Does Mulching Clippings Cause Thatch Buildup In Lawns?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ต.ค. 2024
- Thatch buildup in the lawn - is it made worse by mulching your clippings when you mow? This video will answer that once and for all.
Here is last week's video on fixing an ugly lawn where we go into the importance of proper mowing, mulching the clippings, etc
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It's Saturday evening, I'm in the shed, have a beer close by, LCN is on the tablet , the wife and kids are out. Middle aged shed bliss 😁
that's a party. I hope you have some milorganite in that shed to keep it properly seasoned
The Lawn Care Nut can't get the black gold here in the UK 🇬🇧 but I do have some organic stuff under the bench , smells like bread and domination . That with the smell off damp clippings from the mower.
Really enjoyed this video it's back to your old style and less "pro" but in a good way .
Gixer750pilot . What organic fertiliser do you use in the uk please I live in the uk ?
Kane Croft use manure pellets. Very good.
Kane Croft sorry Kane only just seen your question. It’s B&Q Verve organic stuff. I’ve had great results this year. No lawn burn . Give it a try in the spring . They often have reduced bags as they seem to split in transit
says his neighbors: "hunny, he's outside talking to his grass again... tell the kids to come inside."
Dude is fuckin' nuts.
@@bangarang74 He's got a passion for mulching his yard. LOL.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
There’s not much more enjoyable and satisfying in life to watch then seeing you enjoying the mow on your st aug especially when it’s in need of a cut. Getting that smooth clean look on a thick deep green healthy lawn. It’s like that one moment in life where everything is perfect haha
Love the fact that you bring up good cigars and beer/bourbon! Work hard, relax hard!!
You definitely know your stuff. I'm a lawn care specialist and all the practices you talk about in the video is what we aim for when we help customers.
Wow you blow my mind. Even though this video is a year old you open my eyes. I been mowing lawns for a while now and learn so much from this video. That Saint Augustine was kicking my ass and now I know why. I have a small mower and when customers will call me to do their SA it be pretty high so my mower will stop constantly because it hasn't been mow for a month. Now I can educated them and tell them I have to mow every week or every two weeks and I will get a bigger motor. Thanks a lot my friend.
Finally found what I wanted. Everything I need to know both before purchasing my first lawn mower and how to use it properly like a pro. Thank you bro
I just bought my first home and I'm ready to fully engage in adulting. Just subscribed and I'm looking forward to learning how to dominate the neighborhood.
Love the way he says "Oh, crap..." and has to re-gather himself for a moment, just because he drops a few blades of grass on his garage floor!
I just bought a house and I'm watching these videos are a great help.
Yes it does. We have a 1/2 acre lawn. We use a pre emergent in the early spring. We have a guy de thatch after our first mowing. I removed the discharge cover from the mower and broadcast clippings into the air for better spreading over the lawn. We cut a 3" and mow when the plants get to be about 3 1/2 inch tall. (usually every 3 days) Decomposing grass takes nitrogen out of the soil for decomposition. Laying a thin layer of carpet over the lawn helps retain moisture. We remove the thatch and last years grass in the spring, and we have the nicest lawn in our neighborhood.
"honey, he's got a bunch of lawn mowers but he's trying to turn the blades by hand"
Hahahahahahahahaha
Imagine how weird that’d look
I left way too much clumpy cut grass for too long and now I have dead spots. This was informative, thank you! Your lawn looks perfect!
Glad to have a "Mulching Matilda" for our lawn. Even the dog poody breaks down nicely into our backyard. Good inservice.
Your lawn is so satisfying to watch being cut. Love the vids, bro. Keep up the great work.
Good to see the timemaster on your plus sized lawn.
Brother, you are my type of guy! The video was nice and easy to follow, you broke things down plain and simple. I really appreciate that.. I realize now that I’m taking too much off of my clients lawns which is definitely contributing to thatch buildup and browning of the lawns. Going forward, I will only take off 1/3 of the top layer as you suggested.. Thanks Sir, and keep sharing the knowledge👌🏾
Congratulations on having such a beautiful lawn! A truly "neighbors nightmare!" 😂
Thank you for making these videos and your lawn looks amazing. I recently sold my condo and bought my first home. I took your advice and purchased a mulching mower and I'm amazed at how there are no clumps left behind. Now I just need to get my lawn as green and soft as yours!
he may seem like he is talking too his grass and stroking it! however if i saw The Lawn Care Nut i didnt know or whatch youtube ide think that this guy doe not just take but also gives back his passion soul and love directly into his work and thats why he is a " Cut above the rest".
