Strong cases can be made for both mulching and grass collecting. Mulching can be less work, but it has to be carefully monitored. In certain situations, mulching can actually be damaging to your lawn. Meanwhile, grass collecting makes your lawn easier to maintain and it’s aesthetically pleasing, but you also need somewhere to store the clippings after you’ve mowed them.
Which is better? We’ll let you decide:
Mulching
Pro: Saves Time and Energy
You don’t have to worry about constantly removing and emptying a grass bag when you’re mulching. Instead, the clippings return to the lawn and you’re able to complete a mow without having to take a break. Since many landscapers work on a pro-project basis as opposed to hourly, mulching can allow them to take on more projects and increase their ROI.
Con: Can’t Cut Grass When Wet
Wet grass is challenging to mow. It gets clumpy, cuts unevenly, and you can end up ripping grass from the roots. If you try to mulch wet grass, you’ll up with grass clumps all over your lawn. If left there, these clumps can kill patches of grass.
Pro: Returns Nutrients to the Grass
Grass clippings are high in nitrogen, which provides your soil with nutrients and strengthens its root system. In fact, grass clippings alone can provide your soil with 25% of the nutrients it needs.
Con: Makes Lawn Diseases Worse
If you have a lawn disease, mulching can spread it to the rest of your landscape. Then, instead of having to just deal with diseased grass, you have to fight diseases infesting your gardens, flower beds, trees, and shrubs.
Con: Thatch
Thatch build-up benefits your lawn, but only to an extent. If you’re mulching increases your thatch build-up to greater than ½ an inch, you risk suffocating your lawn.
Grass Collecting
Pro: Keeps Diseases from Spreading
If you’re seeing the early signs of a lawn disease, collecting grass clippings will keep it from spreading to the rest of your yard. Then, you to treat it until your lawn becomes healthy again.
Con: Storage
You need a place to put your lawn clippings once you’ve collected them. Sometimes your yard waste bin just isn’t big enough, leaving you with having to find an alternative solution.
Pro: Easier to Monitor
You can mow less often when you’re collecting grass clippings. This is particularly useful in spring when you may find yourself mowing your lawn twice a week with a mulching blade. Because your lawn is cleaner, it’s also easier to identify any potential problems, allowing you to prevent them from becoming an issue.
Pro: Enjoy a Clump-Free Lawn
Grass catching alleviates your clump problem because all of your clippings go straight into the collector. You won’t have to worry about parts of your lawn being too saturated with clippings, especially since the clippings can be uneven and detrimental to your yard.
Con: Time-Consuming
One of the main complaints landscapers have with grass catchers is how often they have to remove and empty them. If you’re working with a large lawn, you may find yourself repeating this process multiple times.
However, a premium grass catcher can alleviate this problem, saving you time while also making your lawn look great.