone leaves that out of their mulching videos . I mow twice a week bagging my clippings . I find this works better for making grass thicker and weeds don’t like to be constantly cut . These are my findings with my mowing .
I started mulching simply because it's more convenient than bagging but if the lawn gets away from me I'll throw the bagger on my tractor or throw the grass out the chute at a higher height then the next day or so I'll mulch all of it back up at my normal height.
Very interesting! I have been mulching for years now, only bagging in moist periods. Mowing often, but just a little. Based on your data, I 'm going to continue like this. Btw, I love that you call it soil and not dirt, like is mostly the case in the US and Canada.
As a retired farmer I found it interesting that people complain about mowing their lawn and yet they will buy fertilizer for their lawn. And now with the higher fuel they will really have something to complain about. 🚜⛽
We live in the Pacific Northwest, the only time we bag is if I want to gather some grass for my chickens. Most Springs it is so wet every five days we have to mow. Then if we don’t water some in August it will kill it.
Natural ecosystems require no inputs in most cases. Removing the plant material is crazy in a lawn situation as it is full of nutrients. Last years oat straw in my notill field provided enough K for this years wheat. The cut grass is food for the worms and it mulches the soil. The rates of nutrients are insane. 4 lbs of N per 1000 sq ft is about 175 lb/ac. This is enough to grow 250bu of corn per acre on healthy soils. My winter wheat will yield about 90bu with 80lb of N. In cropping we waste about 1/2 of the N so the lawn will lose even more. It ends up in the rivers and groundwater where it can cause nitrite poisoning and dead zones like the Mississippi Delta. Our lawn gets no fertilizer. The N is provided by the ladino and Dutch clovers in the mix.
What surprises me constantly is how I understood all of the benefits of mulching months after starting in lawncare, but I still hear debates about it amongst professionals to this day.
What species was the grass? How many climates did you test? Tests we did at horticultural college in the sub-tropics showed an obvious thatching problem with mulching mowers. Fungal pathogens, lawn grubs and beetle activity increased. Two species of couch and the commercial variety 'Sir Walter' were involved. The thick-bladed grass (Sir Walter, Kikuyu etc) caused the worst thatching.
After 31 seasons and 100,000+ (passed 100k last fall) lawns mowed I have not experienced anything but thatch reduction from mulching. Not even the worse case scenario lawns had buildup, but instead improved.
I wonder if using a composter for the clippings and spreading the resulting compost across the lawn after dethatching at the beginning of growing season would have any noticeable impact.
my clippings are now mostly used as "cover" for a compost pile, designed to remediate a washed out bed.. .plus now that the clippings are bagged, there seems to be no more thatch build up... ' but it would take far too long and be too difficult, to get at a layer of composted clipping, that are broken down enough to spread over healthy grass IMHO.... as a thought 'compost tea" which includes clipping, is a fertilizing option, that seems far more practical... there are plenty of posts on different ways to do it, if it interests you....good luck...
I wonder if this was done for a second year if the results would be the same. This year is the first year we have mulched. I think there is a difference already but it could be that we are getting more rain than usual so there is that.
Thank you for doing this great experiment, analyzing and presenting these findings to us. I have two questions and wondering if you may share your insight and knowledge on them: First, If I side discharge with a dual blade mower (EGO 22" LM2206SP with High Lift blade) which decreases clippings size while cutting with 1/3 cutting rule, would thatch build up on my lawn faster than mulching (with mulching blade)? Second, between side discharge with High Lift Blade and mulch with Mulching Blade on my mower which one would provide a more even and/or healthier cut between the two different airflow systems?
@Jeo-What If you are mowing frequently, have small clippings, and have a fertile and biologically active soil, then thatch build up should be slowed regardless of if the clippings were introduced by a side discharge or mulched. Those fresh clippings have relatively high nitrogen compared to carbon and are like candy bars for the microorganisms, so break down pretty fast. One thing to consider when side discharging is to be certain that you are distributing the clippings across the lawn by not mowing in the same pattern each time. If the same pattern is used clippings may accumulate more in some areas than others. As far as your second question goes, I’m not certain. If you experiment with both I’d love to hear what you learn! It’s always fun to split a yard in half and see what works and what doesn’t! Thanks for watching!
The thing I struggle with is that our mulching mower sprays clippings all over the pavement and collects large clumps until it shuts down the motor. The clumps can kill the grass. I end up bagging it after the fact.
As is now shown by regenerative agriculture the issue isn’t soil nutrients but soil life in terms of fungi, bacteria, and worms/insects. You kill this life using fertilizers and of course poisons used to control weeds. The rules are you must have diversity of plants, and soil has to be covered so it can maintain moisture levels (any bare spots must be covered at least with a layer of straw or a larger area will lose moisture). The Haney soil test will tell you about the real health of soil. Live soil actually pulls material from air, water, even rock. We’ve all seen plants and trees splitting rocks. Some even make carbolic acid to gather nutrients from rock. Plants feed fungi and bacteria that in turn feed the plants. Supposedly the communication can go over distances so spot needs can be served!
Great video.. Would have loved to see this same exact thing on a lawn without fertilizer and irrigation. That way we have the full data set at both ends.
Yes, adding fertiliser to the grass will skew the results significantly I'd expect. The mulch should return nutrients to the soil over the season, whereas the bagged should run out.
you could if you cut it much much more often (like every 4-5 days). tall grass is very hard to mulch, even with the correct blades. it also leads to clogs or clumps. you would likely have to mow very slow and even then it might not work out. you should try some grass growth inhibitors. seeing how you wait 2 weeks to cut it, it sounds like you dread cutting the grass (which is fine and understandable). just understand that in will likely yellow the grass, unless you use less then recommended, aka play around with amounts until it slows down but also doesn't yellow it. that way you don't have to cut as much and it wont get so tall that it would take much much longer to cut then had you done it once a week.
8:54 I actually saw a slight visual difference, from the viewers perspective it looks like the right sample has a bit more dried out, dead gras inbetween than the left sample and also, the left one has a slightly deeper green than the right bit more light sample, but maybe that´s just due to how the sunlight falls at the samples. But still, looks like the left sample has a bit less brown gras than the other one.