I watch Ur vid 24/7 and I love them and I mow my lawn not my mom and I told her every thing about the water and the fert but she said no and are grass hight sucks and I think I'm going to just do it myself and just start to fert and water and mow higher love your vids keep up the great work good luck during the hurricane coming your way praying
That grass is nuts, it’s like a lawn of mini palm fronds 😁
Looks great 👍🏻
I once bought a kindle book about a house painter and read the entire flight from Denver to Frankfurt!
So took your advice this season on the midweek mow and with fescue I’ve keep my mower deck at the highest level. What a diffrence its made from previous years, the melting out we see here in Louisville is not as drastic as previous. My lawn is thicker and healthier looking I believe do to the three cuts a week. Althought I do see fugus from the humidity and rain I think my lawn is doing well , I am bagging to remove the fungus to minimize the spreading . I thank you for your you common sense approach and years if experience. Scott from Louisville, tall fescue.
I love that Timemaster by Toro that you are using. Just bought one to replace my 21 inch Honda and I absolutely love it!
No stay with honda
Did the triple drop yesterday. Seed, starter fert, milo and now it is raining here in Massachusetts. I love the smell of wet milo in the morning, smell like victory.
Marty Bernier are you talking about milorganite? That stuff smells like shit!
@@juelz4516 Its made from shit lol
"That's what she thinks is 4 inches"
SUBSCRIBED
I feel attacked 😂
That's what *I* thought 4 inches was! Turns out those stupid wooden rulers have centimeters on the other side. :(
You don't go too fast in your movies keep it up your movies look good to me
Sup bruh? Fellow LCN in the PNW here. Own a thatching/aerating company and recommend your channel to all my clients to keep their yards going strong after I'm gone. Hope all is well post-Irma. Have a beer on me.
DAMM YOU ARE just teasing everyone with your beautiful grass😩😩👍👍👍👌👌
Just bought a brand new Toro recycler mower and use the mulch setting wow what a difference my lawn looks. No more carrying bags of grass clippings to the curb every week
Interesting video....I learning little by little about taking care of the yard properly...Thanks..!!!
You rock man! Seriously you do. My girlfriend always made fun of me because i watch all of your videos. Turns out, i catch her looking up at the tv while she's facebooking. She doesn't fool me! Great job buddy! Wished you lived in the northeast
thanks bro!
Mulching mower will, over time, cause the clippings to thatch and begin choking airflow from penetrating the soil.
To prevent that, I have a SunJoe scarifier and thatch removal mower. It removes the clogging thatch and scar the ground to let air in.
What if you already have a decent amount of thatch and you dont plan on dethatching until fall. Will mulched grass clippings have a hard time getting down to the soil?
So if you are dealing with a house that is overgrown grass and you are following the 1/3 rule for cutting length, how long would you have to wait before the next cut? For example if I have a 6+ inch grass and wanted to work it down to a 3" height to detach, aerate, fert, etc what step wise approach do I need to do on the cut? Or do I just cut to the needed height and bag it?
"If thats what she thinks 4 inches is, right there, we'll take it!" Amen brother! haha
Hi, I like my grass to be 3 inches, is it ok to use a rake machine on a high setting at any time to clear and untangle matted down grass ? Or will this damage the lawn ?
Great video. I've been to Florida a couple of times, and noticed this grass around most of the villas. It's so different to the grass we have here in the UK. If i'm being honest i don't like it, it feels too rough underfoot and not very nice to walk on. Great video on mulching though!
Barry Armstrong as a Floridian, I agree. It’s not nice to walk on like northern grasses, but it does fill in full and looks nice and green when healthy
I have an Ariens self-propelled mower. It came with a gator blade. I always cut closed chute and never had problems. As for this being a mulching mower? It can open chute and bag too. Most newer high end mowers do.
Always enjoy your videos, Eventually my lawn will be there. Getting myself ready to seed a new lawn in the back yard, but with temps being over 100 degrees in California I'm very scared I won't have much of a shot. Doing all the soil prep now, LCN you're an inspiration.
Jesse McGill
I saw there's a heatwave in Cali, crazy stuff.
