Grass question...Bag it or not?

[Martinjmpr]

No, not that kind! [Flower]

I've heard conflicting things on bag vs mulching grass. My stepson who has mowed lawns since he was a teenager insists that it's important to bag grass in the springtime. But then online I read that it's better to mulch the grass in to the lawn for for fertilizer.

Any thoughts? I already have some brown spots in my yard and I'd like to avoid them getting any bigger. We sit on the corner so I like for our yard to look decent.

[Irving]

I don't know the answer, but I've done both and never noticed a difference. I have a manual push mower and it just leaves the grass in the yard.

[DenverGP]

No clue here either.... if the grass is tall, I bag it, if it's just a trim, I mulch it.

[Irving]

I use my power mower to pick up all the sticks that would jam up my manual mower, or if I've been lazy and the grass is just very long. The grass in my back yard grows so fast that I have to mow it twice a week to keep up with my manual mower.

[BPTactical]

Bag it usually. You don't want a layer of thatch/mat, it will lead to mold and fungus build up.
The only time I mulch it is right after I get it aerated, then you get some decent organics down into the soil.

Although I will not be bagging my backyard. It's so tall right now I'm gonna need a haybaler.

[Wulf202]

Bagging in the spring allows you to move the seeds from the weeds and dandelions off site. Depending on the grass type etc it is beneficial to alternate bagging with mulching. Something like every other month. The layer of clippings between the plants help hold moisture and guard the roots from sun

[BladesNBarrels]

Neighbor's Dad was a grounds keeper at one of the golf courses in the area.
His advice was to bag the grass in Denver Metro Area.
Colorado is too dry for the grass to decompose quickly and efficiently, so it leads to thatch build-up.
He said Kentucky, where the blue grass comes from, has a lot more rain and the grass clippings left on the ground decompose fast and provide nutrients.
Good in Kentucky, Bad in Colorado.

[Dunno]

[20X11]

Been mulching for YEARS...never bag it. Modern mulching mowers grind it up fine enough where you never get "thatch". PS...our lawn is the greenest, lushest, healthiest in the neighborhood.

[Great-Kazoo]

I use my power mower to pick up all the sticks that would jam up my manual mower, or if I've been lazy and the grass is just very long. The grass in my back yard grows so fast that I have to mow it twice a week to keep up with my manual mower.

Maybe you should replace the cluckers with a goat or 2

[JohnTRourke]

don't bag it.
Hell i don't even mulch it. I just let it fly (side discharge).

Puts all that nitrogen back into the soil which here is really poor (we have really poor soils overall). Adds to and creates new soil as it decomposes.

I never fertilize, my lawn looks great and grows like crazy. The one thing that really kicks your lawn over the top for looks here in Colorado is Ironite. Our soils are really poor in iron and iron gives it that deep green look

go buy some (anywhere that sells fertilizer has it) and spread it around, once a year or so (usually spring, but whenever) and possess the best looking easiest to maintain lawn around.

[Irving]

I think you want something with 5% iron right?

[JohnTRourke]

doesn't matter much. Ironite is the local brand, everyone makes/sells something similar. It's not fertilizer, it's just iron and some other minerals.

https://www.pennington.com/all-products/fertilizer/ironite-mineral-supplement-1-0-1-by-pennington

oh and make sure you get it off the concrete. it stains. (rust color, imagine that. :-) )

[Mazin]

don't bag it.
Hell i don't even mulch it. I just let it fly (side discharge).

Puts all that nitrogen back into the soil which here is really poor (we have really poor soils overall). Adds to and creates new soil as it decomposes.

I never fertilize, my lawn looks great and grows like crazy. The one thing that really kicks your lawn over the top for looks here in Colorado is Ironite. Our soils are really poor in iron and iron gives it that deep green look

go buy some (anywhere that sells fertilizer has it) and spread it around, once a year or so (usually spring, but whenever) and possess the best looking easiest to maintain lawn around.

Do NOT let any iron stay on concrete and then wash or melt down, learned that the hard way. You'll end up with nice rust spots all over that take a long time to get rid of

[def90]

I mowed grass for a living back in my late teen years.. Mulch it, we never picked it up, in the spring do a deep clean/raking and aeration, the mulch will protect the grass/roots during the colder/dryer winter months. We even mostly just mulched the leaves in the fall unless there was an extreme amount of them. If the grass is really long it's best to cut it once at a higher height and take a second cut a little shorter. Change your mowing directions each time you mow. When it's dryer out cut it at a longer length, it will put less stress on it, it kills me when people cut their grass as if it's a putting green during the heat of the summer then have to water it daily to keep it from dieing.

[Irving]

I heard if you get picked up with bagged grass you can get busted for intent to distribute.

[ray1970]

I used to bag all of the time because the wife made me do it.

Now she’s starting to learn who the boss is and I can get away with doing things my way.

I haven’t bagged the grass for about three years now and the only difference that I can tell is yard work takes less time and I don’t have an entire trash can full of lawn clippings to roll out to the curb every week.

Other than that I don’t see a difference in my lawn either way.

I do like to think my “mulch layer” helps to hold moisture in the soil on those hot days.