Uniform grass is based on grazing which is effectively a removal method. This video didn't compare what happens if you lessen the water and fertiliser which is the main reason for mulching grass. Pristine grass, and low maintenance or ecologically friendly grass, are two different ball games.
Here in Texas lawn depth is like 3-4 inches top. Underneath is just an impenetrable layer of clay very strong and nothing can go through. So whatever here we are doing, - it is rock solid and the grass is not getting or storing anything other than within 2-3 inches of sod itself.
I didn't hear one mention of organic matter %. Maybe I missed something, but these nutrient number are too close to make much difference between the two methods unless we see the OM%. And it isn't on the test. For the record, I am in western Lancaster County, Pa. My lawn is growing strong and has virtually no weeds. I do not use weed and feed. I use starter fertilizer in the spring (Lesco), and their standard lawn fertilizer for my June, September, and the over winter application in late October. I also use the bio-stimulant pack from N-EXT twice a year to build root growth as a protection against dry periods. Finally, I use 3 weed killers. I use T-Zone for broadleaf weeds, Ornamec for grassy weeds, and Sedgehammer for Sedges (almost gone from the lawn now). If the thatch starts getting thick, I will try the product called De-Thatch which is supposed to accelerate decomposition. Remember, the best natural defense against weeds is a fast growing lawn. Lawns are subject to the bare spot rule. Spots will never stay bare in your lawn. If grass isn't growing there, something else will. Take care.
Agreed. I'v mowed professionally on and off since the late 80's, from little tiny push mowed lawns in town to very large multiple acre estates useing two 60" zero turns and 48" walk behind for the steep slopes and in my area at least 60% of lawns be they tiny or estates are unfertilized, rarely fertilized or only fertilized on the half acre near the house and I am sure that is a very conservative estimate.
Where was the test area located, geographically? What type of grass was it? What type of soil was it? Have you tried similar experiments in other geographical areas with other types of grass? soil?
He said Pacific Northwest, so likely a cool season grass. If I had to guess it looks like KBG and/or Rye, likely a mixture of each. Just from location and what it looks like.
Thank you for the report. I usually mulch in the NW, excepting for early mows. When the grass is tall and wet (sticking to the mower) you can have problems.
No, most of the grasses we grow are hybrids, meaning they will either be sterile (no germination) or won't breed true and the offspring will revert back to their wild origins giving you a patchy looking lawn.
That was a great video. I love the science of everything. One thing I am wondering is do you think that the use of fertilizer masked or damped the differences between bagged and mulch? In other words, would you have expected to see similar results if the homeowner did not use fertilizer?
I bag on the lawn that my family and I play on. I don't want clippings getting all over us. The other lawns I mulch. Haven't noticed a difference in the health of any of them. I do overseed the "play" yard every few years though with a mix that has fertilizer in it.
Bagging your clippings and leaves has the same effect as using a vacuum cleaner on your lawn. You're removing all of the nutrients and leaving a desert that will need more water, fertilizer and insecticides. Plus you'll be using less fuel, because you won't be stopping to empty the bag every 3 rows.
Its as if you didnt watch the video, which literally shows that bagging the clippings does not 'remove all of the nutrients and leave a desert'. Not sure how much clearer the video could have been.
If your lawn is crap and full of weeds, bag it and toss it. Once you get your lawn NICE and uniform, toss the bag and mulch. A cut blade of grass is 10pct nitrogen, 10pct water, and 80 pct material (fiber) that will decompose and improve your soil. Water and feed it the right amount, at the right time, and no more. Simple and cheap fertilizers are your friend, not Scotts. Keep your blade sharp and the grass on the long side never taking more than 1/3 of the leaf at a time. You may have to mow every 4-to 5 days but it's worth it. Never scalp it. Do this and in a few years and you'll have an awesome lawn for peanuts. Once established, it's easy to keep it gorgeous.
^This^ our house was built on an old horse pasture. It was FULL of weeds. We did the step fertilizing program, but added Spectracide weed stop in the spring and fall and dethatching in early spring. Bagged for the first two years and mulched ever since. My Kentucky bluegrass yard is by far the nicest yard in our area. Mulching when there is weeds, just spreads weed seed everywhere.
Why would this matter? A thicker, more nutrient rich turf is going to show the most drastic difference between mulching and bagging (if there is a difference).
@@MJorgy5 Just curious. I've been bagging my fescue for years and never added anything to it. Always cut at 4 inches and it looks great plus it looks way cleaner.
While not possibly a part of this particular discussion; unless your local city has some type of lawn waste pickup which they compost, your bagged grass clippings will wind up in a landfill unless you decide to compost them yourself which can be difficult for many homeowners.
One thing, people shouldn't confuse "mulch" with "side-discharge". I have a side-discharge, and my lawn was sluggish to start this year, so I dethatched, and good Lord... _so much thatch!!_ If I had a chance to do it all over again, I would've purchased a mulch-mower instead of a side-discharge. Also, just because you can put a mulch-blade on your side-discharge mower doesn't mean it suddenly becomes a mulcher. The deck depth is a critical component to a mulching mower, and so while a mulching blade can certainly be attached to a side-discharge, it still won't function like a push-mower with a deck depth designed for mulching.
I take the lazy approach. I edge and then bevel cut the edges while bagging. This gives me a nice and clean driveway and sidewalk. Then I switch to about 80% mulching for the lawn (Honda Clip Director). This gives me about 1-2 bags worth collected over the entire lawn, front and back. I never water and rarely feed the lawn. I only need to mow it once a week (less when it gets hot). My neighbor has companies come out several times a year spraying various chemicals. He'll water the lawn during a hot spell. He switched to mulching when he got a small Toro zero turn. He mows his lawn every 2 or 3 days. So many clippings get thrown on the sidewalk and driveway that he sometimes spends more time cleaning up that mess than mowing the lawn. Yeah, his lawn is a little greener, but mine looks like most others in the neighborhood.
Can you do the same for side discharge vs bagging? In all other areas of gardening mulch is mulch but in lawn care seems it must be mulched and chopped several times in order to have an impact if you haven’t can you please give your thoughts or make a video on this
You are right. Most homeowner mowers are not true mulching mowers. The blades don’t rotate at high enough rpm to reduce the clippings to 1/4 inch or less, especially is the grass is tall. To remedy this, you have to mow more often, not allowing the grass to grow more than a 1/4 inch between.
