Mulching vrs Bagging

As a mobile small engine repair provider in Salt Lake City and the surrounding areas, I get the opportunity to meet with a lot of different clients at places all around the valley. Over the years, I’ve heard many of the same questions over and over again. One of the most common things I am asked is whether or not bagging grass clippings is better than mulching. Like most things involving small engines, the answer is, “It depends.”

The question of mulching vs bagging has been around ever since the first mulching systems were introduced to the market. While the old-school opinion seems to be overwhelmingly in support of bagging, mulching systems have definite advantages when used in the right settings.

Mulching is a great way to recycle your grass clippings, and return some nutrients to the soil. They do this by chopping the grass into tiny pieces before spreading it out behind the mower. This is great for your lawn as it adds a little bit of natural fertilizer to the grass each time you mow it. Not only that, but you don’t have to worry about the hassle of filling bag after bag with your clippings, then hauling them off to be composted.

While the convenience of mulching is enough to convince many people to ditch the bag, not all situations are prime for mulching. For example, in early spring the grass retains a lot of moisture in its blades. When you try to mulch this wet, heavy grass it can clump up and bog down the mower. In addition to being unsightly, the clumps of wet grass prevent the mulch from being evenly distributed along the lawn. During the dog days of summer, however, your grass will be much drier and should mulch just fine. Go ahead and go without the bag on these days and save your energy for other yard projects.

Bagging has its own special application, even outside of the circumstances listed above. As any old-timer will tell you, bagging looks nicer. That’s because you’re cleaning up the clippings as you go. If you are concerned about aesthetics for some reason (Maybe you’ve got a backyard wedding, or garden party coming up? Or maybe this is a commercial application) bags are the way to go. It might take a little extra time, but you’ll reap the rewards of your labor while walking barefoot in that country club style yard carpet.

So there you have it. Whether you choose to bag or mulch should depend on a number of variables including, but not limited to: the time of year, the length of the lawn, and whether or not aesthetics are a major concern. Beyond that, it just boils down to your level of dealing with bags upon bags of grass clippings.

By: Kyson Crowell