Hey what type of soil prep are you doing? I'm new at this. I laid my Saint Augustine over my previous grass a lot of it took and a lot of it didn't. It was 100 degrees back then in Texas. Should I have tilled it
@@bumpythomas6932 I had an already well established lawn at this point. The only real soil prep I had done was kill off any weeds, used a scarifier to remove some of the thatch off the top of the soil and starter fertilizer. After laying down the sod, I made sure the lawn had a nice long drink, then made sure the soil was always damp for 2-3 weeks.
Depending on how big the dead spots are on your lawn, you could be alright. St. Augustine will grow over those dead spots and eventually fill in. If it's bad you might need new sod. It's all about how well you keep the grass water and fed during the time you lay down new sod.
If you are mulching and have weeds, does this spread weeds more or does it not contribute to the spread?
I can't get over how tall you have your lawns in the US. Here in New Zealand we tend to cut it to about an inch high. I tried doing it the US way for a few weeks, but all the neighbourhood cats used it as a big open loo (toilet) plus it ended up looking messy after people walked over it. Maybe it's the types of grass we use? Tall or Fine Fescue, Rye, Kentucky Blue Grass, Kikuyu, Couch, New Zealand Browntop, and clover. Or various mixtures of them. Thanks for your video, it's interesting to see how others do it.
2yrs on, do you still find this to be the same?
After the previous owner left some thick thatch in our Bermuda couch lawn, we have always bagged.
Just wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoy your videos. They are relevant, entertaining and addressing the exact questions I have. Thank you for sharing!! Can't wait to dominate my neighbors :D.
Im an "up norther"...I remember the first time i traveled to FLA as a young adult paying attn to landscapes. I noticed people had ENTIRE yards of "crabgrass". And was like, "wtf?!? These morons are mowing, watering and taking care of it?!?!" I later learned its a desirable variety of grass called St Augustine. Lookin' great Allyn, love the channel!
Great video as always 👍. So I actually listened to your video, I got the notification of the new video as I was driving to work. I know most of your material is visually based, but listening to it was very enjoyable. Have you ever thought about doing podcasts where you can do some Q&A?
Yes, I will go back and watch the video in its entirety when I get home.
I like your videos and think that you are a great professional.
Great explanation of mulching.
Keep 'em coming.
Enjoyed your video. A healthy lawn with healthy earthworms and soil bacteria can digest about a half-inch deep bed of fine clippings per week. If you put more clippings down than what nature can digest, then a mat of dead grass will form and get deeper every week and you will have to power rake it often. About the only benefits of this mat of dead grass is that it keeps weed seeds from germinating and crane flies from getting their eggs down into the soil and it keeps the hot sun off the roots and holds in a little moisture. I like your 1/3 rule. But I also like to see cutting twice a week if people are mulching. I like a side-discharge mower to blow the clippings up in the air and let them land naturally. This seems to keep the lawn more level. I prefer the clippings to be less than a half inch long, so that requires two cuttings a week. I am not a fan of most no-discharge mulching mowers because people tend to leave too many long clippings on the lawn and these mowers can simply leave too many clippings period. Better to bag the first (long) cut and then take off only that last half inch for the mulching run. Compost your long clippings and then add the compost back to the lawn or garden when convenient. And do not use too much nitrogen because the lawn will grow too fast requiring even more frequent mowing. Keep the iron and magnesium and trace minerals up to support chlorophyll production but just enough nitrogen to produce good color. This method really does cut down on mowing.
"Honey, our neighbor's out measuring his clippings again......."
Yet... you 'folks' spend money on shit you know NOTHING about, mindlessly.......
One by one.
Lol
I use to have a neighbor that would use scissor to get his yard perfectl
Hey LCN. As I was loading up my car with 8 bags of Milo (I have a large yard front & back here in NJ), a guy came over & asked me if I like the stuff. So I switched it into my LCN spiel, saying how it's idiot proof, good for the environment, slow release, etc. He said he tried it once and didn't like the results but like my experience, I told him to not give up but also needs to put down a lot. He has well water so I really encouraged him to use it even more! Of course told him to check out your YT channel.
I was also there to check out Toro snowblowers. I'm hanging up my shovel after 2 seasons.. I have a large driveway and I now see why people drop dead shoveling. I'm sure you miss that. Lol!
Tom M - I also have a large lawn, 3 acres, upstate NY. I've never done anything more the mow it regularly but have areas that could be malnutritioned. I'm wondering what you use to spread it?
ChuckD59 I use a relatively small Scotts spreader which I inherited from my Father in law who's property was smaller than mine. I really could use a larger spreader especially since with milorganite, the spreader setting needs to be very high ( large opening). Lots of frequent refills. Don't be afraid to put a lot down.