They should do that this year followed by no fertilizer on either side the following year.. as long as they don't mind playing with their lawn for 3 years. Definitely interested in the effects on a non fertilized lawn and mulching vs bagging
@@AlecSalvitti or 4 sections with all combinations of mulch/no much and fertilizer/no fertilizers. My guess is that the mulched without fertilizers will probably be as healthy as the others(except bagged + no fertilizer, that one is screwed)
I live in the northern Central Valley in CA. We have no soil development and a high percentage of large rocks in a clay matrix. I have mulched for 20 years and my lawn is much more robust and drought tolerant than any of my neighbors whose lawns have been bagged. The edges of their lots are eroded and the ability of their lawns to hold moisture is poor. You did make it clear that the study lawn was in the Pacific Northwest but those conditions are very different from almost anywhere else in the Country. It is like saying that the difference between having an air conditioner and just opening the windows in your home makes very little difference to the summer comfort of the house you own on Puget Sound. That information is of no use for the rest of the country especially in places like my town which swings between mid thirties in the winter and up to 120 degrees in the summer. In the Pacific Northwest it would take a nuclear bomb to stop things from growing no matter how badly you treat your lawn.
May be 5yrs may have given you a different set of results. Soil will not change that quickly. It will depend on your fertiliser type. If a dry mix very wasteful, if looking at what is available to the plant. Kiwi
To me, it has to be mulching...I hate grass and never fertilize it for obvious reasons...who wants to cut grass more frequently than necessary? and who wants to bag that clippings and composts or disposes off of them in bags? Not me. I tend to utilize my good yard spots for fruit trees or veggie garden, and leave the rest to grass. Mu lawn is not the prettiest in the neighborhood, but it is not the worse either. Life goes on with or without grass...
@@alphasmurf6563 Good for you...not everyone likes to mow their lawn...even those who hire a professional normally get their yards mowed every two weeks or so...pride or not. Just because that is the norm...I mow mine every two weeks, but that does not mean I like to do it, nor will I fault others who do not maintain their yards properly. Heck, it is not my property...
a definitive study on the effect bagging has on the organism level vs mulch would be interesting. My biggest concern always when bagging (which I have gotten away from full time bagging anything) is the decrease in the soil food web organisms. I have a test plot I was about to do this same test although with less soil testing as its a great cost for me to do that. Bagged, discharged, and mulched all compared now and next year same time, with some sub sections being treated with liquid de-thatching product just to see.
I was under the assumption that bagging was used for helping to reduce weeds in the grass. It prevents weed seed from spreading. Thatch I've never noticed much difference. In wet seasons you can cut lower to remove the old tan grass. Higher cuts afterwards made a greener lawn. Bagging doesn't work that well. If you wait for the bag to fill, you've done pretty well mulched the area anyway. On my riding mower I have to make several passes to grind up everything anyway. I aim my chute towards where I'm cutting. You get a cleaner yard. If too much is in the middle, that's when bagging gets the excess up. Or you have to rake. 🐀🐾
I think you'll find there are practical uses for bagging that were not really considered in this video. Preventing weed spread, as you mentioned, is one of them. Another is the obvious aesthetic component, which is one of the main reasons we mow our lawns. I am in favor of mulching by default because of the increase in organic matter, but I also think that there are times of the year when bagging is the better option.
I always bag my clipping “ living in country” I fertilizer every 6 weeks and rotate my fertilizer the grass stay dark green all year long. Do what’s right for your grass gl
The main problem with mulching is if you have weeds with seeds you spread them. I use pre-emergent but we have lots of beggar weed and some sand spur. People here just don’t take care of their lawns. I don’t want to spread these in my lawn otherwise I would mulch.
My question is. What is the point of a residential lawn? Regardless if you Cut or Mulch the stuff it is still a waste of resources, and time with no real beneficial outcome. Xeriscaping is a good option. Better yet is raised garden boxes then at least you are getting something for your time and effort. leave shiny-green manicured lawns to places like golf courses or cemeteries.
2:20 Had no idea what 'pounds' or 'square feet' were so stopped watching this obsolete presentation and watched a better video that utilised S.I. units that are understood worldwide . . .
It would be interesting to see a study with multiple grass types cool vs warm. More specifically look at warm because a lot of UA-camrs have warm and go into that subset to compare Bermuda, zoysia, st. Augustine. I would ask #LawnCareNut since he has all three. Haha.
Mulching over multiple seasons truly helps. This study over 1 season truly doesn’t show the true results since it take more than a season for clippings to break totally down.
I have a new build with sod laid down last spring. I bagged every time I cut for the entire first season and still had so much thatch once this spring came along. I tried to rake up as much as I could and now I’m not bagging this season at all so I’m interested to see my results next year vs this year. Great video!!
new build new sod. also curious to see how much thatch i can pull up. just did a full bagged mow because grass was really thick and tall. going to do twice weekly cuts in the bermuda from now on and it should keep trimmings consistent but under control
I see so many people on UA-cam that don’t know what thatch is. Thatch is not debris. Thatch is actually part of the plant. It’s the thick material at the base of the grass. Yes you can have too much debris, but that is due to poor, lifeless soil. If your soil is right, debris like grass clippings will break down readily.
You are correct. People obviously don't know what thatch is. They also don't seem to know what healthy soil is. Thatch comes from cutting the stem of the grass instead of the blade/leaf of the grass. This is due to poor mowing practices, such as mowing too short and cutting more than one third of the length off at a time. This study ignored the most important factors regarding soil health, percentage of organic material, and microbial content. This is where mulching blows bagging away.
@@johnmoore5478 Improper watering technique is another factor. Frequent, shallow watering will cause excessive thatch and shallow rooting. My yard is the only one that stays green in late July/early August and i attribute it to mulching clippings/leaves, plus proper cultural practices. My neighbors will run their sprinkler systems for 15 mins per zone, which is next to useless. I don't even have a sprinkler system and my grass is greener.
My experience of using a mulching mower is that the lawn became basically like a carpet of dried mulch material that the grass had trouble growing through. Had to rake the layer of thatch away, fork the soil, spread a layer of light sand over the top, then reseed. Then bought a standard mower and had much better lawn.
