Mulching...

Mulching, is it essential or not?

Does a lawn have to be 100% free from moss to be able to do this?

Who does & who doesn't mulch and why?

Cheers.

 

Anyone?

Or do you prefer to simply cut & collect or cut & roll?

Can't make me mind up which way to go with a new mower!

 

I suspect the lack of responses comes from the fact that people don't mulch their lawns, but do top dress them. Top dressing is kind of the same thing, but I've never heard of it being called mulching on lawns.

I top dress my lawns at least twice per year. In spring they get a dose of sharp sand. It just helps keep the rooting zone nice and airy, and free draining. Grass likes that. Moss hates it.

In autumn, when the lawn isn't going to get used for a few months, I put a dusting of compost down, just to help maintain the soil structure.

I don't think either is necessary if the lawn is already in good condition, but I always end up on solid clay.

EDIT: I nearly forgot a very important point. You never cover the grass, because if you do it will die. If you top dress, you have to kind of work the dressing into the grass.

 

Ahh, yes, we'd consider a mulch to be a layer of light & weed supressing material.

 

I'm still learning, and lawn care/fertilization is one part that really interests me, and plan to offer a good service to all my clients

I will be experimenting shortly and plan to do a 4-5 application per year on a few smaller lawns

I have already used a winterizer granular fertilizer on these, and can say, that all 4 lawns are looking very good so far (green and lush, and not much top growth which was my concern)

In a few weeks, after the 1st cut, I will be adding organic fertilizer ... namely Vermicompost (from worms) plus rock dust

my 2nd application will be a granular high nitrogen fertilizer

3rd application will be compost tea

4th may be granular (I will decide at the time)

and the last will be in autumn again, and be a granular winterizer fertilizer .... I will also aerate and scarify

so far, those lawns look really good, and I have no need to overseed ....

if I do have to overseed, I will use a good topsoil and overseed with a very good seed (same as what is used on the new olympic stadiums)

I also plan to get a good PH tester, and test the soil before adding granular fertilizers

 

as you can see from the other comments below lawn care is not a simple job.
here is my advice :D first of all how big is your lawn and what condition is it in?
if your lawn is in a average condition here it goes.
lawns need a percentage of moss, it is not advised or easily possible to remove 100%.
lawns need aerating to allow oxygen around the root system, it also helps drainage and reduces compaction it can be done on a monthly basis during the growing season useing a hollow tine or spikes.:yess:
scarifying removes thatch and moss from your lawn this helps the health of your grass and gives it room and motivation to grow new growth, you can hire a scarifyernif you have a large lawn or just use a good spring tine rake.:WINK1:
i recommend that you do both of these process's before you consider top dressing/fertilizing as the lawn will have room so suck up the dressing.
what ever you do make sure their are no frosts or heatwaves as these will put the lawns under stress.
oh and give the lawn a regular watering to help recovery.
hope this helps

 

Graham, thanks for the very useful response. There's just one bit that threw me a bit though....

I've never heard that before. How does that work? I thought moss was a proper lawn killer.

 

Thanks for all the replies, I love a good chat!

My lawns in total are perhaps 4 tennis courts in size, so the less grass cutting's I have to collect would be very helpful. I was thinking that during the mowing season perhaps mulching once a month would help.

By mulching I was referring to something like this, not this particular brand/model, but you get the idea.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x7ty_zkfxY[/url]

 

Mulching is not just a case of blocking the grassbox chute - you need a special blade with different tip heights at each end.

There is little point buying a mulching blank, just leave the grass box flap closed.

 

I always try avoiding mulching when I mow .... however, some say that mulching is good during the dry months in summer

I frequent a USA lawn forum and most guys who have lawn service companies dont remove the clippings as it's too much hassle and costs too much to dispose of, so they mulch all the time

 

the mulch mowing deposits the chopped up grass straight back into the lawn this can give the lawn a slight feed of nitrogen.
it is obviously quicker than collection mowing.
supposedly mulch mowing doesn't increase thatch in lawns, i'm skeptical about this and believe weather condition is a major factor.
i'm also wary of the spread of lawn diseases like Fusarium Blight, by spreading diseased cuttings over a wider area.

 

I raked up a big pile of leaves in early December at my sister's house, and left it on her grass.... not been back since.............

 

In the past I have found leaves completely killing the lawn and leaving bold spots (over winter). I now only use leaf mulch on the flower beds.

 

I can thoroughly recommend mulching when cutting your grass. I have a Mountfield sp555 lawnmower that has a mulching plug. With the mulching plug fitted it takes me around a third less time to cut my lawn as I don't have to keep stopping to empty the cuttings. The cuttings also fertilise the lawn. The only thing with mulching is the conditions have to be right, the grass must be fairly dry, and you can only cut off around a third of the grass. Well worth trying in my opinion. The sp555 recently won a Which Best Buy award and is one of the best petrol lawnmowers around in my view.