4 ms·

Isn't mulching counter-productive, then? I don't fertilise but also always bag for the same reason, to keep the grass lean in favour of the weeds.

goda90 5y ago
The mulching keeps the organic matter in the lawn, so it becomes part of the topsoil, helping it be more nutrient rich and better at retaining water. It's part of developing an ecosystem. If you're spraying chemicals and fertilizing, then you also have to throw in extra work like dethatching because all the decomposition cycles get messed up and you might kill the grass. Honestly, the number one thing to do is change your definition of what is a weed. Clover used to be part of grass mixes, but was re-marketed as a weed because broad-leaf herbicides were profitable. There's lots of other broad-leaf plants that can blend in with grass just fine(some are even edible!) and they both help fertilize naturally, as well as fill in the gaps where things like annoying thistles or hyper-aggressive plants might try to edge in.
- Tabular-Iceberg 5y ago
  But the whole reason why I'm not fertilising is because I want it to to be nutrient poor. Why would I then want to make it nutrient rich again by mulching? Nutrient rich is what you want for those completely uniform boomer tier lawns with only one species of grass. Whereas nutrient poor forces the grass to take a step back and leave more space for all those broad leaf plants.
  - emodendroket 5y ago
    I don't think you really have to worry that the soil being too rich is going to prevent hearty species from growing. It'll happen unless you go out of your way to prevent it.
  - goda90 5y ago
    They'll make their way in. This is my fourth summer in my house. The previous owners sprayed, but I haven't once. I bagged a bit the first summer but stopped. I've got lots of flowering plants in the grass now, without any extra effort on my part. I did overseed with clover this year, but I think naturally occurring clover had already started to take hold last year too.

goda90 5y ago

The mulching keeps the organic matter in the lawn, so it becomes part of the topsoil, helping it be more nutrient rich and better at retaining water. It's part of developing an ecosystem. If you're spraying chemicals and fertilizing, then you also have to throw in extra work like dethatching because all the decomposition cycles get messed up and you might kill the grass. Honestly, the number one thing to do is change your definition of what is a weed. Clover used to be part of grass mixes, but was re-marketed as a weed because broad-leaf herbicides were profitable. There's lots of other broad-leaf plants that can blend in with grass just fine(some are even edible!) and they both help fertilize naturally, as well as fill in the gaps where things like annoying thistles or hyper-aggressive plants might try to edge in.

Tabular-Iceberg 5y ago
But the whole reason why I'm not fertilising is because I want it to to be nutrient poor. Why would I then want to make it nutrient rich again by mulching? Nutrient rich is what you want for those completely uniform boomer tier lawns with only one species of grass. Whereas nutrient poor forces the grass to take a step back and leave more space for all those broad leaf plants.
- emodendroket 5y ago
  I don't think you really have to worry that the soil being too rich is going to prevent hearty species from growing. It'll happen unless you go out of your way to prevent it.
- goda90 5y ago
  They'll make their way in. This is my fourth summer in my house. The previous owners sprayed, but I haven't once. I bagged a bit the first summer but stopped. I've got lots of flowering plants in the grass now, without any extra effort on my part. I did overseed with clover this year, but I think naturally occurring clover had already started to take hold last year too.