I want to step on my freshly mowed lawn and see a clean and manicured site. No grass clipping chunks all over the lawn and mulch, no grass blades under my shoes, on the dogs, and on my rugs. I don't care if removing biological material and then having to feed the lawn is stupid.
And here I am doing absolutely nothing but mowing and bagging or mulching from time to time randomly. Looks like there is no science and fertilizers needed. Plus it looks a lot better with the flowers.
its more than enough for me. it reassures me that my tipical bagging/mulching habbits are ok since i mulch from time to time omly when my compost bin hasnt discomposed enough to add more grass to it :)
Why the hell would you spend time and money on a petroleum granular fertilizer, which leaves behind microplastics and increases the amount of mowing effort you need to do? Just so your neighbors can say "wow that green patch of useless grass is marginally greener than the one next to it". And then ON TOP OF ALL THAT, you would bag the clippings and throw them in the trash? Absurd waste of water, time and resources.
Thank you everyone for the great comments and feedback! We read your comments and answered many of your questions in our latest video. Check it out now! ua-cam.com/video/xmnr2AVCSGw/v-deo.html
I actually did a mulching mower project for a Masters degree finished back in 1986. The study I did was over a 2 year period, mulching works, no thatch increase, but much more was determined. Nutrient return was evident in most all nutrients evaluated. My study was based on leaf tissue not soil analysis. Been quite awhile, glad people are looking at this.
And? Did you graduate?
Lead tissue makes way more sense, that's the final report card, that tells you what the plant actually took up
@@mctend9108 This question is irrelevant.
@@billdickey8847 human interest is never irrelevant.
@@mctend9108 I beg to differ
As a 10 year Michigan lawn barber that almost exclusively mulches, I've noticed after the second to third year, lawns make a remarkable improvement in overall quality. I'm mowing shorter (2 1/2- 3 inches) in the spring/fall and summer grass an inch longer. I mulch most fall leaves instead of raking to replace organic matter/ nutrients taken up from trees. This pretty much confirms that I'm doing most things right. I'll keep looking at more of your vids on what I might do to improve services. Thanks for sharing your knowlege and time. What you do is beyond my capacity.
Man what a great channel and source of info. I am sure you will be gaining many followers shortly!
I used to have a mowing company with mulch kits on my big mowers. I mulched grass and leaves from trees all year and throughout the fall. My yards were always the best in the neighborhoods with no fertilizers. I always found it odd how some people would want to take away what nature was giving back.
Funny in Ca. the lawn businesses would always carry away the clipping, I rarely saw a mulcher.
Agree, although there is no denying how great a bagged cut looks, even though after a few hours even the difference diminishes and the tips start to grow out or it rains. When conditions are right mulching is by far superior. Problem here in the northeast is those times aren't as common as poor conditions 😔
@@daflea66 no, with an actual much kit on a real mower everything turns to dust and you see nothing but the soil stays covered. Much better than bagging or raking.
I started mulching and my lawn has gotten much thicker and healthier. I also have far fewer weeds. I got tired of filling the bin with grass clippings leaving no room for any other green waste. I won’t go back to bagging.
I did this once, but found I started spreading seeds from unwanted grass (poa annual?). I wouldn't recommend it 100% of the time. Sometimes I even mulch or bag areas differently.
Removing biological material and then having to feed the lawn always struck me as really really stupid
Forest floor not factory floor
Not measuring water retention and nutrient additive needs seems like ignoring the most relevant differences. Those are like the most important details.
Thought the same thing since i was a kid never owned a bagger never will it's a scam designed to sell more fertilizer and more equipment
Bagging make sense if it is used as fertiliser. I use bagged gras in early season as nutrition adition to.my greenhouse and several plants. It then slowly break down slowly in the season.
You're forgetting that just as a factory floor is kept clean for functionality and aesthetics, bagging clippings provides a key benefit if the alternative is clumps of grass littering your yard. I agree that mulching is superior most of the time and is very doable for homeowners who mow often enough to produce fine clippings, but there are definitely times when bagging makes sense to keep things looking tidy.
🕵️👍💯👍💯😳💯👍💯👍💯👍💯😳💯😳💯
The study that would have been useful is one that compared a lawn that was fertilized with commercial inputs, mowed, and bagged with one that was not fertilized with commercial inputs but just with clippings mulched back into the soil. Most of the benefit of mulching lies in not having to fertilize. Also, thatching is caused by excess watering and fertilizing, which causes organic matter to build up faster than microorganisms can digest it, so instead of "aggressively dethatching," the homeowner should be "aggressively reducing watering and fertilizing." And one more point: You did not mention whether the homeowner used pesticides. If he does, it could affect the microbial activity in the soil and the microorganisms' ability to break down the thatch.
🙄
When I was younger I worked for a garden contractor in Kent, U.K. and we maintained a lawn at a medieval house in Wye (part of the Agricultural College). The lawn had never binned the clippings and always let them fly free in recorded history. It was very healthy, and very soft to walk on (like 2 layers of carpet underlay). Always seemed pointless to bin the clippings carry them off for landfill, and then spend time and cost of feeding the lawns afterwards. Preaching to the converted here!
And we used Ransome cylinder mowers, none of that rotary crap.
When you use slang like phos for phosphorous you are on a whole different level! Impressive! You sound like a rocket scientist, well done.
1:30 how about no or under-fertilization?
The whole point of mulching is to return some nutrients, right?
The conditions are set too perfect, under which nothing else would make a difference.
I go out and collect bags of grass clippings others have bagged and left on the street. I use these clippings in my garden, my orchard and on my lawn. It works great. In the fall, I collect leaves too and use them as well. I don't spend money on fertilizers or weed killers.
I heard that thatch does not come from the part of the grass plant that gets clipped.
I don’t mulch anymore . I find you need perfect conditions to mulch properly unless you want to clean up clumps of grass all over your lawn , which is never the case for me . Grass has to be dry and can’t be cutting too much in height , otherwise mower gets full of stuck grass which causes improper mulching for me . Mower had to be clean of built up stuck grass for mulching to work . Everyone leaves that out of their mulching videos . I mow twice a week bagging my clippings . I find this works better for making grass thicker and weeds don’t like to be constantly cut . These are my findings with my mowing .