Throw er down!
Just curious, Tom. What does having well water have to do with throwing down extra milo?
I use a low cost mower and it don't mulch very well, the clippings build-up under the deck creating a vibration. I do use a mulching blade and side discharge without any issues. It makes me sick to see people bag their clippings and put them out as trash every week.
If you ever do this experiment again, it would be interesting to compare clippings with different mower speeds. You mention this, and I’ve found the difference in practice to be substantial. Hard to be disciplined and maintain a slow pace, though!
WOW! US grass is thick looking stuff. Good video for the US market. I get Americans griping on my videos about height of cut etc. UK grass is very fine seed mix. Even our broad leaved grasses don't come close.
Just want to say I've been watching your videos for weeks and I love them. Thanks for putting them up. I have no idea what I'm doing with my lawn but I've been trying to make it look nicer and your videos are helping. I just seeded a few weeks ago and I'm waiting to do a weed and feed until the 4th mow for the season. Is that a good idea?
Quick question, I laid my St Augustine over my previous grass. Some of it came out very well and some of it didn't. Should I have tilled it or should I till the part that didn't take and lay more down
Did you get rid of the Super Recycler? This is a good video. I've had many people who see me mulching ask me if it will add to the mulch layer if I do so. Also on a side note, that Timemaster seems to cut much better than the World Lawn, especially in terms of mulch and clean cut.
‘...Oh crap...’ lol!!!!!
I hit the like button straight after that!!!!
Made my day!!
Nice take .. any blades you recommend? I been looking at the max power 22” blade or the max power mulching blade because I want to go bag less on my craftsman 672 Briggs and Stratton 22” .. what do you thing ?
What about not mulching if you are dealing with a bad case of brown patch and dollar spot? I read that mulching helps feed the fungus, so I bagged this year. As a reference I have just bought your guide and the 4-gallon Bio Pack. Gonna throw er down next week.
Throwing that blade in the grass and turning it really puts it in perspective. Like to show that to my neighbor who like to cut his "lawn" down to pretty near bare dirt once every two weeks.
I bag my clippings during spring and early summer to give the roots of the grass room to breathe and spread. After that I switch to mulch until the grass goes dormant
I've read good things on the Toro Recycler. Im a life long Snapper fan myself. I get a grin on my face when its time to mow. How often do you have to mow to keep clippings so minimal??
I started reading the comments right when the video took off couple of them had me laughing the ones with "honey" but I didn't quite understand them then later in the video he pulls out the tape measure haha I was weak🤣🤣
Bought the Honda twin blade mower it's awesome... Can really tell the difference between my really cheap mover I bought before and this one
Can't believe how thick your grass blades are! It's no wonder you need a high cc mower. Here in New Zealand we have fine grass which makes for a finer looking lawn but most of our average mowers are around 150 to 160 cc.
Keep the deck set pretty high, and mow regularly=
Healthy grass!
I have always bagged my grass.
I’ve personally always done that because My lawn for the most part is a hill. Higher deck =
Less friction and wear and tear on the mower.
Recently switched from a Honda HRX real wheel drive, to the Toro 22 inch recycler all wheel drive...
Always loved my Honda but want to try out the all wheel drive for my hill.
Along with that, I’ve decided I want to try to use the mulching function because it’s less weight and less work. 10 days in,looking good and working well. Would you recommend bagging every once in a while to keep the thatch down? I’m thinking like every fourth mow?
When you brushed your hand over the lawn to look for clippings the grass sounds like plastic artificial turf.
Man I love your videos! And yes I push and go way slower than the self propel.
I cut my grass once a week. Lots of grass on my lawn. How often do you cut?
Perhaps this is a dumb question, but can you mulch thatch after bringing it to the surface? Would it break down or just compact again? Thank you!
Mike J. I wouldn’t do that, I would have it removed since that is dead grass.
It’s dead grass. It won’t decompose anymore. Remove it
Alan I’m mowing twice a week in Colorado, but doesn’t seem to be enough. Should I go to 3x a week?
Just subbed for the "thats what she thinks 4 inches is" comment. Still laughing even after typing this.
hey LCN, my new tall fescue in ATLANTA area is now 7" high should i collect clippings or mulch, this was a lawn rennovation
Thanks and love all your videos
I have a Toro recycler, how do you go about sharpening the blade with those little notches. Are you required to sharpen the notches in some sort of fashion with a round file or something like that?