I started mulching simply because it's more convenient than bagging but if the lawn gets away from me I'll throw the bagger on my tractor or throw the grass out the chute at a higher height then the next day or so I'll mulch all of it back up at my normal height.
Very interesting! I have been mulching for years now, only bagging in moist periods. Mowing often, but just a little. Based on your data, I 'm going to continue like this. Btw, I love that you call it soil and not dirt, like is mostly the case in the US and Canada.
As a retired farmer I found it interesting that people complain about mowing their lawn and yet they will buy fertilizer for their lawn. And now with the higher fuel they will really have something to complain about. 🚜⛽
And everyone will argue about their laboratory test scores instead of actually doing something about it.
I have a battery powered mower ;)
It does look pretty though.
We live in the Pacific Northwest, the only time we bag is if I want to gather some grass for my chickens. Most Springs it is so wet every five days we have to mow. Then if we don’t water some in August it will kill it.
@frederick Burns Hopefully this video can help homeowners with their management decisions that can lead to responsible fertilizer use and save money.
Natural ecosystems require no inputs in most cases. Removing the plant material is crazy in a lawn situation as it is full of nutrients. Last years oat straw in my notill field provided enough K for this years wheat. The cut grass is food for the worms and it mulches the soil. The rates of nutrients are insane. 4 lbs of N per 1000 sq ft is about 175 lb/ac. This is enough to grow 250bu of corn per acre on healthy soils. My winter wheat will yield about 90bu with 80lb of N. In cropping we waste about 1/2 of the N so the lawn will lose even more. It ends up in the rivers and groundwater where it can cause nitrite poisoning and dead zones like the Mississippi Delta. Our lawn gets no fertilizer. The N is provided by the ladino and Dutch clovers in the mix.
I've been mulching my lawns for 35 years in my business.
"At the end of the day, what did we learn?" @ 11:57
What surprises me constantly is how I understood all of the benefits of mulching months after starting in lawncare, but I still hear debates about it amongst professionals to this day.
What species was the grass? How many climates did you test? Tests we did at horticultural college in the sub-tropics showed an obvious thatching problem with mulching mowers. Fungal pathogens, lawn grubs and beetle activity increased. Two species of couch and the commercial variety 'Sir Walter' were involved. The thick-bladed grass (Sir Walter, Kikuyu etc) caused the worst thatching.
After 31 seasons and 100,000+ (passed 100k last fall) lawns mowed I have not experienced anything but thatch reduction from mulching. Not even the worse case scenario lawns had buildup, but instead improved.
I wonder if using a composter for the clippings and spreading the resulting compost across the lawn after dethatching at the beginning of growing season would have any noticeable impact.
@Eddy Edwards and if you have soil samples from before you started and get them for after a year you might be able to answer then.
my clippings are now mostly used as "cover" for a compost pile, designed to remediate a washed out bed.. .plus now that the clippings are bagged, there seems to be no more thatch build up... '
but it would take far too long and be too difficult, to get at a layer of composted clipping, that are broken down enough to spread over healthy grass IMHO....
as a thought 'compost tea" which includes clipping, is a fertilizing option, that seems far more practical... there are plenty of posts on different ways to do it, if it interests you....good luck...
Replace some your lawn with a veggie garden and use the compost there.
I was wondering if there is a difference in amount of grass there are on each parts. Like if I munched it will it cause a bald spot on the lawn?
What type of grass was it?
I noticed a significant improvement in my lawn when I began to mulch. On the hill, there was much less erosion, too.
Wondering how this test would turn out in other parts of the country and/or with different grass types.
Thanks
Where do you find a soil probe of that size? Everything I see online massive.
Linus, The soil probes are found here: www.mysoiltesting.com/collections/shop/products/mysoil-kit-and-probe .
Excellent information to digest in this video, thanks for all your efforts.
Thank you!
Love that you actually call it soil. 😊
I wonder if this was done for a second year if the results would be the same. This year is the first year we have mulched. I think there is a difference already but it could be that we are getting more rain than usual so there is that.
Thank you for doing this great experiment, analyzing and presenting these findings to us. I have two questions and wondering if you may share your insight and knowledge on them: First, If I side discharge with a dual blade mower (EGO 22" LM2206SP with High Lift blade) which decreases clippings size while cutting with 1/3 cutting rule, would thatch build up on my lawn faster than mulching (with mulching blade)? Second, between side discharge with High Lift Blade and mulch with Mulching Blade on my mower which one would provide a more even and/or healthier cut between the two different airflow systems?
@Jeo-What If you are mowing frequently, have small clippings, and have a fertile and biologically active soil, then thatch build up should be slowed regardless of if the clippings were introduced by a side discharge or mulched. Those fresh clippings have relatively high nitrogen compared to carbon and are like candy bars for the microorganisms, so break down pretty fast. One thing to consider when side discharging is to be certain that you are distributing the clippings across the lawn by not mowing in the same pattern each time. If the same pattern is used clippings may accumulate more in some areas than others. As far as your second question goes, I’m not certain. If you experiment with both I’d love to hear what you learn! It’s always fun to split a yard in half and see what works and what doesn’t! Thanks for watching!
@@SoiLab Thank you so much for your helpful reply. I will experiment further regarding the two different types of blades.
The thing I struggle with is that our mulching mower sprays clippings all over the pavement and collects large clumps until it shuts down the motor. The clumps can kill the grass. I end up bagging it after the fact.
At my last house I mulched for 35 years and never had thatch buildup.
As is now shown by regenerative agriculture the issue isn’t soil nutrients but soil life in terms of fungi, bacteria, and worms/insects. You kill this life using fertilizers and of course poisons used to control weeds. The rules are you must have diversity of plants, and soil has to be covered so it can maintain moisture levels (any bare spots must be covered at least with a layer of straw or a larger area will lose moisture). The Haney soil test will tell you about the real health of soil.
Live soil actually pulls material from air, water, even rock. We’ve all seen plants and trees splitting rocks. Some even make carbolic acid to gather nutrients from rock. Plants feed fungi and bacteria that in turn feed the plants. Supposedly the communication can go over distances so spot needs can be served!
Sorry but fertilizers don’t kill soil microbes. Try again.
Great video.. Would have loved to see this same exact thing on a lawn without fertilizer and irrigation. That way we have the full data set at both ends.
Yes, adding fertiliser to the grass will skew the results significantly I'd expect. The mulch should return nutrients to the soil over the season, whereas the bagged should run out.
Can you mulch with a normal push mower when mowing once every 2 weeks when the grass is kinda tall?
you could if you cut it much much more often (like every 4-5 days). tall grass is very hard to mulch, even with the correct blades. it also leads to clogs or clumps. you would likely have to mow very slow and even then it might not work out.
you should try some grass growth inhibitors. seeing how you wait 2 weeks to cut it, it sounds like you dread cutting the grass (which is fine and understandable). just understand that in will likely yellow the grass, unless you use less then recommended, aka play around with amounts until it slows down but also doesn't yellow it.
that way you don't have to cut as much and it wont get so tall that it would take much much longer to cut then had you done it once a week.
@@rocksfire4390 yeah it takes me half a day to cut all the grass lol, and that's on the fastest push setting 😂
@@rubenbraekman4515
yea that sounds dreadful.
8:54 I actually saw a slight visual difference, from the viewers perspective it looks like the right sample has a bit more dried out, dead gras inbetween than the left sample and also, the left one has a slightly deeper green than the right bit more light sample, but maybe that´s just due to how the sunlight falls at the samples. But still, looks like the left sample has a bit less brown gras than the other one.
Uniform grass is based on grazing which is effectively a removal method. This video didn't compare what happens if you lessen the water and fertiliser which is the main reason for mulching grass. Pristine grass, and low maintenance or ecologically friendly grass, are two different ball games.
Here in Texas lawn depth is like 3-4 inches top. Underneath is just an impenetrable layer of clay very strong and nothing can go through. So whatever here we are doing, - it is rock solid and the grass is not getting or storing anything other than within 2-3 inches of sod itself.
I didn't hear one mention of organic matter %. Maybe I missed something, but these nutrient number are too close to make much difference between the two methods unless we see the OM%. And it isn't on the test.
For the record, I am in western Lancaster County, Pa. My lawn is growing strong and has virtually no weeds. I do not use weed and feed. I use starter fertilizer in the spring (Lesco), and their standard lawn fertilizer for my June, September, and the over winter application in late October. I also use the bio-stimulant pack from N-EXT twice a year to build root growth as a protection against dry periods. Finally, I use 3 weed killers. I use T-Zone for broadleaf weeds, Ornamec for grassy weeds, and Sedgehammer for Sedges (almost gone from the lawn now). If the thatch starts getting thick, I will try the product called De-Thatch which is supposed to accelerate decomposition. Remember, the best natural defense against weeds is a fast growing lawn. Lawns are subject to the bare spot rule. Spots will never stay bare in your lawn. If grass isn't growing there, something else will. Take care.
Is there any way to increase the soil penetration of the thatch to increase carbon sequestration?
This experiment on non fertilised lawn would be very interesting.
Agreed. I'v mowed professionally on and off since the late 80's, from little tiny push mowed lawns in town to very large multiple acre estates useing two 60" zero turns and 48" walk behind for the steep slopes and in my area at least 60% of lawns be they tiny or estates are unfertilized, rarely fertilized or only fertilized on the half acre near the house and I am sure that is a very conservative estimate.
My ph is super low 5.6 the lime is unsightly when applying each month is there anything else I can do to raise ph
get the pelletized lime should drop right down to the soil
I've been curious about this. Thanks for doing this video.
Bag those clippings when temperatures get above 80 deg. Bagging will cut down on fungus.
Where was the test area located, geographically?
What type of grass was it?
What type of soil was it?
Have you tried similar experiments in other geographical areas with other types of grass? soil?
He said Pacific Northwest, so likely a cool season grass. If I had to guess it looks like KBG and/or Rye, likely a mixture of each. Just from location and what it looks like.
He said PNW, they’re located in Eastern Washington so I’m assuming near there with cool season.
did nature bag lawn clippings
Thank you for the report. I usually mulch in the NW, excepting for early mows. When the grass is tall and wet (sticking to the mower) you can have problems.
I mulch when the grass seeds for a free over-seeding as grass seed is expensive. Do you think this strategy of seeding is a good strategy?
If the seeds are from grasses that you actually want, sure. You will spread unwanted grasses as well
It works for God.
only seeds from weed grasses will produce viable seeds. your nice turf grass seeds need to mature on the plant for weeks to reproduce
No, most of the grasses we grow are hybrids, meaning they will either be sterile (no germination) or won't breed true and the offspring will revert back to their wild origins giving you a patchy looking lawn.
That was a great video. I love the science of everything. One thing I am wondering is do you think that the use of fertilizer masked or damped the differences between bagged and mulch? In other words, would you have expected to see similar results if the homeowner did not use fertilizer?
That seems like the entire point of mulching instead of bagging. Weird that they didn’t test that first.
Exactly my thoughts!
Science has to be tested and questioned but this just accepted the conventional ‘wisdom’.
I bag on the lawn that my family and I play on. I don't want clippings getting all over us. The other lawns I mulch. Haven't noticed a difference in the health of any of them. I do overseed the "play" yard every few years though with a mix that has fertilizer in it.
I wonder how leaf matter would affect these results?
Bagging your clippings and leaves has the same effect as using a vacuum cleaner on your lawn. You're removing all of the nutrients and leaving a desert that will need more water, fertilizer and insecticides. Plus you'll be using less fuel, because you won't be stopping to empty the bag every 3 rows.
Those clippings don't come off that clean. There is still organic material left behind.
Its as if you didnt watch the video, which literally shows that bagging the clippings does not 'remove all of the nutrients and leave a desert'. Not sure how much clearer the video could have been.
@@matthewlee2424 This video was inconvenient to my preconceptions. Can you instead post one that supports what I already think I beleive?
@@teebob21 here you go my fella: ua-cam.com/video/Mp9cEWLQ72g/v-deo.html&ab_channel=THEBESTS
If your lawn is crap and full of weeds, bag it and toss it. Once you get your lawn NICE and uniform, toss the bag and mulch. A cut blade of grass is 10pct nitrogen, 10pct water, and 80 pct material (fiber) that will decompose and improve your soil. Water and feed it the right amount, at the right time, and no more. Simple and cheap fertilizers are your friend, not Scotts. Keep your blade sharp and the grass on the long side never taking more than 1/3 of the leaf at a time. You may have to mow every 4-to 5 days but it's worth it. Never scalp it. Do this and in a few years and you'll have an awesome lawn for peanuts. Once established, it's easy to keep it gorgeous.