Man.. Ur really smart dude... Tnx for sharing all this!!! It helps alot.. Im learning so much..
I spoke to the Briggs rep. He said they don't put HP anymore because it was inaccurate and they were sued for it. Basically they make a motor that has 4hp at (I can't remember the numbers but let's say) 5500 rpm so they slap it on a mower and call it a 4hp mower. But the mower has a governor limiting the engine to (say) 2400rpm and the motor isn't making 4hp at 2400rpm. The 4hp mower you bought will only have 2.5hp at full throttle. Just the motor has the capacity to put out 4hp if it were used in a different application where it revved higher.
Do you recommend bagging when the lawn has a disease problem until it is remedied?
I’m a newbie! I don’t have a mulching mower but can I spread my clippings back onto the lawn?
What about if it’s clippings from non-mulching mowers. Should I rake if clippings are not mulched?
Your St Augustine grass looks similar to our Sir Walter Buffalo grass we have around Sydney, Australia which is as broad in the leaf & dense in growth. I am always mulch cutting our grass too, but there are weeds like clover, summer & winter grass I haven't really put much effort into clearing.
That's not Grass - it looks like a green cornfield after cutting - tough as nails.
I think I actually saw little chucks of corncob in the closeup shot.
4:00 Dat grass 😮🧡💚 I'm so jealous!!!
Hi LCN
I have two questions.
1. I overseeded last weekend with KBG. I know it takes quite some time to germinate. Can I mow tomorrow or is it too soon? Can I mow and avoid the patch areas? The rest of the lawn needs a good mow.
2. I have a Snapper Hi Vac bagger that I bought in 2012. I love it but it spits clippings out its left side and I have no ability to mulch. Do you recommend selling it and purchasing the Toro Timemaster? I love the vacuum power of the Snapper and it leaves some crazy striping without a striper kit. Thoughts?
Thanks LCN! I watch every minute of every video and I dominate! Or at least try to
Would you also consider bagging instead of mulching in the spring and fall because of leaf cover? As I try to heal my yard I have to rake and rake and rake to get all the build up from leaves, dead weeds, etc that I think isn't getting cut up fine enough leading for me to have poor growth in the spring and fall.
On old fashioned reel push mower cuts the best. Scissor like cut on each blade. Looks awesome when done.
My Toro came with a plastic piece that inserts under the side door to redirect clippings. Should I have this closed to product better mulch?
So, my ariens ikon side discharging zero turn isn't good? It discharged the clippings out the side. And when needed I go back over clippings to make them smaller.
Is side discharge creating thatch?
The largest mower you had in video looks like it side discharges.
I'm hoping as long as I'm removing areas that happen to be leaving too long of clippings.
Even live oak leaves break down quickly when mulched. I never rake anymore, but it does look odd when I'm mowing leaves in "winter."
I'm fascinated. How can I get a thicker, chunkier lawn like this? What is the secret? Is it the care? Or is it a special kind of grass? I'm located in Austria and here I've never seen grass like the one in your videos. I would love to impress my neighborhood with my lawn 😥😎
What species of grass is this please. I love it.
I'm having a soil sample done for my yard. I'm interested to see what each item that is tested how the micro-nutrients effect the lawn. I watched your previous video about this but it mostly goes into NPK values and Iron only.
Dumb question but if we just replace those blades can we make it into a mulching mower?
Other TH-cam channels have stated that the Honda two blade system does the best mulching job. Maybe even you mentioned it when you were testing the Honda you have or had. Do you still have the Honda mower?
Only time I've had a problem with thatch was when I was a newbie. I didn't have mulching blades so I shot the clippings inward into the yard instead of outward so I would be able to "mulch" or cut the clippings several times. That just led to a lot of clippings in the middle of my lawn and sure enough I got a thatch problem.
Hello, I have a honda rear bag, non mulching mower. I want to try this, what's your opinion of just changing the blade, and blocking the chute? Thanks
My 1st was a craftsman/honda..a friend. Gave me a toro 22inch recycler with side discharge or rear. Bagger.
Hp conversion is 28cc to 1hp.
So 540cc is equal to 19.4hp (roughly)
Good video - not too long; not too much waffle! Thank you!
What do you think of keeping the front of the mower a little higher than the rear? I think it seems to help if my grass is real long and cuts it twice, at different lengths as I walk along.
Bb1100