^This^ our house was built on an old horse pasture. It was FULL of weeds. We did the step fertilizing program, but added Spectracide weed stop in the spring and fall and dethatching in early spring. Bagged for the first two years and mulched ever since. My Kentucky bluegrass yard is by far the nicest yard in our area. Mulching when there is weeds, just spreads weed seed everywhere.
What type of grass was in the lawn? KBG?
This is a PRG/ KBG lawn.
@@SoiLab what is the names of your abbreviations.
@@accessiblenow perennial rye grass. Kentucky blue grass
Please test this method without adding any nutrients to the soil.
Why would this matter? A thicker, more nutrient rich turf is going to show the most drastic difference between mulching and bagging (if there is a difference).
@@MJorgy5 Just curious. I've been bagging my fescue for years and never added anything to it. Always cut at 4 inches and it looks great plus it looks way cleaner.
While not possibly a part of this particular discussion; unless your local city has some type of lawn waste pickup which they compost, your bagged grass clippings will wind up in a landfill unless you decide to compost them yourself which can be difficult for many homeowners.
One thing, people shouldn't confuse "mulch" with "side-discharge". I have a side-discharge, and my lawn was sluggish to start this year, so I dethatched, and good Lord... _so much thatch!!_
If I had a chance to do it all over again, I would've purchased a mulch-mower instead of a side-discharge. Also, just because you can put a mulch-blade on your side-discharge mower doesn't mean it suddenly becomes a mulcher. The deck depth is a critical component to a mulching mower, and so while a mulching blade can certainly be attached to a side-discharge, it still won't function like a push-mower with a deck depth designed for mulching.
If I did 2 passes with a side discharge is it the same as a mulcher?
@@thecuttingsark5094 No, but it gets closer to it.
I take the lazy approach. I edge and then bevel cut the edges while bagging. This gives me a nice and clean driveway and sidewalk. Then I switch to about 80% mulching for the lawn (Honda Clip Director). This gives me about 1-2 bags worth collected over the entire lawn, front and back. I never water and rarely feed the lawn. I only need to mow it once a week (less when it gets hot).
My neighbor has companies come out several times a year spraying various chemicals. He'll water the lawn during a hot spell. He switched to mulching when he got a small Toro zero turn. He mows his lawn every 2 or 3 days. So many clippings get thrown on the sidewalk and driveway that he sometimes spends more time cleaning up that mess than mowing the lawn.
Yeah, his lawn is a little greener, but mine looks like most others in the neighborhood.
Can you do the same for side discharge vs bagging? In all other areas of gardening mulch is mulch but in lawn care seems it must be mulched and chopped several times in order to have an impact if you haven’t can you please give your thoughts or make a video on this
Thank you for the input here and definitely something to look into for a future video.
You are right. Most homeowner mowers are not true mulching mowers. The blades don’t rotate at high enough rpm to reduce the clippings to 1/4 inch or less, especially is the grass is tall. To remedy this, you have to mow more often, not allowing the grass to grow more than a 1/4 inch between.
Thatch a good video. Thank you very mulch!
One study I would like to see would be to not add any fertilizer on the mulched side
They should do that this year followed by no fertilizer on either side the following year.. as long as they don't mind playing with their lawn for 3 years. Definitely interested in the effects on a non fertilized lawn and mulching vs bagging
@@AlecSalvitti or 4 sections with all combinations of mulch/no much and fertilizer/no fertilizers.
My guess is that the mulched without fertilizers will probably be as healthy as the others(except bagged + no fertilizer, that one is screwed)
I live in the northern Central Valley in CA. We have no soil development and a high percentage of large rocks in a clay matrix. I have mulched for 20 years and my lawn is much more robust and drought tolerant than any of my neighbors whose lawns have been bagged. The edges of their lots are eroded and the ability of their lawns to hold moisture is poor. You did make it clear that the study lawn was in the Pacific Northwest but those conditions are very different from almost anywhere else in the Country. It is like saying that the difference between having an air conditioner and just opening the windows in your home makes very little difference to the summer comfort of the house you own on Puget Sound. That information is of no use for the rest of the country especially in places like my town which swings between mid thirties in the winter and up to 120 degrees in the summer. In the Pacific Northwest it would take a nuclear bomb to stop things from growing no matter how badly you treat your lawn.
May be 5yrs may have given you a different set of results. Soil will not change that quickly. It will depend on your fertiliser type. If a dry mix very wasteful, if looking at what is available to the plant. Kiwi
To me, it has to be mulching...I hate grass and never fertilize it for obvious reasons...who wants to cut grass more frequently than necessary? and who wants to bag that clippings and composts or disposes off of them in bags? Not me. I tend to utilize my good yard spots for fruit trees or veggie garden, and leave the rest to grass. Mu lawn is not the prettiest in the neighborhood, but it is not the worse either. Life goes on with or without grass...
People that take pride in there property and aren’t lazy sacks of crap. I mow my lawn every day
@@alphasmurf6563 Good for you...not everyone likes to mow their lawn...even those who hire a professional normally get their yards mowed every two weeks or so...pride or not. Just because that is the norm...I mow mine every two weeks, but that does not mean I like to do it, nor will I fault others who do not maintain their yards properly. Heck, it is not my property...
@@slchang01 You must be Ghetto or a lazy democrat
Wow you really make it seem simple.... 😆
a definitive study on the effect bagging has on the organism level vs mulch would be interesting. My biggest concern always when bagging (which I have gotten away from full time bagging anything) is the decrease in the soil food web organisms. I have a test plot I was about to do this same test although with less soil testing as its a great cost for me to do that. Bagged, discharged, and mulched all compared now and next year same time, with some sub sections being treated with liquid de-thatching product just to see.
I was under the assumption that bagging was used for helping to reduce weeds in the grass. It prevents weed seed from spreading. Thatch I've never noticed much difference. In wet seasons you can cut lower to remove the old tan grass. Higher cuts afterwards made a greener lawn. Bagging doesn't work that well. If you wait for the bag to fill, you've done pretty well mulched the area anyway. On my riding mower I have to make several passes to grind up everything anyway. I aim my chute towards where I'm cutting. You get a cleaner yard. If too much is in the middle, that's when bagging gets the excess up. Or you have to rake. 🐀🐾
I think you'll find there are practical uses for bagging that were not really considered in this video. Preventing weed spread, as you mentioned, is one of them. Another is the obvious aesthetic component, which is one of the main reasons we mow our lawns. I am in favor of mulching by default because of the increase in organic matter, but I also think that there are times of the year when bagging is the better option.
Nature figured this out along time ago. Mulch and slow release fertilizer.
Key to this information is the soil sample.
I always bag my clipping “ living in country” I fertilizer every 6 weeks and rotate my fertilizer the grass stay dark green all year long. Do what’s right for your grass gl
Excellent information!! Subscribed!!
Thanks and welcome
What about carbon?
Interesting results. Thanks Matt! 👍🏼
Thank you !
I have rarely been so bored watching a UA-cam video
6 months is not enough time to give you complete picture. The experiment should be done over a few years.
The main problem with mulching is if you have weeds with seeds you spread them. I use pre-emergent but we have lots of beggar weed and some sand spur. People here just don’t take care of their lawns. I don’t want to spread these in my lawn otherwise I would mulch.
My question is. What is the point of a residential lawn? Regardless if you Cut or Mulch the stuff it is still a waste of resources, and time with no real beneficial outcome. Xeriscaping is a good option. Better yet is raised garden boxes then at least you are getting something for your time and effort. leave shiny-green manicured lawns to places like golf courses or cemeteries.
Given my allergies to grass no contest. I bag. It keeps the clippings from my walk behind mower OUT OF MY FACE!!!
My laziness demands mulching
2:20 Had no idea what 'pounds' or 'square feet' were so stopped watching this obsolete presentation and watched a better video that utilised S.I. units that are understood worldwide . . .
It would be interesting to see a study with multiple grass types cool vs warm. More specifically look at warm because a lot of UA-camrs have warm and go into that subset to compare Bermuda, zoysia, st. Augustine. I would ask #LawnCareNut since he has all three. Haha.
I was thinking the same. As a St Augustine owner in very hot climate with dense clay soil, I assume the results would be somewhat different.
The take home message is whichever route you go, DETHATCH!
Mulching over multiple seasons truly helps. This study over 1 season truly doesn’t show the true results since it take more than a season for clippings to break totally down.
I have a new build with sod laid down last spring. I bagged every time I cut for the entire first season and still had so much thatch once this spring came along. I tried to rake up as much as I could and now I’m not bagging this season at all so I’m interested to see my results next year vs this year. Great video!!
new build new sod. also curious to see how much thatch i can pull up. just did a full bagged mow because grass was really thick and tall. going to do twice weekly cuts in the bermuda from now on and it should keep trimmings consistent but under control
Dude, it’s grass, lawn grass. I mean who does this? Good course, yeah I get it. Mulch with light weed and feed spring and fall, done!
Very comprehensive analysis--excellent interpretation of the data 🙌🏻
Glad you think so!
Very interesting
I see so many people on UA-cam that don’t know what thatch is. Thatch is not debris. Thatch is actually part of the plant. It’s the thick material at the base of the grass. Yes you can have too much debris, but that is due to poor, lifeless soil. If your soil is right, debris like grass clippings will break down readily.
You are correct. People obviously don't know what thatch is. They also don't seem to know what healthy soil is. Thatch comes from cutting the stem of the grass instead of the blade/leaf of the grass. This is due to poor mowing practices, such as mowing too short and cutting more than one third of the length off at a time. This study ignored the most important factors regarding soil health, percentage of organic material, and microbial content. This is where mulching blows bagging away.
@@johnmoore5478 Improper watering technique is another factor.
Frequent, shallow watering will cause excessive thatch and shallow rooting. My yard is the only one that stays green in late July/early August and i attribute it to mulching clippings/leaves, plus proper cultural practices. My neighbors will run their sprinkler systems for 15 mins per zone, which is next to useless. I don't even have a sprinkler system and my grass is greener.
My experience of using a mulching mower is that the lawn became basically like a carpet of dried mulch material that the grass had trouble growing through. Had to rake the layer of thatch away, fork the soil, spread a layer of light sand over the top, then reseed. Then bought a standard mower and had much better lawn.
I want to step on my freshly mowed lawn and see a clean and manicured site. No grass clipping chunks all over the lawn and mulch, no grass blades under my shoes, on the dogs, and on my rugs. I don't care if removing biological material and then having to feed the lawn is stupid.
When I mulch, the clippings turn brown and distract from the green appearance. So I bag most of the time.
Need to sharpen ur blade pulling instead of cutting
Need to mow more often so the blades can do their job.
And here I am doing absolutely nothing but mowing and bagging or mulching from time to time randomly. Looks like there is no science and fertilizers needed. Plus it looks a lot better with the flowers.
damn this was a well done video
And all this time I thought lawns were about looking at them.
I don't mulch because I live in an area where we are constantly fighting lawn fungus. Mulching would mean spreading any fungus that is present.
Awesome material guys. its great to see true facts instead of just opinions.
Thanks Sergiu!
very skewed "facts" that do not give a true picture at all
its more than enough for me. it reassures me that my tipical bagging/mulching habbits are ok since i mulch from time to time omly when my compost bin hasnt discomposed enough to add more grass to it :)
9:32 you’re pushing a lawnmower with a bag on it on the side labeled mulched🤦♀️
Excellent analysis and interesting results. Well done video 👍
Thank you very much!
Why the hell would you spend time and money on a petroleum granular fertilizer, which leaves behind microplastics and increases the amount of mowing effort you need to do? Just so your neighbors can say "wow that green patch of useless grass is marginally greener than the one next to it". And then ON TOP OF ALL THAT, you would bag the clippings and throw them in the trash?
Absurd waste of water, time and resources.
тогда какого черта ты это смотрел? 🤡 😆
I wish I lived by you I’d spray roundup every day and water 24 hrs straight just to watch you squirm.
Mulching keeps the thatch layer down. The video contradicts itself.